Monkey swings with stocks
THE CURIOUS INVESTOR | As year hits halfway point, our furry stock picker is also in midstream, but he's noted for late rallies
Summertime and the living is easy, but not for Mr. Adam Monk, the Sun-Times' stock-picking monkey. He's busy with the markets and with various enterprises, and it's time to catch up with him with the year half over.
Mr. Monk oversees our Monkey Manager contest in which we tally reader stock picks and award a prize to the person whose stock shows the greatest percentage price appreciation for the year. This year's prize is fabulous: a seven-night trip for two to Gran Bahia Principe Tulum in Riviera Maya, Mexico, courtesy of Apple Vacations.
Mr. Monk oversees our Monkey Manager contest in which we tally reader stock picks and award a prize to the person whose stock shows the greatest percentage price appreciation for the year. This year's prize is fabulous: a seven-night trip for two to Gran Bahia Principe Tulum in Riviera Maya, Mexico, courtesy of Apple Vacations.
Our reader standings are listed with this story, along with Mr. Monk's stock portfolio. Our cebus monkey, resident of Animal Rentals Inc., 5742 W. Grand, has beaten the market for four years running. So far this year, he's even with the major indexes. His five stocks are up 6.2 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial average closed the second quarter with a 7.6 percent gain for 2007. The comparative numbers for the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite index are 6 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.
(Sun-Times file)
Our reader standings are listed with this story, along with Mr. Monk's stock portfolio. Our cebus monkey, resident of Animal Rentals Inc., 5742 W. Grand, has beaten the market for four years running. So far this year, he's even with the major indexes. His five stocks are up 6.2 percent, while the Dow Jones industrial average closed the second quarter with a 7.6 percent gain for 2007. The comparative numbers for the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite index are 6 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.
Frankly, Mr. Monk's numbers have flattened. But he's known for rallies late in the year. Also, our monkey is an absolute bull in his outlook, if one can be a bull with a prehensile tail.
His investment insight and remarkable communication skills continue to bring him acclaim. In recent weeks, he has received media attention from outlets in Canada and Germany (no lie!). His worldly wise perspective is in high demand, and inquiries directed to him frequently land in Curious Investor's inboxes. So I thought I'd pose the more interesting questions to Mr. Monk and transcribe his answers.
The transcription is necessary because, as we know, if you turn a monkey loose on a keyboard it would take maybe 100 million years before you get something useable. Now, to the questions:
Q: Oprah's opening a store. When will you open a store? --Dr. Phil
MR. MONK: There's time enough for that. Donald Trump has plenty of space to fill in that monument he's building along the river. I figure that if I wait him out, he'll get more flexible on the lease terms. He started out aiming for Gucci and Tiffany, and he'll be glad for Claire's and Trinkets N Things.
Q: What stocks are you recommending these days? --Tommy McGillicuddy, Bridgeport
MR. MONK: I like companies that own apartments because the victims of the subprime mortgage shakeout have to live somewhere. I still like energy because we can't get enough of it. In time, the pressure from high gas prices will overwhelm the politics of the greenies and we'll be drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge like nobody's business.
I also buy defense stocks. Did you notice that Vladimir Putin of Russia is claiming ownership of the North Pole and its vast natural resources? Them's fighting words! Just as we're going to wind down in Iraq, along comes a perfect excuse to revive the Cold War. When in doubt as an investor, trust the military-industrial complex!
Q: I don't like the way those Chinese bureaucrats are starting to admire my facilities over there. Could there be a downside to investing with Communists? Those who poison us could nationalize our property! And then there's India, where the people are making dangerous noises about worker rights and dignity. They want dignity, when I can't even understand my own help desk when I call over there.
So Mr. Monk, where is the next hot spot in the world for really cheap labor? I have stock options expiring soon and could use a quick answer. --W. Miles Fitzhugh III, chairman, Federated Consolidated Enterprises
MR. MONK: The next generation of sweatshops will be in Mexico. This will surprise many people, because Mexico and NAFTA are pretty much where this moveable labor stuff started, but trust me on this. It'll be in the next immigration bill before Congress. Our companies create jobs in Mexico and they get tax benefits galore! Immigration problem solved!
Q: What is your stance on the most vital issue of our day? I am speaking of Rupert Murdoch buying the Wall Street Journal, or are you media types conspiring to keep silent on this threat to our culture? --Wilma Bluenose, North Shore
MR. MONK: When Murdoch briefly owned the Sun-Times in the 1980s, thousands of people canceled subscriptions in disgust. Now, people watch his movies and his TV networks without a peep. Murdoch hasn't changed. Our standards have.
If Murdoch tries to make the Journal a think-tank for Fox News, though, it'll be a ratings disaster. Facts on Fox are no fun.
Q: My credit reeks. Can you help? --Happy Welsher, Albany Park
MR. MONK: Do I look like Suze Orman? Tell the bank you are opening a payday loan business. Then ask for money. They won't loan to you, but they will loan to people who loan to the likes of you. Preserves deniability, just like the mobsters do.
... and here are the top 10 picks so far from Sun-Times readers (full standings are at suntimes.com):
| Company | Ticker | Business | Friday close | 2007 % chg. | Comment |
| Onyx Pharmaceuticals | ONXX | Cancer therapies | 26.90 | +154.3 | Buyout talk swells price submitted by Robert Boyd of Woodstock |
| Premier Exhibitions | PRXI | Shows artifacts from Titanic | 15.76 | +152.2 | An unsinkable stock? submitted by Kevin Klaty of Oconomowoc, Wis., and Dave Rosene of Wilmette |
| AeroCentury | ACY | Aircraft leasing | 15.39 | +138.2 | Small company, big profit growth submitted by Tom Obmascik of Downers Grove and Jerome Maurer of Berwyn |
| Western Refining | WNR | Crude oil refining | 57.80 | +127.0 | Completes $1.1 billion acquisition submitted by Heinz Schelhammer of Park Ridge |
| LionOre Mining | LMGGF | Mines for gold, nickel | 25.87 | +127.0 | Selling out for $6.4 billion submitted by Harold Slotta of Des Plaines |
| AK Steel Holdings | AKS | Steel producer | 37.37 | +121.1 | Shares rise on takeover talk submitted by Sherry Siezega of Tinley Park |
| China Eastern Airlines | CEA | Passenger, cargo service | 48.05 | +120.6 | Sells stake to Singapore Air submitted by Annette Lamon of River Forest |
| Cleveland Biolabs | CBLI | Cancer and radiation drugs | 10.96 | +117.5 | May get $200 million federal pact submitted by Beverly Murphy of Woodridge, Mary Chaput of Park Ridge, Dennis Rybarczyk of Park Ridge (2005 champ), Kathy Obmascik of Oak Brook, John Carr of Rosemont and David Cassorla of Chicago |
| Smith & Wollensky | SWRG | Steakhouse chain | 10.94 | +114.9 | Going private for $94.6 million submitted by Mary Rybarczyk of Park Ridge and Robert Chadwick of Elmwood Park |
| Rio Vista Energy | RVEP | Liquefied petroleum | 10.72 | +106.5 | Right time for this sector submitted by David Wisz of Lockport |
| Company | Ticker | Business | Friday close | 2007 % chg. | Comment |
| Cygne Designs | CYDS | Women's clothes | $1.76 | -47.3 | Sales to department stores falling |
| Fresh Del Monte Produce | FDP | Fresh fruits and veggies | 25.05 | +68.0 | Grower weeds out high costs |
| West Pharmaceutical Services | WST | Health care packaging, testing | 47.15 | -8.0 | Weak dollar lifts profits |
| American Medical System Holdings | AMMD | Urological disorder devices | 18.04 | -48.0 | Feds OK prostate treatment |
| Market 200 HLDRS | MKH | Shares of 50 large caps | 65.75 | +6.5 | Big-caps due for comeback? |
Total portfolio performance (assuming 100 shares of each company were bought at the end of 2006): up 6.2 percent