Takeover News
and Energy Give Us a Boost This Week
12/02/2006
While the S&P 500 swung
wildly this week (but only finished down 0.3% for the week),
takeover news boosted two of our recommended stocks. Claire's
Stores Inc. (ticker: CLE) rose nearly 5.0% on Friday
after the company said it was looking
for possible buyers. The stock has risen 51.4% since we
recommended the company. Claire's is part of our High-Dividend
Blue Chip Stock Portfolio.
Meanwhile, Servicemaster
Co. (SVM) rose 6.2% for the week after the company
said it would
consider selling itself. Servicemaster is also part of
our High-Dividend
Blue Chip Stock Portfolio.
Our energy picks also performed
well this week. MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (WFR),
a supplier of silicon wafers to solar panel manufacturers,
rose 6.1% this week after research firm Jefferies & Co.
initiated coverage of the company with a "buy" rating.
MEMC's stock is up 94.9% since our recommendation fourteen
months ago. MEMC is part of our Industry/Sector
Spotlight.
Energy Select Sector SPDR
(XLE), an exchange-traded fund that owns oil & gas and
energy-services companies, rose 5.5% this week on the strength
of oil prices. Energy Select is part of our Industry/Sector
Spotlight. Vanguard Energy (VGENX), also part of our Industry/Sector
Spotlight, rose nearly 4% this week and has risen 104% since
we recommended the no-load mutual fund.
-Rex M. Jacobsen
Sr. Editor
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