The markets are once again down today, although not by much, but I'm concerned by the fact that the financial stocks are not performing well today. Citigroup released their earnings this morning, and while they beat analysts expectations (on profit margin and net income), the stock is barely up on the day. Investors are weary of how well corporate earnings are going to look like over the next several weeks. On top of that, Ben Bernanke the Chairman of the Federal Reserve (and a native South Carolinian) is speaking on Capitol Hill tomorrow and many are fearful that he is going to signal that the Fed sees the economic expansion we've seen slowing.
In doing some research as I'm always looking for new investment ideas where I can make some money, I've come across a new stock that I find to be extremely attractive. Oaktree Capital, which is a money management firm, is priced at an extremely cheap valuation and represents (in my opinion) a good place to park some money. The company is in great financial shape and is seeing their business grow as they do a great job of managing money in the markets for their clients. On top of their profitable business, the company pays its shareholders a 6.5% dividend yield, which is extremely high. I haven't bought any stock yet but I'm moving towards doing so. The stock is priced at $35.40/share and when I start to pick up shares I will do so in a slow manner because the economic and stock market environment continues to be murky.
