Skip navigation
Watchlist Sponsored By :


Current DateTime: 10:41:21 10 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33482595

Current DateTime: 10:41:21 10 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24355697

FEATURED QUIZZES


Current DateTime: 10:41:21 10 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 33793611

Current DateTime: 10:41:21 10 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 24890560
  • Winterizing Your Portfolio

      If 2009 was the winter of our discontent, will 2010 be a winter wonderland for investors? A lot depends on the recovery—or lack thereof.

  • Investor's Guide to Real Estate

      Some even say the long-awaited recovery is here. Regardless, buyers and sellers alike can profit from our guide.

  • Alternative Investing

      Stocks and bonds? Sure. But it's a big world out there for investors.

powered by digg
By: Andrew Fisher | 27 Feb 2008 | 08:01 AM ET
Text Size

Harbor Advisory's chief investment officer Jack DeGan has no doubts that these are challenging
CNBC.com

times.

"If we don't get a recession out of the worst credit crunch we've had since the Depression, the worst housing crash since the Depression, and a tremendous oil shock, then we'll probably never get another one," he told CNBC.

So are we in a recession now?

Picks and Pans

"I think if you believe you're in a recession, as Joe [Kernen] said to me a while back, you want to not own anything with a ticker symbol, just about," he said.

DeGan has some advice for those who think otherwise.

He's got some tough stocks to ride out the rough weather with.

"If you believe the manufacturing sector is going to be strong, things I think you should own there are Caterpillar [CAT  Loading...      ()   ], General Electric [GE  Loading...      ()   ],, Boeing [BA  Loading...      ()   ], Emerson Electric [EMR  Loading...      ()   ]," he said. "The reason is, they all get more than half of their sales from outside the U.S.; they're well-managed companies, strong balance sheets; they're levered to the international infrastructure build-out, you're probably safe there."

General Electric is the parent company of CNBC.com.

DeGan is especially cautious about consumer-related stocks, but he has some choices there, too: Google [GOOG  Loading...      ()   ], American Express [AXP  Loading...      ()   ], and Hewlett Packard [HPQ  Loading...      ()   ].

"If you believe the consumer's going to make it through this, these three stocks are some that I would own," he said. "We started buying Google...because we think the secular trend of advertising from offline to online is going to be around for a long time."

And what about the so-called "recession-proof" stocks?

"Those are the stocks that we like...things like Procter and Gamble [PG  Loading...      ()   ],  Pepsi [PEP  Loading...      ()   ], and Johnson and Johnson [JNJ  Loading...      ()   ]," DeGan said. "These are companies who do slow down in a slower economic environment, but they'll still gain sales, they'll still grow earnings...they're good for individual investors who want to try to ride out a tough time."

DeGan's firm owns more than one per cent of each of all those companies.

© 2009 CNBC.com
Tools:
Print EmailAdd This share icon
  • digg share

CNBC HIGHLIGHTS

  • Vote and suggest your own, and remember--there's a fine line between a hero and a zero.
  • If you are lucky enough to have money and the time, this is a great time to see America, says CNBC's Jane Wells.
  • What’s powering your microwave, fridge and computer? Part of it is fuel from Russian nuclear weapons. The NYT reports.
  • Mickey Mouse
  • One author sees lessons for you in Disney’s recent Makeover of Mickey Mouse: “Nice” doesn’t always win.
  • With 123 years of history, slogans and commercials, Coca-Cola is the most recognized brand on earth.
  • The opening of a virtual pet store in “World of Warcraft” could prove a cash bonanza for Activision-Blizzard.
ADD COMMENTS
Remaining characters


Current DateTime: 02:47:39 10 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29778428

Current DateTime: 01:02:20 10 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779196

Current DateTime: 04:56:52 10 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779199

Current DateTime: 01:06:21 10 Nov 2009
LinksList Documentid: 29779198
  Data is a real-time snapshot  *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis

© 2009 CNBC, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
A Division of NBC Universal
Thomson ReutersThomson Reuters