Two new Finance-sector buys

Article Excerpt

Visa has been around since the 1960s, but only recently became a publicly traded company. eBay started up in 1995. Because of its unique business model, the company was able to avoid the implosion of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s. We feel both companies offer an attractive way for investors to add to their Finance-sector holdings without exposing themselves to the mortgage-related problems that continue to depress bank stocks. Visa is suitable for all investors. eBay is more risky. VISA INC. $76 (New York symbol V; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 836.9 million; Market cap: $63.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 7.9; Dividend yield: 0.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.visa.com) operates the world’s largest retail electronic-payments network. The company processes credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa’s credit cards are accepted around the world, and Visa/PLUS is one of the largest global automated-teller machine networks, offering cash access in more than…