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Jewish World Review June 18, 2001 / 28 Sivan, 5761

James K. Glassman

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Consumer Reports

The Blackout Portfolio

http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
THERE are some encouraging signs that energy prices are headed down during the next several months, and readers of this column know that I’m an incorrigible optimist about the long-term health of the U.S. economy. That’s one reason why I think you should ignore quarterly economic data and tune out daily market news. The ups and downs will happen, and there’s no need to react to each little hiccup in the economy. All you have to do is remember that stocks tend to appreciate and increase their dividends over time, buy a diverse group of stocks, and then leave them alone.

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 portfolio.


JWR contributor James K. Glassman is the host of Tech Central Station. Comment by clicking here.

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