Markets

A Winning Crop for 2007

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, January 2008

Considering the past year's turmoil, our eight picks for 2007 did great. Since we published our choices, the group averaged a total return of 15% (to November 12), while the S&P 500 returned 7%.

Seven of the eight are keepers. The top gainer, with a return of 49%, was Textron, the maker of Cessna aircraft and Bell helicopters. It's on a roll. So are Arch Coal (up 16%) and Cisco Systems (up 14%). AT&T (up 22%) is a repeat choice for '08. Also worth holding are 3M (up 7%) and Johnson & Johnson (off 1%). Annaly Capital Management, a real estate trust that holds only highly rated mortgages, rose 30%. A similar gain is unlikely in 2008, but the stock is worth holding.

Insurance giant American International Group lost 16%. AIG remains a strong company, but financial stocks are mud for now.

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