The S&A Digest

Stansberry & Associates Top 10 Open Recommendations
(Top 10 highest-returning open positions across all S&A portfolios)

As of 06/28/2013

Another reason to doubt us... Back into stamps... Update from VIC... More problems getting the Digest out... What Gates should do with MSFT's money... Fannon nailed Dendreon... Buy Vietnam?

There's one more reason to doubt us, dear subscribers. We're finally going "legit." Last week, Steve Sjuggerud was named to the board of directors of Stanley Gibbons – the legendary British collectibles house. I wouldn't be surprised to see more of our analysts invited to join boards or consult with major investment firms. We've been right enough times, it can't be luck... and big investors have begun to notice. Don't worry though. Nobody is going to invite me to join anything. I'll still be out here, throwing stones at them.

Speaking of Stanley Gibbons... As many of you know, Steve Sjuggerud became convinced in 2005 that stamps – yes, stamps – would be the next "hot" collectible, taking their rightful place next to rare gold coins and masters' paintings (you can see the issue he wrote about stamps here). I've learned over the years that when Sjug has a big idea, it's best to stay out of the way. Sure enough, we learned a few weeks later that Bill Gross – the head of fixed-income giant PIMCO – was buying up all the best stamps in the world, millions and millions of dollars worth.

Steve set up a meeting with Stanley Gibbons – the most reputable stamp dealer in the world and the center of the stamp market. Stanley Gibbons was so confident its stamps were undervalued, it offered an incredible deal to Sjuggerud Confidential subscribers. It guaranteed a rate of return on the stamps for three, five, or even 10 years. This was exactly Steve's kind of investment: no downside, big upside potential. We published it... to yawns and questions of our sanity. Buying stamps? Are you mad? Well, Stanley Gibbons tells us that every single subscriber who bought from them has made a good profit – one subscriber is up 78%.

If you're interested in stamps, Stanley Gibbons has renewed its guaranteed offer and will pay our subscribers a higher interest rate than the general public. Give Stanley Gibbons a call at 011 44 20 78 36 8444 and ask for Geoff, or send an e-mail:(GAnandappa@stanleygibbons.com). Keep in mind, London is five hours ahead of Eastern time, so you should call early in the morning.

Goldsmith's report from the Value Investing Congress (VIC) in L.A.... It turns out value investors aren't very good listeners. The conference organizers asked attendees to turn off all BlackBerrys because they interfered with the cordless microphones. They would have had a better chance stealing a pacifier from a baby. And despite presenters reminding attendees to use limit orders on the stocks being discussed, three recommendations were chased up more than 5% within minutes of the presentations.

For example: Extreme Value pick Delta Financial (DFC) jumped 8.3% yesterday. Mohnish Pabrai presented on this stock at the Value Investing Congress at 8:30 a.m. Western time. The stock's volume skyrocketed around noon Eastern time – as soon as Pabrai's presentation ended.

Highlight of the conference so far? Carlo Cannell's presentation on Vietnam. Cannell is a long-time San Francisco-based, value-oriented hedge fund manager. He's bullish on Vietnam, which will privatize all of its major industries over the next two years. Key statistic: The Vietnamese consume a record 4.7 gallons of beer per capita annually. Buy the brewer.

We wrote it. Did you sell it short?

At $19 per share and sporting a $1.5 billion market cap, Dendreon is now priced for an outright approval. However, we could easily see the stock fall back where it started... at $4 per share [by May 15]... The most likely outcome at the FDA would be an "approvable" letter. There's a larger Phase III trial taking place right now that won't be completed until 2010... We polled four of the leading immunotherapy experts through our contacts at Johns Hopkins Medical School. There were three "no" votes, including one of the four "nays" that was actually on the FDA committee... Just a few days after the huge spike upwards, CEO Mitch Gold sold $2.2 million worth of stock. In other words, next month may be a rough one for Dendreon. – Rob Fannon, editor of Phase 1, in the April 13 Growth Stock Wire

Yesterday, the FDA demanded more data on the drug, issuing Dendreon a so-called "approvable" letter. The stock fell to less than $7 per share, down from more than $20.

Shares of True Wealth and Inside Strategist pick BHP Billiton (BHP) reportedly launched an unsuccessful bid for Rio Tinto. Rumors of the bid sent shares of Rio Tinto (RTP) surging 6.2% in pre-market trading. The deal would create the largest miner in the world.

PSIA and Extreme Value pick Microsoft (MSFT) purchased an equity stake in CareerBuilder.com, the U.S.' largest online job site. We wish Bill Gates would stop trying to buy other companies and spend more money buying back stock. When you already own the world's most valuable monopoly, what business are you going to buy that's better?

New highs: Banco Latinoamericano (BLX), Disney (DIS), McKesson (MCK), POSCO (PKX), Brookefield Asset Management (BAM).

Not much in the mailbag today... probably because subscribers didn't receive the Digest yesterday and thus haven't seen my latest rant. (I've ordered it "resent" this morning). Why, you ask, are there so many problems sending out a simple e-mail? If I only knew, dear subscribers, if I only knew. We read our mail every day though. Send your bombastic remarks here... We're counting on you: feedback@stansberryresearch.com.

"Porter you are becoming soft in your comments. How long do you think this great country will survive? I do not blame you for buying land south of the border. I am too old to go anywhere else... Do not pay any attention to the comments sent in by uneducated populace. No reply needed. Keep recommending and let the rabble choose." – Paid-up subscriber Bernie Krantz

"Please forward to Dan Ferris... I thought you would enjoy seeing the article below from Forbes.com [recommending shares of Bladex (BLX)]... I bought BLX shortly after starting my Alliance subscription about 2 1/2 years ago [on S&A's recommendation] and have been patient, as it didn't do much for quite a long time. Now, it seems the patience is paying off. The author of this article is about as well respected as they get, and this attention may spark more interest in BLX. Thanks for your excellent research and clear presentations in Extreme Value. Your picks make up more than half of my portfolio. You're my favorite Alliance writer for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that you don't use trailing stops!" – Paid-up subscriber Charles Hall

"Good call, Rob. As I write, Dendreon is trading at $7.17 (down 60% on the day). Thanks for the warning." – Alliance member Brian Clark

Regards,

Porter Stansberry

Baltimore, MD

May 9, 2007

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