In This Issue:
Why Does Toolkit 6 Project 0% EPS Growth for a Company?
by Doug Gerlach
The default judgment function we deployed in Toolkit 6 makes quick work of completing a preliminary stock study. But sometimes the program doesn't project any future growth for what at first glance are growth stocks. Why does this happen?
A Toolkit 6 user recently wrote to me and asked about the program's default judgment growth rate projections for two very established companies: Johnson & Johnson and Amgen, Inc. Toolkit 6 projects future growth of sales and EPS at 0% for both of these companies, yet both have positive 10-year growth for both sales and earnings.
Let's take a closer look at both companies with a couple of pictures to help illustrate why Toolkit 6 balks at making a growth projection.
Read more
Important Information for All Investment Clubs
We interrupt this issue of the ICLUB Insider with an important reminder: Tax Time is coming!
Fortunately, you can get all the information you need about preparing your club tax returns with ICLUBcentral's Club Tax Printers, and place your pre-order soon in order to take advantage of early bird pricing. Please contact ICLUBcentral Support online or by phone at 1-877-33-ICLUB with any questions you may have.
We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.
Join the Club!
by Amy Rauch Neilson
That consumers changed their spending habits during the most brutal financial downturn since the Great Depression is no surprise. Necessity often breeds creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
That the change looks like it's no longer a short-term reaction to hard times, but a long-term change in consumer behavior — that is a surprise. It seems that, even post-recession ("official" reports say we're about a year into the economic recovery), consumers are sticking with this new way of conducting their financial lives. And, as surprises go, I'm all in — both as a financial writer, and as a consumer.
Large scale, it means consumers are engaging in an overall trend toward spending less and searching more diligently for value, as well as making other reported lifestyle changes, including, for example, a preference for homemade soup and lazy afternoons over weekend shopping sprees.
Personally, we've made changes in our household that can only bode well for our future. Perhaps the one with the biggest impact came earlier this year, when we turned in our automotive leases and found vehicles we could pay cash for.
A friend stopped by a couple of weeks after I'd turned in my spiffy black Ford Edge. She looked at its replacement — a beautiful, but older car without all the bells and whistles — and said, "Boy, I bet you really miss that Edge."
"I sure don't," I said.
And I was telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I don't miss the monthly payment — or the higher insurance premium. I also don’t miss being obsessed with the odometer — and the fear that I might go over the miles specified in the lease agreement.
The best part? A savings of several hundred dollars a month. And saving is the first step toward the ability to invest even more in our future.
Read more
StockCentral Data Service Improvements Coming
On December 15, 2010, the fundamental stock data that drives our StockCentral website will be enhanced. Here is an overview of what to expect from the improvements.
ICLUBcentral's parent company, BetterInvesting, has signed a new agreement with Morningstar for both BetterInvesting and ICLUBcentral. Morningstar data will continue to be used within the ICLUB.com, myICLUB.com, and StockCentral.com websites as well as be available as a data source for Toolkit 6 and other approved uses in software products.
However, Morningstar has improved their data delivery system, which means that StockCentral users will see some differences. The sector and industry data will be updated to Morningstar's new sector and industry classification system. Analysts' EPS estimates will also be added to the data source. Also, the new Morningstar distribution platform will result in more timely updates to quarterly and annual data in the StockCentral data service.
The best news is that these changes will not require subscribers to make any adjustments to their Toolkit 6 or other software programs. If you have questions, please visit the StockCentral Toolshed Forum.
|