The New Normal
For the Roundtable pros, even a sluggish market yields many investment ideas
online.wsj.com
The New Normal
For the Roundtable pros, even a sluggish market yields many investment ideas
Roundtable Scorecard
So much for Dow 36,000. As U.S. stocks travel south at breakneck speed, right along with the public's trust in Wall Street, investors large and small have rallied 'round a new cry, "Get me outta here!"
Who can blame them, but who can guide them? Enter the members of the Barron's Roundtable, a witty, wise and wonderfully contrarian crew of 11 ace investors and provocative market seers. They zig when others zag, look when others leap and, yes, buy when all about them are selling hand over fist. Perhaps that's why more than few of our distinguished crowd now believe the market is setting up for a rally, one that could lift the busted techs and telecoms, maybe the drugs and certainly the Nasdaq, by more than 30%.
From A to Z -- that is, from Abby Cohen to Felix Zulauf -- the members of the Barron's Roundtable, who gathered in New York in January, advised readers that the U.S. economy would perk up in the spring. But they warned that stocks would face tough sledding, and that investors had best get used to years of substandard growth ("It Ain't Over," Jan. 14, 2002). So far, they're right on the mark about the big picture, although some of their stock picks, like yours and mine, got caught in the downdraft that followed.
Still, these legendary investors, reached by phone last week, are finding much to buy in a roiled and pricey market. In the pages that follow they offer a slew of new investment recommendations, including Cablevision, General Electric and Tyco, as well as trenchant commentary about the the dollar, gold, emerging markets and the breakdown of corporate ethics. The market may be subdued, but not our Roundtable panel. So let's get on with the show.
-- Lauren R. Rublin
continued ... |
