See highlights from the November issue . When Nordstrom marks down its merchandise, shoppers rush to buy. But when the stock market holds a sale, investors recoil, too fearful to pull the trigger in an atmosphere of pervasive gloom. But the best time to buy is when stocks of premier companies are in the dumps. Here are six blue-chip stocks with attractive prospects and shares that have been marked down during the bear market.
Investors are concerned about a weak advertising market.
But, say many analysts, the radio and billboard businesses are fairly impervious to recession. But its bid to remake itself into a premier telecommunications player was what sparked investors' interest over the past few years. Now that telecommunications is out of favor, the bandwidth gambit is hurting the stock. Update GE rose on news that the Justice Dept. okayed its purchase of Honeywell, plus positive earnings guidance for the rest of the year from chairman-elect Jeffery Immelt. It's much more expensive now, at about 35 times 2001 earnings estimates, but that's on par with the premium that investors usually give the stock.