Recent Articles Featuring Bespoke

Bespoke's research and commentary has been featured in many articles recently, and below we provide links to a few of them.  The articles are interesting and informative regardless of our inclusion, so check them out if you have time.  Most of the stuff attributed to us comes from the reports we send out to Bespoke Premium members, so please click here if you would like to subscribe.

"Why the Rally Should Keep Rolling...for Now."  Kopin Tan, Barron's - 7/27/09:

HERE'S A SNAPSHOT OF JULY'S ROMP, courtesy of Bespoke Investment Group: From their July 10 low, the 50 smallest stocks in the S&P 500 had rebounded 17.2% through Thursday, outgunning the 50 biggest stocks' 9.7% gain. The 50 most heavily shorted stocks have jumped 17.6%, versus just 8.8% for the 50 least-shorted names. Companies raking in foreign revenues outran domestic earners, a sign that traders are still uneasy about the dollar.

Besides short-covering, there are also ample signs of bargain-hunting and risk-guzzling. The 50 stocks with the lowest price/earnings ratios jumped 18.4%, the best performance of any decile. The 50 stocks with the worst analyst ratings are up 12.7%, versus 8.9% for the most beloved companies. And the 50 stocks that fell the furthest during the June correction have bounced back most resoundingly, their 17.4% rise trumping the 7.4% for the correction's top performers.

"Stock Trading Slowdown Is Steepest in Two Decades."  Kayla Carrick, Bloomberg News - 7/24/09.

"Pundit Watch: Is the Rally Sustainable?"  Dan Burrows, SmartMoney - 7/27/09:

So far the rate of upside earnings surprises is "off the charts," writes Paul Hickey, founder of Bespoke Investment Group. True, we still have a long way to go through the current earnings season, but nearly 71% of companies reporting have beaten estimates. "Investors were worried heading into this earnings season that last quarter's numbers would be difficult to top, causing the market to struggle," he says. "However, the current earnings season has come in much stronger than last quarter so far."

"Six Takeaways on the Rally: 'Panic In,' Short Covering or Both?"  Matt Phillips, WSJ - 7/23/09:

Paul Hickey, co-founder Bespoke Investment Group, via email: “The last time the Dow closed above 9,000 was on January 6th. To put this rally in perspective, we would still have to rally by nearly 27% just to get to the levels we were at prior to the Lehman bankruptcy. With so many market and economic indicators reaching pre-Lehman levels, one has to ask will the market be next?”

"Mr. Mo Meets Stock Market."  David Kamm, News-Press.com - 7/26/09:

The highly respected Bespoke Investment Group recently published a study of equity performance during the last 11 positive markets. It is titled "Sector Performance (%) During Prior S&P Bull Markets: 1940-2007" and is somewhat surprising in spots. They caution that all bull markets are not alike, and we should look more strongly at the periods we think could be more closely correlated with the next one. That requires an evaluation on our part, but that's how we gain an edge.

The Bespoke quick glance reveals the following; "Technology is usually a leader during bulls, while Telecom and Utilities are laggards. Energy, Health Care, Consumer Staples, and Materials have scattered performance during various bulls, while Industrials are usually in the middle of the pack every time." The top four sectors (ranked by Bespoke) in the 2002-2007 bull were: energy, utilities, materials, and technology.

Comments

[Bluce]

I had brief encounter with the magazine and it has a lot helpful information to investors and to potential businesses that have not yet raised their flags high in the markets.

[Learn Bonds]

Another Media Mention:

Learn Bond's Best Of the Bond Market (May 14th)

http://www.learnbonds.com/california-fiscal-problems/

Bespoke: High Yield Spreads Holding Steady – Although US equities have been on the decline, high yield spreads, which usually rise as equities fall, have been surprisingly resilient.