As financial markets and governments worldwide hope for a brighter year, one big country's troubles threaten to send the global economy tumbling into a deeper hole.
| Index | 3-month | 1-year | 3-year | 5-year | From Inception* | Avg. Annual Return* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | -19.8% | -15.1% | 25.8% | 140.8% | 300.4% | 13.4% |
| Nasdaq | -9.2% | -22.9% | -8% | 11% | 46% | 4.2% |
| S&P | -9.0% | -23.7% | -10% | 7% | 33% | 3.2% |
| Dow | -4.4% | -21.9% | -2% | 26% | 58% | 3.5% |
Here’s what readers have to say:
Totals through Sept. 30, 2008. Chart updated quarterly. Last portfolio update: Oct. 6, 2008. You can track how the individual stocks are doing here. *Jim Jubak launched this portfolio on May 7, 1997. Average annual return is the annual average compound rate of return for the portfolio calculated from inception.
Please note that Jubak's Picks recommendations are for a 12- to 18-month time horizon. For suggestions to help navigate the treacherous interest-rate environment see Jim's Dividend stocks for income investors. For picks with a truly long-term perspective, see Jubak's 50 best stocks in the world or Future Fantastic 50 Portfolio.
| Name | Symbol | Pick / Drop | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exxon Mobil Corp | XOM | Pick | 12/23/2008 |
| JP Morgan Chase ADR Rep 1/4 Share of 5.49% Cumulative Pref S | JPM-G | Pick | 12/9/2008 |
| ONEOK PARTNERS LP | OKS | Pick | 10/7/2008 |
| Devon Energy Corp | DVN | Drop | 12/23/2008 |
| Ultra Petroleum Corp | UPL | Drop | 12/23/2008 |
| Itron Inc | ITRI | Drop | 12/19/2008 |
Jim Jubak is senior markets editor for MSN Money. Previously, he served as senior financial editor at Worth magazine and as editor of Venture magazine. Jubak was a Bagehot Business Journalism Fellow at Columbia University and has written two books: "The Worth Guide to Electronic Investing" and "In the Image of the Brain: Breaking the Barrier Between the Human Mind and Intelligent Machines." As an investor, he says he believes the conventional wisdom is always wrong -- but that he will nonetheless go with the herd if he believes there's a profit to be made. Jubak's Journal appears on MSN Money every Tuesday and Friday. He lives in New York.
A January 2008 independent study by Nielsen NetRatings found more than 1 million people like you look to Jim for advice and commentary. That's nine times as many as any other investment columnist on the Web.
