TopForeignStocks.com

Banco Itau (ITU) is to split its stock June 9,2008 on a ratio of 5:4.

Stock Info:
Ticker: ITU
Country: Brazil
Sector: Banking
Current Share Price: $30.71 (All data as of May 30th)
Dividend Yield : 1.98%
Dividend Paid : Monthly

$10K invested 5 years ago: Now worth $95,307 (based on S&P Stock Report)

Split Details:
Record Date: June 4, 2008
Payable Date: June 9, 2008
Split Ex-Date: June 10, 2008

Multi Year ITU Performance Chart:

As seen from the chart above, the previous split was last year in October at a ratio of 2:1. Post-split, the stock was at 27.64.Now it is at $30.71. Not a significant increase in price since split.So it seems like the split is done now to offer more liquidity as the demand for all Brazilian stocks have gone up dramtically in recent months. This is due to the robust growth of the Brazilian economy.Folks looking for good returns are willing to take more risk of investing in emerging economies like Brazil, China, India, etc.

In the latest edition of his Blue Chip Growth Letter (a newsletter), Louis Navellier has said that Brazilian bank stocks are to go “ballistic” due to the heavy demand from pension funds and Arab investors.

From corporate site:
“Louis Navellier has one of the most exceptional long-term track records of any financial newsletter editor in America.According to The Hulbert Financial Digest, in the nine years from the beginning of 1998 to the end of 2006, the Blue Chip Growth Buy List has returned over 188.3%, which is nearly three times better than the Standard & Poor’s 500.”

ITU started this year from $25.86 and now has reached 30.71. Thats a growth of about 19%. Also trading volume has increased considerably since Jan 2007.

written by David

In this year’s Eurovision song contest, Sirusho represented her country Armenia with the song “Qele Qele“. It is a great song. You can watch the video by clicking on the YouTube link below:

Dima Bilan who represented Russia won the Eurovision 2008 contest.
You can watch the full 3 hour+ finals by clicking on the Eurovision.TV site. (Note: You have to download and install the Octoshape streaming plugin)

written by David

Checkout:

1. Why the Global Housing Market Boom Bypassed Germany
2. What is happening to Spanish property?
3. Property fears grow as house prices dive
4. Portugal Now Accessible With New NETS ETF
5. iShares Austria: Exposure to Rapid Growth in Post-Communist Europe

written by David

E.ON held its AGM in Essen on April 20,2008. In this meeting the board proposed to:

1.Increase dividend by 22%
2.Split EON stock at the ratio of 3:1

The record date for the stock split has NOT been announced yet.

EON shares performed very well last year beating the DAX and the European Utilities Index.EON stock grew by 42% in 2007.

From Reuters:
“Shares in German utility E.ON are up 2.3 percent, outperforming Frankfurt’s top-30 DAX index after the group’s 2007 results beat expectations.

Investors also cheer E.ON’s higher than expected dividend — 4.10 euros per share — and a share split, traders say. “Key figures for 2007 were above our estimates and above consensus estimates,” DZ Bank analyst Mario Kristl says in a note.

“We see E.ON still on track. Due to the high power prices throughout Europe the company should continue to reach significant operating increase rates,” says Kristl, who rates the stock “buy” with a fair value of 155 euros.”

For more details goto:

1. EON IR site
2. Eurex EON AG stock split circular: eon-ag-stock-split.pdf

written by David

The latest issue of BusinessWeek has the Euro 50 list for this year. This list represents the top 50 European companies based on many factors such as profitability, sales growth,innovation, etc. These were picked from the S&P Europe 350 constituents which represent 350 of the big firms in Europe.

Out of this top 50 list, only 19 of them are available in the US as depository receipts for US investors. The table below lists those stocks:

More info can be found here

written by David