Daily Archives: December 8, 2008

CEO Of The Year Nominees: 10) Irene B. Rosenfeld Of Kraft (KFT)

24/7 Wall St. will name its annual CEO of the Year later this week. The executive will be picked from a field of ten which we will profiled over the last ten days.

The CEOs are chosen on the basis of their company’s stock market and financial performances compared with their own industry groups and all large companies traded on US markets. Only firms with market caps of more than $5 billion were considered. 24/7 reviewed revenue growth, operating margins, balance sheets, return on assets, and return on equity.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 6:46 pm in Management Change, , , , ,

Best Explanation Of Bailout Yet

The bank, car industry, and mortgage bailout is so complex that many analysts and economists don’t understand all of its costs and benefits.

This is the single best explanation of the bailout that the editors of 24/7 Wall St. have seen.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 5:42 pm in Uncategorized

China Still Has Money To Loan Brazil $10 Billion

China_2The economy in China may not be so troubled as some experts say.

The world’s most populated nation would like to loan Brazil $10 billion to develop tremendous new oil fields off its coast which have 50 billion to 80 billion barrels of reserves.

According to the AP, Brazil’s Mines and Energy Minister Edison Lobao said that he had also been approached by the United Arab Emirates, a Japanese consortium, Canadian banks and various foreign oil service companies who want to invest in or work on offshore finds.

Perhaps the US is not in the bidding because of all the money it is spending on bailouts.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 5:29 pm in Oil & Gas

Winner Of Nobel Economics Prize Seems Crestfallen

HouseWinning the Nobel Prize should brighten the spirit, especially since it comes with a $1.3 million cash prize.

Not so for Paul Krugman, this year’s winner for economics. He is simply too depressed about the future.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 5:17 pm in Economy

More Changes Of Heart On The Credit Crisis

Angrybear_2Experts have been making predictions about when the credit crisis would end since several Wall St. CEOs said it was almost over this summer.

A number of economists say the downturn could go on through 2009. Others view the "credit crisis" as a economic entity different from the recession itself.

Today, researchers at Goldman Sachs (GS) said that the issues within the credit system were far from resolved.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 5:03 pm in Economy,

Will Rogers Never Saw TI’s Expectations (TXN)

Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) lowered guidance at its mid-quarter update.  We expected this, but the magnitude here for companies reporting data later this quarter is getting worse than those which gave guidance back in October or earlier in November.  TI now expects revenues of $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion with earnings of $0.10 to $0.16.  If you looked at these as quick as we did, you probably did a double-take.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 5:02 pm in Earnings, Earnings Warning, Semiconductor,

Merrill Lynch (MER) CEO Will Seek No Bonus, Perhaps Board Will Reward Him Anyway

Merrill_3After it was reported that Merrill Lynch (MER) CEO John Thain was after a $10 million bonus he was viciously attacked by everyone from the media to NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Late today, according to The Wall Street Journal,  Thain’s people said he told the board he wanted nothing. Perhaps now the compensation committee at the big broker can be magnanimous and give him a few million dollars anyway.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 4:56 pm in Management Change,

National Semi’s Severe Guidance Cut (NSM)

National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM) reported disappointing second quarter sales and profit for the second quarter after the close.  The chipmaker said that net income fell to $33.9 million, or $0.14 per share.  This is down from $90.6 million, or $0.33 EPS, in the same period last year.  Its revenue fell to $421.6 million from $499 million in the year ago period.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 4:39 pm in Earnings, Earnings Warning, Semiconductor,

Microsoft (MSFT) Means To Push Google (GOOG) In Online Apps Business

MsftThe theory goes something like this: Microsoft (MSFT) has a model for selling software which is installed in a PC or server and uses that device’s computing power and memory to run the applications. That seems to work fine because most machines have plenty of processing power.

Google (GOOG) decided to challenge the Microsoft approach by offering its Apps product which includes word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software. These products work on remote servers and do not tie up the computing power of the user’s machine.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 2:57 pm in Software, , , ,

Following Good Xbox News From Microsoft, Nintendo Has Strong Sales

R218533_855025_2The recession is not breaking the video game addiction shared by so many Americans. Even in a downturn they can find cash for games and consoles.

Microsoft (MSFT) said Xbox sales broke records on Black Friday weekend, up 25% from the same period last year.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 2:43 pm in Video Games, ,

The Tribune Company Files Bankruptcy

Based on several news reports, The Tribune company, which went private about a year ago, filed for Chapter 11. The firm’s total debt is about $12 billion.

Read 24/7’s analysis of Tribune here.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 2:08 pm in Old Media

Bracing For Data From 3 More Chip Stocks (TXN, NSM, ALTR)

Today may be a fairly important news day after the close for semiconductor stocks.  We have a mid-quarter update from Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) and an earnings report from National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: NSM).  After the close we should also get a mid-quarter update from Altera Corporation (NASDAQ: ALTR). As you can imagine by the recent market and the slate of warnings from technology companies, the expectations have already been brought down. The question is how much softer data that traders are willing to accept.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 1:50 pm in Earnings, Semiconductor, Technology Companies, , ,

Brokerage Consolidation Begins, Or Not (RODM, COWN)

Broken_money_merger_imageIf you have been waiting for the smaller brokerage firms in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 categories to start merging, it looks like the first shot in the consolidation wars has been fired.  Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group Inc. (NASDAQ: RODM) has made an offer to acquire Cowen Group Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN).  The problem is that Cowen has already said, "Thanks, but no thanks!"

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 12:35 pm in Brokerage Firms, Financial Stocks, Mergers and Buy Outs, ,

Bracing For Another 1.1 Million Job Losses

Jobless_lines_picWe keep trying to look for good news on the jobs front.  Unfortunately, there is almost none to be found.  The Conference Board Employment Trends Index was released today and the report shows that the index declined further in November.  This is not meant just as a backward reporting number like most index reports.  It is supposed to be used as a predictive tool.  As you will see, the implications are for another 1.1 million jobs to be lost and there is no formal cut-off indicated.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 10:55 am in Economy, Labor & Unions

What Exactly Is The Rescue Plan Achieving?

John Tamny, RealClearMarkets

During the dark days of the Great Depression, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau relayed to President Roosevelt the details of a conversation he had with his son, Henry III. When asked by his namesake to explain the New Deal, Morgenthau admitted that he struggled to find an answer, any kind of answer that would articulate what in fact the New Deal had achieved.

Read more…

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 9:43 am in Uncategorized

Reliant Energy Eliminates a Credit Facility (RRI, CEG, BRK.A)

Reliant_logoLate on Friday, Reliant Energy (NYSE:RRI) announced that it had terminated a $300 million retail working capital facility with Merrill Lynch. The company had failed to meet its EBITDA covenant on the agreement in the third quarter, and had received a waiver of the covenant through December 5th.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 9:17 am in Shareholder Issues, Utilities, , ,

Hess Reins in Capital Spending (HES)

In 2006, Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) invested $3.84 billion in capital spending. Last year, the company spent $3.58 billion, and while the figure for this year isn’t final yet, Hess planned to spend about $5 billion on capex and exploration. The company reported spending for the first nine months of 2008 at nearly $3.3 billion.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 9:14 am in Oil & Gas,

De-Hefnerizing Playboy (PLA)

Playboy_logoPlayboy Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: PLA) has announced that Christie Hefner is stepping down as Chairman & CEO of the company.  Her two-decade reign over the magazine publisher and adult-oriented media and entertainment will come to an end on January 31, 2008.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 9:05 am in Entertainment, Management Change, Media,

Deutsche Bank Said Chesapeake Energy (CHK) News Is Just What The Doctor Ordered

Deutsche Bank commented on Chesapeake Energy (CHK) today after the company updated its financial and operational plans, which included a major Capex retrenchment. Deutsche Bank said this is just what the doctor ordered.

Deutsche Bank said the highlights of the release were a cash neutral budget, that CHK expects to generate growth of 5-10% for 2009, and 10-15% in 2010 down from 17% and 16%, at the midpoint of prior guidance. Chesapeake is cutting its 2009 capital budget by $3.5 billion, or 43%, and its 2010 budget by $2.95B, or 35%.

Read more…

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 8:49 am in Uncategorized

Dow Chemical (DOW) Cuts, The Worst Press Release Of The Year

Cammonopoly_wideweb__430x3250What a great way to fire people. Dow Chemical (DOW) chopped 5,000 full-time people and cut 6,000 contractors. Its press release on the plans said the firm was announcing "a series of aggressive actions to accelerate its transformational strategy in light of current economic realities." Transforming all those people out of work.

Read More »

Posted on: December 8, 2008 – 8:16 am in Commodities,