Payday Cash Advance Texas

How bad is it? Pawn shops, payday lenders are hot

NEW YORK (AP) - As the unemployment rate inches up and spits out the economic recovery, investors looking for some good stocks may want to follow the money - or rather the TV, the beloved Fender Guitar , balls grandmother's wedding ring.

The benefits to the pawn shop operator EZCORP Inc. jumped by an average of 46 percent per year for five years. The stock has doubled over the last year for about $ 38. And Wall Street pros who analyze the company think it will go higher still. All seven of them are telling investors to buy the company from Austin, Texas.

The economy is still just a soft patch?A hard patch? Will the market rise or fall? Even experts are only conjectures. In investing, it is often better to focus on what you can safely predict, even if the security is in companies that thrive on tough times. A good bet: The unemployed are not likely to find work soon. And companies take advantage of their misfortune will continue to do so.

Among them:

- Stock salary lender Cash Advance Centers Advance America (AEA) has doubled over the past year to just under $ 8. Rival Cash America International Inc (CSH) was up 64 percent, to $ 58.These companies generally provide high interest loans - due on wages - for those who can not borrow from traditional lenders.

- Benefits to Encore Capital Group, a debt collector who target people with unpaid credit card bills and other receivables, increased by nearly 50 percent last year. Still faced collective action in several states, including California, its collection practices. The Attorney General of Minnesota filed a lawsuit in March. Whatever. The stock (CGPS) is up 59 percent a year ago to over $ 30.

- Inventory of Rent-A-Center (RCII), who rents televisions, sofas, computers and more, is up 57 percent a year ago to nearly $ 32. Nine of the 11 analysts covering the company said it will continue to rise and that investors should buy.

The idea of ​​investing in companies catering to the hard drive in place may not be acceptable for some people. But it is profitable.

Mark Montagna, an analyst with Avondale Partners in Nashville, has developed what he calls "retail value" index of 11 companies - dollar store, non-price stores and clothing and footwear chains favored by buyers looking for offers.The index is up 149 percent since February 2009, which marked the lowest value of month-end close for the S & P 500 during the recession.

Despair stocks continue to be raised by a drum of bad news. Consumer spending, adjusted for inflation, declined for two months in a row - the first back-to-back fall since November 2009. On Friday, the government said the unemployment rate reached 9.2 percent in June, sending stocks into the spin. In addition, one in seven Americans live below the poverty line, a great 17 years.