What a difference a day makes!
The market took off to the upside after the Federal Reserve announced a "$200 billion Term Securities Lending Facility" which will assist banks and financial firms to "liquify" their mortgage-backed securities. These securities have been one of the problems facing the financial world. As reported yesterday:
"In recent days some large private funds that had bought mortgage-backed securities with borrowed money said their lenders were demanding that the funds put up more capital to cover the declining value of the securities. Such "margin calls" can force funds to dump securities they hold, in turn driving markets lower.
Carlyle Capital, a $21-billion-asset mortgage securities fund that was hit with margin calls last week, said Monday that it was continuing to talk to its lenders about forbearance.
After regular trading ended Monday, MFA Mortgage Investments, a New York-based fund, said it had sold $1 billion in mortgage-backed securities since Friday to pare back its use of borrowed money."
After the Fed move, markets responded and moved higher with the Dow closing at 12,156.81, up 416.66 and the Nasdaq up 86.42 to 2,255.76, and the S&P 500 closing at 1,320.65 (3/11/08).
With this broad-based rally, it wasn't hard to find a stock 'to like' today that fits my own investment philosophy. In fact, I noticed that an 'old name' Inter Parfums (IPAR) had made the
list of top % gainers on the Nasdaq today, closing at $19.65, up $3.37 or 20.70% on the day. I do not own any shares or options on this equity. However, I do write 'old name' because I first posted Inter Parfums (IPAR) on Stock Picks Bob's Advice back on October 6, 2003, about 4 1/2 years ago! At that time, IPAR was trading at $10.98. Based on today's closing price of $19.65, this represents an appreciation of $8.67 or 79.0% since posting.
Let's take a closer look at IPAR and I shall explain why
INTER PARFUMS (IPAR) IS RATED A BUY
First of all what exactly does this company do?
According to the Yahoo "Profile" on Inter Parfums, the company
"...along with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes fragrances and fragrance-related products in Europe and the United States. It produces and distributes prestige fragrance products under various brands, which include Burberry, Lanvin, Paul Smith, S.T. Dupont, Christian Lacroix, Quiksilver/Roxy, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Nickel. The company markets fragrance products, cosmetics, and skin care products primarily under license agreements with brand owners.
