Name that company

Think of luxury, and you should think of me. The brands I’ve amassed include wine and spirit names such as Dom Perignon, Hennessy, Château d’Yquem and Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin; fashion names such as Kenzo, Givenchy, Fendi, Donna Karan, Marc Jacobs and Berluti; perfume and cosmetic names such as Christian Dior, Guerlain, Loewe, BeneFit Cosmetics, Acqua di Parma and Fresh; and watch and jewelry names such as TAG Heuer and Chaumet. I’m based in Paris and have a partnership with diamond titan DeBeers. Some of my companies date back to the 1700s, and one to 1593. Who am I?

Last week’s question and answer

I’m the No. 1 pharmacy benefit manager, running the nation’s largest mail-order pharmacy. A Fortune 500 company with 2004 revenues of $35 billion, I serve about one in four Americans via mail order or through nearly 60,000 retail pharmacies. I was spun off from Merck in 2003. I’m one of Fortune magazine’s “Most Admired Companies.” I recently bought Accredo Health for $2.3 billion, making me the nation’s largest specialty/biotech pharmacy operation. I’ll now better serve the needs of patients with complex conditions requiring advanced treatment — increasingly with a growing variety of costly biotech medications. Who am I? (Answer: Medco Health)

Bully for bear markets

Most investors fear “bear markets,” where stocks fall or stagnate. But many of us should be hoping for them. That may sound illogical, but if you’re continually plunking money into the stock market for the next few decades, a flat or falling market in the near future is a good thing. Superinvestor Warren Buffett once explained:

“If you expect to be a net saver during the next five years, should you hope for a higher or lower stock market during that period? Many investors get this one wrong. Even though they are going to be net buyers of stocks for many years to come, they are elated when stock prices rise and depressed when they fall. This reaction makes no sense. Only those who will be sellers of equities in the near future should be happy at seeing stocks rise. Prospective purchasers should much prefer sinking prices.”

Over the long run, you’re simply better off buying shares of great companies at fair or depressed prices than at higher prices. Why hope to buy Wal-Mart shares at $60 and then $70, when you’d do better buying at $50 and $40? If you plan to buy milk for the next 25 years, 10 years of falling milk prices would be welcome, right? (Unless you run a dairy.)

The stock market is a place to invest money methodically, adding to your savings with the knowledge that over the long run, the patient investor has usually been rewarded. Too often, it’s instead portrayed as a get-rich-quick vehicle. The media presents a momentary drop in the stock market as unambiguously bad, and the possibility of a longer drop as reason to panic.

A bear market isn’t good for everybody, though. For those in or nearing retirement, it’s logical to prefer a bull market during the next five, 10 and 15 years.

Of course, wishing for this or that won’t affect the market. We can’t expect to change the future, but we might do well to adjust how we think about it. If you’re investing over the decades ahead, don’t let a depressed market depress you.

UTX still underappreciated

Perhaps it makes sense that United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) doesn’t get a lot of love. Its big market opportunities – commercial construction, aviation and defense – are all cyclical businesses. But with two out of those three major market categories supposedly on the way up, shouldn’t UTX be getting a little cyclical love right now?

The company’s third-quarter results reflected a mix of organic growth and acquisitions. Revenue rose 17 percent as reported, with organic growth making up a bit more than a third of that. Profit margins also improved a bit for the period, and operating profits rose 22 percent. Interest expense was substantially higher, though, and net income growth declined to a still-solid 18 percent for the quarter.

All of the company’s operating units posted positive operating growth. The Otis business continues to see good growth in China, while the Pratt & Whitney and Hamilton Sundstrand businesses are benefiting from ongoing improvements in the commercial aviation industry.

UTX continues to enjoy healthy cash flow growth while actively buying its own shares. Given its markets, the company would certainly benefit if the much-talked-about commercial building upswing takes root; those buildings will need escalators and HVAC systems. Likewise, ongoing strength in the aerospace business would be good news.

Still, a big company with strong cash flow, solid market share and a good price doesn’t come by every day. Fools may want to dig deeper into this one.

Burn rate

What’s a “burn rate”? – P.V., Escondido, Calif.

A company’s burn rate refers to how quickly it’s burning through cash. This isn’t that much of an issue for large, established companies, but with small and quickly growing enterprises, it’s valuable to look at their burn rate. The number to examine is free cash flow, which is income from operations, less capital expenditures.

For example, imagine that in its most recent quarterly report, the Rubber Chicken Catering Co. (ticker: CHEWY) reported negative $20 million in free cash flow, as its cash balance fell to $80 million from $100 million in the previous quarter. It’s not unusual for firms to lose money in their early years, but it’s also what puts many of them out of business. In CHEWY’s case, at its current burn rate it’ll use up its cash in just a few quarters. To stay alive, it will have to reduce spending (possibly resulting in slower growth), or find some more money (perhaps taking on debt or issuing additional stock, diluting value for existing shareholders).

How can I find the highest rates for certificates of deposit (CDs) online? – D.S., Jackson, Miss.

Just click over to www.bankrate.com/brm/rate/high_home.asp and you’ll be able to find, among other things, some of the best interest rate deals for CDs, mortgages, auto loans and personal loans. Last time we checked, you could earn 4.71 percent (in annual percentage yield) on a 2.5-year CD from M&T Bank in Oakfield, N.Y. You don’t have to live in the state or city where you invest in a CD, so don’t think you’re stuck accepting your neighborhood bank’s 3.6 percent deal. A little research could pay off. Learn more about short-term savings at www.fool.com/savings/savings.htm.

Look forward, not back

This is definitely in the running for my dumbest investment decision. Many years ago, I was thinking about buying Microsoft. I had done my research, and was all set to buy it when I heard a news report that said that Bill Gates was worth $8 billion. At the time, that made him either the richest or second-richest person in the world. I thought, wait a minute. By the time I make any real money, Bill will be worth around $25 billion. At that time, $25 billion was so totally outlandish that I didn’t buy the stock. Next time I heard about Bill’s wealth, it was over $50 billion, and still going up. So the lesson is: It doesn’t matter how much money somebody made (or lost) yesterday. The only thing that matters is how much can be made in the future. – Gary Olmstead, Ventura Calif.

The Fool Responds: That’s an excellent point, true of stocks, as well. A stock may have doubled in the past year, but that doesn’t mean it won’t reward you over the long haul.