Contragulations to
Richard Lehmann; his new book
Income Investing Today
-- investors to manage their own income portfolios -- will be available in bookstores tomorrow.
Meanwhile, to provide you with insights into his investment approach, here are some highlights from his Income Securities Advisor– a trio of convertible bonds in the biotech, copper and media sectors.
“Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc, 6.00% Preferred (OTC: CYCCP) has a current yield 8.57%. The underlying company, Cyclacel (NASDAQ: CYCC) is a development stage biopharma specializing in novel targeted drugs.
“The company is currently evaluating Seliciclib, an orally available cyclin dependent kinase inhibitor, in Phase IIb clinical trials for treatment of lung cancer. Due to the structure of this company, revenues will be very small and relate more to third party collaborative agreements and service fees than to product sold.
“This is a very high-risk convertible and may be hard to buy. This preferred offers investors a return on their money while waiting for a gain in the common stock price. Do not chase this issue, have patience. Buy at or below $8.50.
“Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, 6.75% Preferred (NYSE: FCX.M) has a current yield of 6.30%. This issue is a true mandatory convertible preferred stock, thus is qualified for the 15% dividend tax rate.
“On May 1, 2010, it will automatically convert to 1.3605 shares of common stock if the common is above $73.50. Below $61.25, the conversion rate will be 1.6327. Between the two, holders will receive $100.00 worth of common. This preferred is convertible into 1.3605 shares any time prior to 05/01/10.
“Freeeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) is involved in milling worldwide. This preferred was issued to partially pay for the recent purchase of Phelps Dodge, thus making FCX the second-largest copper producer in the world. This issue is for high-risk growth and income portfolios. Buy at or below $110.00.
“Liberty Media Corporation 4.00% bond due 11/15/29 has a current yield 5.90%. Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LINTA), a spin off of AT&T, owns cable channels such as Starz, and 98% of the home shopping network, QVC. It also owns 16% of News Corp, 20% of IAC/InterActiveCorp and 21%
of Expedia.
“This bond converts to Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), the country’s third largest wireless company with over 53 million subscribers. This is a good bond at this price for high-risk growth and income portfolios. Buy at or below 70."

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