Tag - El

The other day I was looking at vitamin stocks that are benefiting from consumer (and investor) demand for healthy living products.  Trends in this segment of consumer stocks are showing that even in a high unemployment environment, people are still making sure that their well-being is a priority.

Regardless of what this morning’s University of Michigan Consumer Survey says – preliminary numbers for November show that consumer sentiment dropped to 66 from October’s reading of 70.6 - it seems consumers are willing to spend money to be well, both inside and out...

Small-cap stocks pushed higher Friday, fighting back from a midday slide into the red as commodity stocks, homebuilders and airline stocks offset another rough day for banks. The Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) closed up 3.82, or 0.83%, at 466.45, but still lost 3.1% for the week. For the year, small caps are off 6.6%, while the Dow is down 5.6% and the S&P 500 is down 5.9%.

Banks have been the dominant focal point for investors this week, and it has been a brutal period for some of the world’s most prominent financial firms. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) tumbled 48% for the week and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) shed 45% while posting its first quarterly loss in 17 years and the lowest daily close in more than a decade. Even news overnight that the government was extending another $20 billion of direct injection into BAC and guaranteeing $118 billion of assets couldn’t stem the selling tide today; BAC lost another 13.7%.

We’re only a little more than halfway through the month of January, but according to the S&P sector groups the biggest three losers are diversified financial services firms (down 38%); diversified banks (down 35%) and regional banks (down 27%). There is a segment of the investment community that doesn’t believe the market will go higher without leadership from the financial sector – if they are right, then the New Year is off to a troubling start indeed.

Even though it has been a dour start for banks this year, it’s interesting to note that call activity for Citigroup is starting to pick up steam, suggesting that investors are trying to take a shot at bargain hunting for the embattled firm. This afternoon, Bill Gross, leader of the world’s largest bond fund at PIMCO, said that the . . .

You may have lost your job but that doesn’t mean you can’t smell nice.

Judging by the recent success of Inter Parfums, Inc. (Nasdaq:IPAR), that’s exactly what a lot of people are thinking. The New York-based company, which sells high-end and affordable fragrances, and personal care products under a long list of labels from Lanvin to The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), recently announced a 32% jump in fourth-quarter sales and an even more impressive 57.1% surge in net income over the same period.

It might seem that consumers would limit their spending to the barest of essentials in this tough economy, but clearly, plenty of people continue to buy perfume, one of the most frivolous consumer items out there.

That, in turn, has sent investors flocking to shares of Inter Parfums. The company’s shares have risen almost 30% since the start of the year, and closed Tuesday at $23.32 per share, up from $18.47 on Jan. 2 and a 52-week low of $13.55.

Inter Parfums’ success, however, is not so much an isolated phenomenon but part of a well-documented trend in which demand for unnecessary, feel-good items spikes during grim times. Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) chairman Leonard Lauder coined the term “the lipstick indicator” in 2001 to explain a sharp rise in U.S. lipstick sales in the United States in the weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks.

The explanation for this pattern seems part psychological and part economic. There’s a basic human desire to make yourself look better on the outside when you’re not doing too well inside. There’s also the logic, which would apply to . . .

No more powerful symbol of China's new prosperity exists than Shanghai, the cosmopolitan city of gleaming futuristic skyscrapers. Money has clearly found its way here, as five-star hotels, swanky boutiques, stylish art galleries and trendy cigar bars have supplanted rundown Mao-era commercial and government buildings. Shanghai today serves as the luxurious standard to which the rest of China aspires.

In fact, luxury is a white-hot market in China, which has become the world's third-largest consumer of luxury goods. China's new generation, in particular, has been seduced by flash. Merchandise with a high-end feel is being successfully marketed to the wealthy, borderline wealthy and middle-market consumers who are eager to sample the good life. Taking a cue from the West, conspicuous indulgences and creature comforts, ranging from designer clothing to diamond engagement rings and status-rich automobiles, are increasingly coveted by China's ever-growing relatively affluent middle class.

These newly-acquired expensive tastes play right into the hands of Fuqi International, Inc. (Nasdaq: FUQI), a company that designs, manufactures, markets and distributes precious metal jewelry to the Chinese luxury goods market. Fuqi, which currently has a design database of over 20,000 products, specializes in producing jewelry in a wide range of styles using gold, platinum, diamonds, and other precious stones and materials.  

The jewelry maker's extensive distribution network, spanning almost all of China's 22 provinces, gives it an important advantage over rivals, allowing the company to test-market, promote and sell its products directly to wholesalers, distributors and retailers nationwide.

After raising $63 million in an IPO priced at the top of its $7 to $9 forecast range, Fuqi made a heady market debut on Oct. 23, with its stock opening at $10.01, or 11% higher, before rising as high as $11.75 in afternoon trading. While shares fell back to earth on Nov. 7, closing at $6.32, the stock has since been rising somewhat steadily. It closed at $8 on Wednesday.