Barron's Picks And Pans: Arconic, Facebook, iHeartMedia And More

The cover story in this weekend's Barron's offers eight stock picks for a bizarre market.

Other featured articles discuss how to play the next stage of the trade war and list some winners and losers from earnings season. 

Also featured:  the prospects for a radio-station giant, a metals manufacturer, a troubled social media giant and more.

"8 Stocks for a Really Strange Market" by Jack Hough suggests that while the markets are strange and there could be more oddities to come, the path for investors is straightforward. Picks include Verizon Communications Inc. VZ.

Avi Salzman's "How to Play the Trade War's Scary Next Phase" points out that what's even more dangerous than losing a trade war is thinking you can "win." Picks from Barron's for what comes next include Procter & Gamble Co PG.

In "IHeartMedia Stock Is Poised to Climb After Bankruptcy," Andrew Bary makes the case that iHeartMedia Inc IHRT is ready for its next chapter after the radio-station giant exited from Chapter 11 looking slimmer and fitter.

After it was spun out three years ago, Arconic Inc ARNC is now worth more and looks better-positioned than its former parent, according to Al Root's "Arconic Looks to Unlock Value in a Potential Split. Alcoa May Get Left Behind."

In Tae Kim's "4 Tech Stocks That Can Beat Expectations," see why companies with better-than-expected earnings have better-than-average stock returns. Barron's thinks Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD and others will continue to shine.

See also: The Lesson From The Capital One Data Breach: The Cloud Is Vulnerable, And We Shouldn't Forget It

"REITs to Take Shelter In From Stock-Market Storms" by Lawrence Strauss asks whether rental-housing real-estate investment trusts like Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc MAA are worth a look when so many REITs appear fully valued.

In "Why Fund Managers Still Like Facebook," Leslie Norton shares what there is to like about Facebook, Inc. FB despite its raft of problems and a stock that's 45% higher this year. Hint: It's partly about Libra, its cryptocurrency.

See the five best-performing and the five worst stocks since earnings season began in Al Root's "Earnings Season's Winners and Losers." In which category did Northrop Grumman Corporation NOC and Under Armour Inc UA end up?

Also in this week's Barron's:

• Where to hide from trouble in the bond market
• Rethinking what is fair in corporate governance
• Why U.S. interest rates could go to zero
• How the bull market will end
• How to close the trade gap without tariffs

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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