Where Do We Go From Here?

By Eric Jackson
RealMoney Contributor
4/15/2010 9:15 AM EDT
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Earlier this week, I reviewed my long picks and macro predictions from the start of the year. They did pretty well as a group, assuming you held them through the quarter: up 22% through earlier in the week from the publication date.

This is my updated list for the current quarter. I included only China-based U.S.-listed stocks last time, this being a focus of mine. For balance, I'm presenting five China and five non-China picks. Here they are:

Top 5 China Picks

Orient Paper (ONP - commentary - Trade Now): Iprofiled the paper-printing company a couple of weeks ago. This is my top China pick at the moment. It will be interesting to see the company's first-quarter results and possible analyst upgrades or research initiation.

Puda Coal (PUDA - commentary - Trade Now): This is a holdover from my initial list. It has performed well in the first quarter and still looks appealing. It is still transitioning from a coking-coal company to owning and operating thermal-coal mines in China's Shanxi province. The market hasn't yet digested a local government move to encourage consolidation of the many small mines operating in this coal-rich province. As one of the beneficiaries of this policy, Puda has already acquired a handful of mines, but more should develop this year.

China-Biotics (CHBT - commentary - Trade Now): This is a new position. I met with its new chief financial officer, Travis Cai, in Shanghai a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn't had the opportunity to write up my notes for RealMoney(although I will, soon). This probiotics company sells to three key markets: Retail, through a chain of shops, mostly in Shanghai, that sell health supplements; dairy, supplying additives to China-based milk and yogurt producers; and feed, via health-supplement additives for livestock feed. It has more than $150 million in cash from a recent secondary issue. It has opened a new production facility, and could easily open a second one. It also has strong opportunities in the dairy and feed segments.

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Forget Kids, Investors Can Go for Chuck E. Cheese

By Eric Jackson

RealMoney Contributor

3/4/2010 2:00 PM EST

Restaurants are always a productive place to put money. Their fortunes are independent of interest-rate moves and general macro factors, and while commodities play a role in terms of the raw food costs, they obviously aren't as correlated as stocks that are more directly tied to the commodities. And in the U.S., people like to eat ... and they like to eat out. Even in the dark days of the recession a year ago, parking lots in front of most restaurants remained full.

The restaurant sector comprises all kinds of niche flavors and price ranges. The chain I like most from a differentiation perspective is CEC Entertainment (CEC - commentary - Trade Now), the parent of the kids' chain Chuck E. Cheese.

Parents are constantly scratching their heads to understand how to entertain their kids. After a few trips to a stuffy restaurant with a couple of young kids who end up crawling around the floor under your table -- or, worse, running around the restaurant -- earning you dirty looks from other patrons, you won't be likely to return with the clan anytime soon. Likewise, when you find a comfortable place where the kids are happy, the parents will be happy and will gladly spend their money.

Kids love Chuck E. Cheese. It's like going to a state fair indoors ... and they serve pizza. What's not to like? You run around and you spend money on arcade-style games with the hopes of collecting enough tickets to get a prize at the end. (Sorry parents, just like at the fair, you'll need to spend hundreds of dollars to get even a medium-sized toy.) The food's basic -- pizza and wings -- but sufficient to satisfy the kids while all the other stimulation is going on.

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