|
Jewish World Review June 18, 2001 / 28 Sivan, 5761
James K. Glassman
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
Still, I understand that many of you who may have cash to invest right now are feeling queasy about the economy. You know in your head that it’s foolish to try to time the market, but your gut tells you that the California energy situation will continue to hurt American companies, tech firms in particular. And make no mistake: As long as politicians like California Gov. Gray Davis – not to mention many Democrats, whose party now controls the U.S. Senate -- continue to advocate price controls and government regulation instead of free markets, we could be in for a long, dark summer. So for those who need a reason to save and invest right now, I’ve found three companies that might actually benefit from the blackouts. The first one is American Power Conversion Corp. (APCC). You may have noticed a rectangular white box with a red APC logo somewhere on the floor of your office. It probably looks like a computer component but it actually sits between your computer and the electrical outlet. It’s an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, which gives you time to save your work, log out and safely turn off your computer in the event of a surge or a blackout. American Power Conversion makes such power-protection products for home and small- business users and more industrial-strength energy management products for the largest corporations. At a time when more and more people are wondering if the juice will keep flowing, it’s hard to believe that there won’t be robust demand for APCC’s products. And this company doesn’t need the fear of blackouts to look good. With a P/E ratio of 22 and average annual earnings growth of almost 18 percent over the last five years, American Power Conversion should do just fine, even if Gray Davis comes to his senses and averts the blackouts. Now, let’s really accentuate the negative for a moment. Let’s say that power becomes a chronic problem for California businesses, that various groups block the construction of new power plants and infrastructure, and that increasing demand on the Western power grid creates continuing problems for neighboring states. If I’m running a computer chip company in California and I can’t get dependable power locally for my fabrication plants, I will probably take an even more serious look at hiring the Taiwanese to make my chips. Lots of Silicon Valley companies already outsource their manufacturing, and many of the semiconductor companies rely on a huge “foundry” called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) to make their chips. TSM, whose ADSs (American Depositary Shares) trade on the New York Stock Exchange, increased its sales 40 percent in the most recent quarter, but its price is down by half from its high, mainly because merger costs have hurt the bottom line. The company looks attractive as the manufacturing expenses in the U.S. rise.
Accentuating the positive now, let’s say that the market
responds to our increasing demand for energy, government
expedites the granting of permits, environmentalists don’t put
up too many roadblocks, and lots of new power plants sprout
up around the country. Who benefits from this boom in power
plant construction? General Electric (GE) for one, because it
has a huge power systems division. Actually, I usually grab
any excuse to recommend GE, because I think it’s a wonderful
stock for a long-term investor – brilliantly managed,
consistent in its growth and diversified across various
industries. The fact that GE will get a lot of big-ticket orders
as people create more power generating capacity is just one
more reason to add this star performer to your
06/14/01: The conservation myth stars as latest (sub)urban legend
|