Investing Daily

Going forward, energy insurers should enjoy higher premiums as operators seek to bulk up coverage, and models price in substantial risks.

We put every stock we consider through a simple, four-step screen. We look for companies whose businesses we understand and then evaluate the relative strength of their balance sheet, free cash flow, return on capital and competitive position. Management also comes under our lens; we look for capable management teams that usually make decisions with shareholders’ best interests in mind.

This fund manager is bearish on most banks, but bullish on deep value. We find out why.

This fund flies like a vulture.

The best funds often fly below the radar. This fund manager may not make regular appearances on the big financial networks, but his fund's performance speaks for itself.

Last year's market meltdown taught a number of painful lessons to investors, including the importance of prudent and sustainable growth. This seasoned fund manager seeks undervalued companies with solid if not necessarily spectacular growth prospects and holds them for the long term.

We're looking for a few good banks.

Companies cutting back expends spells opportunity for this customer service firm.

This small shop has ample talent.

We talk to Kevin O'Brien, co-manager of Prospector Opportunity (POPFX), and learn what two hard-hit sectors offer attractive values.

In a year when the Dow Jones Utility Average fell more than 30 percent and the S&P 500 sank nearly 40 percent, Southern Company finished 2008 even. That’s thanks to conservative finances, constructive regulatory relations, solid assets and growth-focused but risk-averse management.

Following the lessons of his mentor and eventual business partner Ben Graham, a professor at Columbia University and author of the seminal text Securities Analysis, Warren Buffett brought so-called value investing to the fore of the public consciousness as his astute investments brought him considerable fame and fortune.

The August issue featured the “Great Eight” limited partnerships (LP) in the UF portfolios as fabulously undervalued bargains. Since then, financial crisis-related selling has pushed their average yield from 8.5 percent to 10.3 percent. That’s despite dividend increases at seven and a major cash flow boosting acquisition at the eighth.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite continue to roil, prompting many investors to throw the baby out with the bathwater. But as panicked investors sell off solid companies, we can benefit by identifying solid long-term opportunities.

Insurers of all stripes have long been favorites for investors. Years of accumulated actuarial data, such as life expectancies and mortality rates, allowed insurers to generate predictable cash flows with little risk.

Debt phobia: In a nutshell, that’s why investors continue to dump their limited partnerships (LP) in the face of robust distribution growth, steady credit ratings and the likelihood of more in 2008, despite the US recession.

When is a 94,000 basic line loss more important than a 1.329 million overall customer gain, or consensus-smashing 14 percent revenue and 19 percent fourth quarter cash flow growth?

Energy Transfer Partners shares have been dogged since last summer, when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) charged it with manipulating markets following 2005 hurricanes.

Dodging taxes alone is never a good reason to buy anything. It’s different, however, when the benefits are attached to a solid business such as Atlantic Power Corp.