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Fani Kelesidou

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  • Is the Shipping Industry Ready for a Dynamic Comeback? No, It's Not!

    By Fani Kelesidou - May 16, 2013 | Tickers: DSX, DRYS, NMM | Editor's Choice

    Over the past couple of years, the shipping industry has been engulfed in an endless spiral of macroeconomic headwinds and slashed daily rates. Last year, the Baltic Dry Index, the barometer that gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk commodities around the globe, hit rock-bottom levels smashing every glimmer of hope for an industry recovery.

    However, Greek ship owners, who more or less hold the reins of the shipping industry more »

  • Three Mid-Cap Stocks To Keep An Eye On

    By Fani Kelesidou - May 2, 2013 | Tickers: HLF, SWKS, UTHR

    Though the S&P 500 is up nearly 12% year-to-date, keeping investors in high spirits, it's the S&P Mid-cap 400 that's really on fire. The index – which serves as a performance barometer for companies with a market capitalization in the range of $1 billion to roughly $13 billion- has been scoring eye-whopping returns for over 15 years now, bringing out the green-eyed monster in Wall Street's more »

  • Are Ugg Boots Back in Style?

    By Fani Kelesidou - May 1, 2013 | Tickers: DECK, SHOO, WWW

    Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK), the company behind the Ugg brand, was sort of left up the creek last October when its shares reached rock-bottom levels. Everyone assumed that Uggs had gone out of style. But a cold winter, a turn lower in fleece prices, and a couple of analysts' upgrades were enough to jump-start the stock price. Deckers is up by almost 35% year-to-date. Not only that, but last Thursday more »

  • A Health Check on the Global Financial System: Can Europe Get Out of Its Jam?

    By Fani Kelesidou - April 23, 2013 | Tickers: ALU, SAN, DB

    After completing its latest health check on the global financial system, the International Monetary Fund revealed some encouraging results. Apparently, the system is in better shape than it was six months ago, showing greater resilience against macroeconomic headwinds. In the U.S., the housing market is on the comeback trail, consumer spending is picking up, and banks seem poised to increase lending.

    But, don't get your hopes up. The more »

  • Following The Motley Fool's Investing Steps For Long-Term Returns

    By Fani Kelesidou - April 16, 2013 | Tickers: DE, GGG, RAVN

    The Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner devoted themselves to helping the world invest better. They came up with a set of investing rules aiming to guide do-it-yourself investors through the Wall Street maze. All investors need to do is follow 13 simple steps to big returns. Asset allocation is the 8th--and most important--step.

    Finding a winning stock is one thing, but managing your risk tolerance is more »

  • Following The Motley Fool's Investing Steps For Long-Term Returns

    By Fani Kelesidou - April 16, 2013 | Tickers: DE, GGG, RAVN

    The Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner devoted themselves to helping the world invest better. They came up with a set of investing rules aiming to guide do-it-yourself investors through the Wall Street maze. All investors need to do is follow 13 simple steps to big returns. Asset allocation is the 8th--and most important--step.

    Finding a winning stock is one thing, but managing your risk tolerance is more »

  • Following Motley Fool's Investing Steps For Long-Term Returns

    By Fani Kelesidou - April 14, 2013 | Tickers: DE, GGG, RAVN

    Motley Fool Co-founders, Tom and David Gardner, devoted themselves to helping the world invest better. Staying committed to their goal they came up with a set of investing rules aiming to guide do-it-yourself investors through the Wall Street maze. All investors need to do is follow 13 simple steps. Asset allocation is the 8th- and most definitely of paramount importance- step.

    Finding a winning stock is one thing, but more »

  • A Silver Lining For The Shipping Industry

    By Fani Kelesidou - April 10, 2013 | Tickers: DSX, DRYS, NMM, SBLK

    Every cloud has a silver lining. For the gloomy shipping industry, this silver lining could be Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM), an international owner and operator of dry bulk carriers.

    Amidst stormy economic conditions that nearly wiped some of the biggest players in the space off the map, Navios Partners managed not only to stay afloat, but to reward its faithful shareholders with some pretty juicy dividends.

    A more »

  • A Silver Lining For The Shipping Industry

    By Fani Kelesidou - April 9, 2013 | Tickers: DSX, DRYS, NMM, SBLK

    Every cloud has a silver lining. For the gloomy shipping industry, this silver lining could be Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE: NMM), an international owner and operator of dry bulk carriers.

    Amidst stormy economic conditions that nearly wiped off the map some of the biggest players in the space, Navios Partners managed not only to stay on float, but to reward its faithful shareholders with pretty juicy dividends.

    A more »

  • Assessing Apple's Innovation Capability

    By Fani Kelesidou - April 2, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, SSNLF

    Coco Chanel once said: “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” Coco was talking about clothes and fashion, but still, I cannot think of a better notion that can fully capture the importance of creativity and originality in today's tech world. There is no doubt that for a tech company the key to staying at the top of the heap is innovation.

    But how does more »

  • What Is Nike's Weak Point?

    By Fani Kelesidou - March 26, 2013 | Tickers: NKE, SBUX, WMT

    Last Thursday, Nike's (NYSE: NKE) shareholders felt a glow of contentment as the incumbent sneaker brand reported outstanding earnings that crushed analysts' expectations. At the moment, Nike is on the threshold of hitting its 52-week range, after experiencing a whopping run-up of around 12%. Looking ahead, the company's future looks bright with analysts' estimates pointing out a more than 10% EPS growth over the next more »

  • Looking at Seadrill With a SWOT Analysis

    By Fani Kelesidou - March 25, 2013 | Tickers: ESV, NE, SDRL, RIG

    You can easily figure out a company's "raison d'etre" just by taking a look at its mission statement. However, if you wish to dig deeper into its business and examine whether or not it lives up to its initial promise, a SWOT analysis should do the trick.

    Seadrill's (NYSE: SDRL) ultimate goal is to become “the world's most important partner in making oil and gas available more »

  • Waiting for Apple's Next Eureka Moment

    By Fani Kelesidou - March 15, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, BBRY, GOOG

    Just a few weeks ago, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) monopolized the headlines for crossing the $800-per-share threshold. Many analysts are optimistic that the internet giant will soon crush the $1,000 barrier, as well. On the other hand, Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock price is steadily heading south making investors worry sick about what comes next.

    Apple found itself with the back against the wall when it reported the slowest profit more »

  • Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Is Skyworks the Perfect Stock?

    By Fani Kelesidou - March 13, 2013 | Tickers: RFMD, SWKS, TQNT

    If investors had a magic mirror that could give them the answer to the question "which stock is the perfect stock?", then investing would have been a piece of cake. But, in the Wall Street world it does not work like that. It takes time and effort to find a stock that is worth your money.

    In my quest for a compelling investment opportunity, I stumbled upon Skyworks Solutions (NASDAQ: SWKSmore »)

  • Finding Your Way Through the Wall Street Maze

    By Fani Kelesidou - March 11, 2013 | Tickers: NOV, RAVN, SWKS

    Discovering the next compelling candidate for a stock portfolio is not an easy task to fulfill. The financial world contains an unimaginably large number of data and investing tools. In order to extract wisdom out of them, investors often have to keep their nose to the grindstone. However, stock screeners can take some burden off investors' shoulders and provide them with intriguing investment opportunities in the blink of an eye more »

  • Is Agrium's Stock Worth Owning?

    By Fani Kelesidou - February 26, 2013 | Tickers: AGU, CF, POT, MOS

    Agrium (NYSE: AGU), the global producer, marketer, and distributor of nutrients for agricultural and industrial markets, recently reported financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012. It ended the year with pretty solid numbers, but plunged on news of a recent downgrade from Dahlman Rose. The agriculture stock analyst spoiled the party for Agrium's longtime investors, urging them to get rid of their shares. Is this company still worth more »

  • Oracle's Cash Pile Suggests Long-term Gains

    By Fani Kelesidou - February 25, 2013 | Tickers: IBM, ORCL, SAP

    In a sea of highly leveraged balance sheets, companies that are loaded to the gills with cash are definitely intriguing investments. For most investors, a portfolio dominated by cash-heavy stocks suggests quite a bit of safety, especially when the market is rife with risk.

    With that in mind, I decided to take a closer look at U.S.-based cash-rich firms. With more than $41 billion in total current assets more »

  • Is There Hope for this Struggling Shipper?

    By Fani Kelesidou - February 19, 2013 | Tickers: DRYS, NMM, ORIG

    Back in 2008, DryShips (NASDAQ: DRYS) used to be the crown jewel of the shipping industry. With a fleet size second to none, and a market capitalization greater than $3 billion, DryShips dominated the market and held a special place in investors' hearts.

    Yet over the past five years, the gloomy demand environment within the dry bulk sector nearly sunk the company. As the Baltic Dry Index kept bumping along more »

  • How Safe is This Shipper's Massive Dividend?

    By Fani Kelesidou - February 12, 2013 | Tickers: DSX, DRYS, NMM

    The shipping industry has been depressed for more than four years, causing investor sentiment to deteriorate. Despite early market indicators of an improvement in the dry bulk sector, 2013 is going to be another tough year for ship owners. Against this backdrop, Greek-owned shipping companies managed to remain at the forefront of the industry by controlling over 15% of the world's fleet. Most importantly, the oversupply of vessels and more »

  • What Happens When you Can Shop in your Bathrobe?

    By Fani Kelesidou - February 7, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, BBY, WMT

    Watching this video got me thinking that the retail business as we know it is over. Tesco wooed busy shoppers in South Korea by setting up virtual stores in subway stations. South Koreans can now do their grocery shopping while they are on their way to work. Tesco managed to address modern consumers' needs, and make shopping an effortless experience for them, without spending time and money on building more »

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