Some Businesses Well-Positioned for Recession
By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Business
We have a saying here in Texas: it’s an ill wind that don’t blow nobody no good.
In the current recession, good is blowing towards businesses that are positioned to absorb the shifting spending habits of consumers. Businesses like General Mills and ConAgra Foods which both posted higher than expected profits.
ConAgra, which makes Banquet frozen dinners and General Mills, which makes such products as Hamburger Helper, Cheerios, Progresso Soup and others, have benefited from consumers who are eating out less and want easy ways to eat at home.
Similarly, Wal-Mart has managed to post profits thanks to its obsessive focus on lower costs.
We might be willing to forgo our electronics, but we still have to eat and wear clothing and clean our homes. If I had any money to invest, I’d be looking at those businesses which provide necessities at affordable prices.
Even in a recession, you can make a buck.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 17th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Alan,
You have money to invest by simply selling what you own and raise new cash. Of course, that goes against the grain and would mean selling low, which is especially painful if you bought that same stock when it was high, which unfortunately is what happens TOO OFTEN. The simplest things in life often prove the hardest to do; buy low and sell high sounds the most simple of all.
Of course you can also double down on a stock that you know SOMEDAY will come back and lower your average cost basis which is what I usually end up doing. With today’s stock prices, that often amounts to cutting your average cost per share in half or less! That’s not too bad :-)
December 17th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Don’t forget the recession proof businesses of “reposession”, saloon owner, used cars, consignment shop, dope dealer……………