20 great stocks to buy in 2008 : Rediff.com

20 great stocks to buy in 2008

Stock selection will be the key factor in determining returns in 2008, given concerns of a global slowdown and premium valuations in domestic markets.

Year 2007 saw the market deliver good returns amidst volatility, especially in the second half, thanks to global concerns. The BSE Sensex was up a good 46.6 per cent, helped by strong foreign and domestic inflows.

And what led to these inflows was none other than a strong performance by India Inc. For investors, the moot question is how will 2008 be? The answer is not simple given that none of the global concerns have eased, while the Indian rupee is still firm and India Inc is experiencing a deceleration in growth rates.

"Year 2008 will be difficult globally, although it is not yet known how deep the US downturn will be," says Andrew Holland, managing director -- strategic risk group, DSP Merrill Lynch.
While India's vulnerability to global shocks has been put to test adequately over the past year, the overall macroeconomic growth remained strong owing to infrastructure, capital goods and real estate sectors.

Notably, the story is not likely to be very different in 2008 barring drastic surprises, which means that domestic consumption plays should remain in flavour.
By this logic, the most certain sectors are capital goods, financial services, infrastructure, power, logistics and oil, gas and energy sectors among others. Even among these sectors, not all stocks can be expected to do well, owing to the differences in business models and the individual strengths and weaknesses.

Further, in our selection, we have looked at the fundamentals of companies and their potential to deliver earnings growth of over 20-25 per cent.
But, while growth is a must, valuations too need to be fair, which is why we kept a tab on the price earnings to growth (PEG) ratio. Here, most stocks are trading at a PEG of less than 1 times based on FY09 earnings estimates, which ensures that the price is not exorbitant.
To ease your effort of picking the juiciest fruits from the orchard, we have handpicked a few likely winners of 2008. Read on

More @ http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/dec/31bspec.htm

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Year-end: Top 10 mutual funds in 2007

Year-end: Top 10 mutual funds in 2007
December 31, 2007

Year 2007 has rocked for the mutual fund investors. To begin with, the stock markets have been on an upswing and mutual funds, as a sidekick, have not only kept pace but overtaken the 30-stock benchmark, the BSE Sensex.

This is borne out by the returns churned out by top 10 mutual funds. While the Sensex has returned 56 per cent during the year ending December 13, 2007, the top 10 mutual funds under consideration have outperformed the Sensex by quite a margin.
No, we are not joking. Let the numbers speak for themselves.

The top five mutual funds in this category have more than doubled the investors' money. And the remaining five have given returns of more than 95 per cent for the year ending December 13, 2007.

For simplicity, we have chosen growth-oriented and open-ended mutual funds. Another reason being that investors this year have been chasing growth stories because of the expected bumper returns. And have they been disappointed? Well, the table below will disappoint only if you try to find any bad news!


More @ http://specials.rediff.com/yearend/2007/dec/31yrtopmf1.htm


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