My Investing Notebook :: Learning from the pros; making decisions on my own. ::

With the recent pullback, the technology sector is reasonably priced. , the Nadaq ETF looks like a good buy to me.

Telecommunications looks good as well. It’s a good player in a slowing economy. Why? It’s considered a defensive sector and with industry consolidation, it looks for a comeback after a multi-year pullback. iShares Dow Jones US Telecom () looks like a good buy.

ReferenceTelecom ETFs at Yahoo.com

Technology ETFs at Yahoo.com

The latest S&P Outlook had some good recommendations. I found their reasoning for the Industrial sector convincing. I also think that Emerging markets will have a lot of infrastructure buildup. A good way to be exposed to that is the Select Industrials (symbol ). Jacobs Engineering (; 5/5 stars) might be a good stock in that category, but I think it’s better to get less risk from the ETF.

Some other good stocks on my list, and Fiserv (). FISV is timely (2/5 according to VL, lower the better) and has a projected three to five year annual increase of 17-29%.

Paychex (), timely stock (1/5). (Not so sure after today’s job market report. )

Radio One () holds promise for me. I held it for couple months. It did not move so I sold it. It is on the bottom right now. It has a neutral timeliness and neutral safety, but has a staggering 3 to 5 year stock growth: 42-60% per year! — according to Value Line.

I am a big fan of dividend paying stocks. Especially now, when the economy is slowing. Why? Because the interest rate increases will take its toll on the economy, causing it to slow in the coming years. The housing market will also be a drag on the economy. In that scenario, quality stocks will be good to hold. I like stocks that have a record of increasing their dividends year over year.

In the latest issue of Kiplinger’s magazine, there are two such dividend-increasing ETFs.IShares Dow Jones Select Divident Index ( (DVY))”It holds 114 of the highest-yielding US stocks (excluding real estate trusts). Dividends must have risen in each of the past five years; no more than 60% of earnings are paid as dividents; and the stock is sufficiently liguid.”

SPDR Dividend ETF ( (SDY))”Invests in 50 highest-yielding companies in the S&P Composite 1500 that have consistently raised their payouts for at least 25 years.”

I like SDY better, I’m looking to make room in my portfolio for it.

Goldman Sachs ( (GS))It is a very good company. It has the highest timing rating and a highest safety rating in the Value Line.

Kraft ( (KFT))Stable company. The year ahead does not look too enticing, but after that, in 3-5 year range the stock should grow fast, 3-5 year outlook: 15-20% peryear, as per Value Line.

Consol Energy ( (CNX))I think coal industry looks interesting. Consol is one of the safest bets. Value Line gives it a above average (2) timeliness and it’s average safety. 3-5: 7-16% per year.

Peabody Energy ( (BTU))It’s also a coal player. It’s the biggest private coal company. It has the highest timeliness and considered average in safety, according to Value Line. Three to five year: 12-23% yearly.

United Technologies ( (UTX))It was featured on Barrons. I like United. It’s a stable company. Barron’s thinks that it has years of good growth ahead.

I believe housing will slow down in the next couple of years. Is it a good time to sell some housing stocks “short?” I think so, I think I might sell short D.R. Horton (DHI)   » largest builder. S&P just downgraded it. The stock is at $33, already down from above $40, but I think it can go down a lot more.

D.R. Horton is the largest builder in the country, we believe many of its operating regions are being impacted.