Parsing The Recent Bad News: Financials Are Undervalued

Rougemont submits: The markets have been awash in negative news and have been declining every week for the past five. This has made some stocks that were already cheap before the recent market correction even cheaper. These stocks have been basically left for dead. Many investors have basically given up any hope on these companies, even though this might be the best time to buy them. These shares have reasonable PE ratios, most have strong balance sheets and most of them are oversold.

Philip Mause submits: I think it was Warren Buffett who said that in the long term the market is a weighing mechanism but in the short term the market is a voting mechanism. Sometimes, the investment community just doesn't bond with a company or a CEO and the market as a "voting mechanism" produces a horrible drubbing at the polls.

By BubbleBustInvesting:Those who have been expecting Apple (AAPL) to announce a dividend payout or a stock buyback in its Thursday shareholder meeting to enhance shareholder value must have been disappointed. But do dividend payouts and stock buybacks enhance shareholder value?

Jason Schwarz submits:It’s nice to be prepared. 68% cash and 5% QQQQ puts make a day like yesterday very productive as we patiently wait to buy the Apple (AAPL) August low. Where have we seen this movie before?

By Brian Nichols:Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) crushed expectations with its most recent earnings report. Investors are now expecting a run-up in shares of the undervalued company along with several upgrades over the next few week. ALU traded higher by 13% on Friday making its year-to-date gain 40%.

French elections are done in two rounds. The top two candidates by popular vote square off in round two. Things do not look good for French president Nicolas Sarkozy, especially for round two. However, he may not make it that far.

Charles Payne submits: It was once the most valuable company in the world. The thing is the company didn't sell whale oil or make typewriters. No, Cisco (CSCO) makes the stuff that makes the Internet work.