Airlines and travel and-entertainment companies, such as cruise operator Carnival (CCL) or Walt Disney (DIS), already benefit from the over-50s and should gain more. Not all the travel is for the boomers themselves. Demographer Francese, author of a major study called The Grandparent Economy, says more than half the grandparent population will be baby boomers by 2010, and nearly 60% will be by 2015. These folks travel to visit their grandchildren, take them on one- and two-day trips, sometimes to theme parks, and ply them with goods and services. "The rapid increase in boomer spending on grandchildren," comments Francese, "is driven in large part by the decline over the past decade in real income among young families, at a time when household income among those over 50 has been rising."

Carnival Corp. (CCL) delivered an amazing quarter yesterday, in part because of a brilliant decision to focus on Europe over the U.S. The company was rewarded with much better bookings because of that shift. So, so smart. Of course, the earnings benefitted from a big swing in fuel. But the upside had more to do with great management decisions to accentuate a stronger market -- Europe -- over a weaker market -- U.S. -- and it had its ships in the right places. Memo to Sarah Palin -- you destroyed the Alaskan tourist biz when you put that head tax on. Go read the conference call!

But the fund's home runs, if the embargo falls, could be Carnival (CCL) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), both of which already ply the Caribbean. Not only will they get a tremendous lift from passengers wanting to travel to Cuba, but their entire Caribbean business also should benefit when they add Havana, long shut down, as a port of call.

There's also Wall*E, nominated for several awards in addition to Best Animated Feature, including both sound editing and sound mixing. In this film, Earth is evacuated due to toxic conditions, and its inhabitants are sent on a cruise in space. That option might not be available to us yet, but we can still hop on a boat for a more traditional cruise, courtesy of Carnival (CCL), up a penny at $19.40.

PE of 10, a PEG of 0.88, and it pays a yield of 5.8%.

Carnival-Proof Your Portfolio: David Peltier, portfolio manager of the Dividend Stock Adviser, dissects Carnival's recent dividend cut and explains how to know if your favorite stocks are safe.
Click here to watch the video.

Commodity costs, specifically their decline, also helps the companies that were forced to raise prices when those costs were higher. Because the companies won’t reduce prices in tandem with that decline. That means more profits and better-than-expected earnings. Watch for reports from Heinz (HNZ), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), UPS (UPS), FedEx (FDX) and Carnival Cruise (CCL).

8/20/2008

From a recent Mad Money show:

"I think Carnival Cruise is going to take share. I like Carnival. People are still going on vacations; they're still taking cruises."

ex-div date: 5/21/2008

overpriced

thought boomers would cruise

if i want enteric virus ill eat my wifes cookin ive become a landlubber -
P.S. where are all the passengers disappearing too?

New cruise terminals under development will increase passenger revenue.