Chinese stocks' dive may attract investors

Chinese stocks have been in free-fall.

From Oct. 16 through Thursday, the Shanghai composite index has plunged 60 percent.

To Asia specialist Matthews Funds, the steep drop spells opportunity. It's reopening two of its funds to new investors Sept. 2: Matthews Pacific Tiger Fund (MAPTX) and Matthews Asian Growth & Income (MACSX).

They closed in 2006 and 2003, respectively, after torrid gains. Both were launched in 1994.

The first fund invests in companies of all sizes with an eye on long-term growth, while the second looks for stability through dividends.

Matthews executives said in a letter to shareholders that the market is challenging, but they see "a more favorable environment for long-term investment."

Pressure gauge

Goldman Sachs strategist David Kostin scours transcripts of chief executives' earnings conference calls with analysts for insights into Corporate America. The No. 1 theme for the second quarter is the U.S. consumer under pressure.

For instance, CVS Caremark (CVS) says generic drugs made up 15 percent of its general merchandise sales in the quarter, up 1.14 percentage points from last year. "That's the largest increase in organic private label sales that we've seen in memory," Chief Financial Officer Dave Rickard said.

Olympic ads

Quick, which brand do you associate with the Olympics?

After the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies in Beijing, maybe it's Exxon Mobil (XOM).

The oil giant ran two minutes and 30 seconds of commercials during the summer games' kickoff, making it NBC's top advertiser, according to Nielsen.

The Associated Press