Here's some good news for those interested in companies that do good: According to a recent Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) report, "companies that are considered leaders in environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies are also leading the pack in stock performance -- by an average of 25%." It also found that nearly three-quarters of the companies that made its list outperformed their industry peers.
At least, that's how many hits I got when I Googled the phrase "credit repair secrets." Most of these, as far as I could tell, offered e-books or services promising quick solutions to bad credit problems. Many hinted at "secrets" that the credit bureaus "don't want you to know." As if Experian and Equifax (NYSE: EFX) actually delight in lousy credit ratings! (They don't care either way, as far as I know -- they just try to be accurate.) Many of the services seemed like the kind that Fool Dayana Yochim wrote about a couple of years back -- high-fee, aggressively sold "debt consolidation" services that might or might not end up helping your credit rating.
At least, that's how many hits I got when I Googled the phrase "credit repair secrets." Most of these, as far as I could tell, offered e-books or services promising quick solutions to bad credit problems. Many hinted at "secrets" that the credit bureaus "don't want you to know." As if Experian and Equifax (NYSE: EFX) actually delight in lousy credit ratings! (They don't care either way, as far as I know -- they just try to be accurate.) Many of the services seemed like the kind that Fool Dayana Yochim wrote about a couple of years back -- high-fee, aggressively sold "debt consolidation" services that might or might not end up helping your credit rating.
BladeLogic (Nasdaq: BLOG) and Voltaire (Nasdaq: VOLT) build technologies for data centers, and both had their IPOs last week. But that's where the similarities end. While BladeLogic's offering surged, things were mostly awful for Voltaire's debut. The company priced its IPO at $9, raising only $48.2 million, and the stock price dropped to $8.40.
Riddle me this, savvy investor: When is good news actually bad?
By way of an answer, consider the likes of Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), Costco , Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT). Each of these companies sports a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) exceeding that of the S&P 500. For the 12 months through Thursday's market close, though, they've all lagged the S&P in terms of stock price performance. The same is true of News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), Sysco (NYSE: SYY), and Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX).
