Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Are all debt-laden companies bad?

Rumors of the death of the bear market may be greatly exaggerated but that isn't stopping anyone from bottom fishing. From CNBC's Jim Cramer to MSN's Jim Jubak, financial bobble heads are advising their flock to start buying and offering their thoughts on what to buy and what not to buy.

At the top of nearly everyones Do Not Buy List are companies that have loaded up on debt. You'd think that would be a no-brainer but according to a CNBC guest contributor that appeared on the network several days ago (Friday?), the stocks that have been performing the best have been exactly those unloved debt-laden companies while the worst performers have been those touted by analysts and other Wall Street pundits. (I was on the CNBC site and couldn't locate the clip, alas.)

I know this logic sounds completely upside-down. It could be that the cash acquired from taking on debt is allowing companies to function during this time so that when the economy does start to recover, they'll be well-positioned to take advantage of it.

I'd look into it if I had more time today,but I'm off to visit my programmer and work on my website. Maybe tomorrow...

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