Stocks to Watch -- Tuesday, October 26

Keep an Eye on CY

Hey, that headline rhymes. Speaking of Cypress Semi (one of the worst performing mid-cap stocks over the last year)... it looks interesting to me here as a short. Initial risk is about 40 cents and if it falls back to the old lows (a minimum wave c decline), the reward to risk is OK. (Disclaimer)

CY, Daily Chart

Chart of the Day -- US Dollar futures, Daily Chart

The Dollar futures moved to a new closing low yesterday. It was a year and a half ago that I wrote my Decline and Fall of the Dollar post, and things look as grim now as they did then, perhaps worse. The action in the currency markets may in part be forecasting a Bush victory, which would be unequivocally bad for our country, our currency, and the world.

Read it and weep another 70 billion tears.

US Dollar futures, Daily Chart

Best and Worst Performing Mid-Cap Stocks (year-over-year)

I scanned my universe of mid-cap stocks for the best and worst performers over the last year. I feature Mid Cap stock scans every Tuesday.

Best:

• IMC Global Inc (IGL)
  +154.24% {fertilizer products}
• Urban Outfitters Inc (URBN)
  +140.90% {specialty retail}
• American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEOS)
  +130.90% {clothing retailer}
• Overseas Shipholding Group Inc (OSG)
  +126.15% {bulk shipping company; mainly crude oil and petroleum products}
• Wind River Systems Inc (WIND)
  +107.27% {integrated software platforms}

Worst:

• Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc (KKD)
  -74.30% {specialty retailer of doughnuts}
• Cypress Semiconductor Corp (CY)
  -52.42% {digital and mixed-signal integrated circuits}
• Corinthian Colleges Inc (COCO)
  -51.50% {for-profit, post-secondary education company}
• LTX Corp (LTXX)
  -48.84% {semiconductor test solutions}
• Credence Systems Corp (CMOS)
  -47.46% {test equipment for semiconductor integrated circuits}

Overstock CEO Practices Unique Form of Buddhist Non-Attachment,
by Herb "Hedge Fund Lickspittle" Greenberg

Patrick Byrne actually sounds like a good guy to me and his Letter to Shareholders is highly entertaining.

Jane Kim for San Francisco School Board

Support Jane by making an online donation.

Portfolio Manager Letter - Weitz Equity Funds

I read Wally Weitz closely and recommend that you do too.

The Crash of 1929 (on PBS last night)

The website has some nice features, check it out. A transcript of the program will also be posted there later.