Portfolio underperformance is often not a function of owning too few winners, but of owning too many losing stocks. In this demonstration, Tim Gaumer, Director of Fundamental Research at Thomson Reuters, shows how predictive analysis can be applied to your research process to reduce the number of potential problems on the long side and for [...]

Hanesbrands struggled when cotton prices spiked dramatically a little over a year ago; now that they have come back to earth, the company appears to be reaping the benefits of its efforts to improve operating efficiency as well as the lower raw materials costs, in the shape of what may be higher profits and appear [...]

From Warren Buffet to Sir John Templeton, the concept of value investing — finding equities that represent bargains — has been around for decades. But could this idea be used to group stocks according to country? A recent Thomson Reuters StarMine study suggests that the value approach may help identify nations that are attractive for [...]

The selloff in Apple’s stock has weighed on the S&P 500 and left many investors flummoxed, given the apparent success of its latest range of products. What’s afoot – has Apple become overvalued? or has it now become a value stock? If someone out there presented an award for the company that generates the most [...]

Despite Europe’s economic plight, Michelin (MICP PA) is seeing its margins improve thanks to the combination of stronger international demand and lower commodity costs, all of which adds up to an improved earnings forecast. In the same way that reviewers dole out stars to top eateries in Michelin’s eponymous guidebooks, leading financial analysts are scrutinizing [...]

Plagued by a costly fleet expansion and industry overcapacity, Bourbon’s earnings are flagging even as its balance sheet comes under pressure, making shares look like anything but a safe harbor. French marine services company Bourbon SA (GPBN.PA) may not be about to run aground any time soon, but it is becoming increasingly clear that overcapacity [...]

Europe may be out of favor; copper prices may be in the doldrums. But beware of judging individual companies prematurely: one of the companies in Europe most likely to see a positive earnings surprise for 2012 is a Polish copper mining company, KGHM Polska Miedz SA. (KGHPF.PK). While investors these days may be tempted to [...]

Mortgage approval rates are up in Britain – and premier homebuilder Berkeley Group Holdings PLC is one of those likely to see that improvement reflected in better-than-expected 2012 earnings. The flow of positive news from the homebuilding industry in the United Kingdom just keeps on coming, even as the country’s broader economy continues to suffer [...]

The European economic crisis is claiming another victim, as analysts slash their earnings forecasts for struggling German truck manufacturer MAN SE (MANG.DE). Among those companies being hit by Europe’s ongoing economic woes, truck manufacturer MAN SE (MANG.DE) is a standout – for all the wrong reasons. While its controlling shareholder, Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), has benefitted [...]

Chinese authorities insist that the country is on track to generate 2012 GDP growth of 7.6%. But here are four reasons why those official figures may mask a more uncomfortable picture of the country’s real economic growth rate. Skepticism about the reliability of official economic data reported by the Chinese government has been a given, [...]