It's a Prime Time for Tech Turnarounds

It has been a very long time since I wrote a column recommending stocks. Too long. But you know my investment process by now: Look for stocks that are down a lot, cheap and have decent fundamentals. Unfortunately, very few have hit my buy screen for quite some time. I rarely violate that process, and it has kept me silent.

But now things have changed. The "new bull market" ads have disappeared and cavalier forecasts of 30% returns have evaporated. The talking heads have tempered their enthusiasm. The tech stock bullies' chest-thumping on national TV has been replaced with fidgety defenses of their positions. Wall Street analysts slash ratings and stock targets, and jockey over the most bearish call on the tech cycle. And this is good.

For the first time in over a year, I can recommend shares that fit my investment discipline. The frustrating churning of the equity markets has generated solid opportunities in a few sectors: financials, technology, consumer goods and health care. ...