Reuters: China’s economy may be hurt as its stimulus ends.
Reuters: Warren Buffett says the financial panic is over.
Reuters: Former bankers are considering buying failed banks.
Reuters: The SEC is expected to go ahead with the Bear Stearns case. Read More
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) is a true battleground stock. It has a loyal customer base, a cult-like stock following, and trades with a very high short interest. Shares are screaming today and have effectively hit not just 52-week highs… all-time highs. The earnings report showed a 48% profit rise and it raised its annual subscriber and financial metrics. The company’s profit rose by almost 50% to $30.1 million, or $0.52 EPS. But on a non-GAAP basis those earnings were $0.55 EPS. Revenues rose by about 24% from a year ago to $423.1 million. Thomson Reuters consensus data was $0.49 EPS and $419.9 million in revenues.
Read More
Thomson Reuters CEO Tom Glocer may want to reconsider being part of an effort to buy BusinessWeek. A report fromPaidContent says “the multimedia business media giant is working as a strategic partner in the ZelnickMedia bid for BusinessWeek.” Rumors are that Bloomberg is also a bidder.
Whatever the track record of Zelnick Media may be with private transactions, Zelnick has been part of the management and/or boards at two public companies which has become disasters for shareholders. Read More
Updated throughout the day.
Updated 2:44 Dell Inc. (NYSE: DELL) will launch a branded Android smartphone thru AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and possibly other carriers next year. Source today is from WSJ, but ask this… How many phone and consumer electronics announcements have been rumored on Dell?
Updated 1.36 PM EST: Pimco left the bondholders steering committee at CIT (NYSE:CIT) last month (CNBC)
Updated 12.45 PM: Polycom (NSADAQ:PLCM) could be taken over by Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) or Dell (NASDAQ:DELL). Interdigital (NASDAQ: IDCC) could be bought by Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and ValueClick (NASDAQ:VCLK) could be taken over by any one of a number of companies. (Barron’s)
Updated 12.41 PM: GM head of American sales leaves amid talk that car company CFO may be next (CNNMoney)
Update 10.50 AM EST: Congress may pass a bill which will require that public companies split the roles of chairman and CEO. (MarketWatch)
Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) may be involved in the bidding for McGraw-Hill’s (NYSE:MHP) BusinessWeek working jointly with Zelnick Media. Strauss Zelnick is on the boards of Blockbuster (NYSE:BBI) and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) (PaidContent).
Citigroup (NYSE:C) may sell it Philbro unit which is paying its chief $100 million this year. (CNBC)
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has narrowed its list of CEOs to two people (WSJ).
Foxconn has a deal to make 300,000 to 400,000 Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) tablet PCs to ship in Q1 (DigiTimes)
Collins Stewart believes that Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) are on the lookout for acquisitions. (The Deal).
Share sales by Steve Wynn, head of Wynn (NASDAQ:WYNN), and his COO may be” a canary in the coal mine to other investors to take some profits on the gains in this sector since the March lows.” That would include MGM (NYSE:MGM) and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) (TheStreet.com)
Private equity firms Bain Capital and THL Partners are asking banks that supported their buy-out of Clear Channel Communications to help restructure the firm’s debt. Those banks include Citigroup (NYSE:C), Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). (NYPost)
News Corp (NYSE:NWS) CEO Rupert Murdoch is in Japan and South Korea and may be discussing partnerships to build a rival product to the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle. (Reuters)
Vivendi will discuss selling its 20% stake in GE’s (NYSE:GE) NBCU at its October 19 board meeting to allow a transaction with Comcast (NADSAQ:CMCSA) which would involve the cable company getting control of media firm. (BusinessWeek)
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) executive Heidi Miller could be in the running for the CEO job at Bank of America. (The Big Money)
Douglas A. McIntyre
Short sellers posted a mixed record on big banks. Short interest in Citigroup (C) plunged by 73% to 177.5 million shares. The short interest in Bank of America (BAC) was down 18% to 82.2 million. And, shares short in Morgan Stanley (MS) dropped 10% to 39 million.
Shares short in Fannie Mae (FNM) were up a fraction to 188.7 million. The short interest in Well Fargo (WFC) rose 5% to 90.5 million.
Companies with weak earnings prospects and poor balance sheet were hit particularly hard for the period that ended September 15. Shares sold short in Sprint (S) were up 18% to 88.6 million. Shares sold short in Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) rose 37% to 39.4 million. Short interest in Vonage (VG) was up 135% to 10.2 million. Shares short in Blockbuster (BBI) were up 28% to 25.6 million. Read More
Reuters: Obama’s move on trade with China makes good on a promise to labor.
Reuters: Uninsured Americans hope healthcare reform will bring them coverage.
Reuters: Adobe (ADBE) will buy Omniture for $1.8 billion.
Reuters: Citigroup (C) is seeing demand from institutional investors. Read More
Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) is dying if you read today’s headlines. Word from most media outlets today is that Blockbuster may close some 960 stores. Ouch. That sounds as though there will be no stores left until you look further into it. SEC filings filed today disclose new credit pacts. The company gave investors a glimpse of its plans. If you can get past the headlines, the reaction was actually a positive one.
Read More
Reuters: The Chinese are learning the problem of easy access to credit cards.
Reuters: The US recovery is still slow while France and Germany are rebounding.
Reuters: UBS (UBS) clients in America may face criminal charges.
Reuters: Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) defended its valuation of derivatives. Read More
Many knew that the huge Russell rebalance stocks was creating huge selling in the names toward the end of last week. Yet on no news today we are seeing solid gains in many of those same stocks. Traders are using the end of week major selling as a discount buying opportunity today. This can be seen explicitly in many of the key low-priced technology stocks and in media names.
Read More
Reuters SEC employees are under investigation for insider trading
Reuters Treasury has approved several insurance companies for receiving TARP funds
Reuters GM (GM) is close to a deal with the UAW.
Reuters Bank of America (BAC) is under pressure from the government to revamp its board.
Reuters Orders for the Toyota (TM) Prius are increasing. Read More
Blockbuster’s (BBI) auditors gave the company a “going concern” letter which is often a kiss of death. The document is a way for the accounting firm to say the operation is unlikely to make it another year. In Blockbuster’s case, the news probably is not all that bad. The firm’s creditors have already agreed to restructure debt and give Blockbuster more time to re-create its business and build back the revenue that it is losing from renting movies out of stores. Alternatively, there is some expectations that Blockbuster can slash expenses so brutally that its operating income will recover. Read More
According to Reuters, some members of Congress were unhappy with Defense budget cuts.
Reuters reports that Americans are more optimistic about the economy since Obama came into office, according to a New York Times/CBS poll.
Reuters reports that the US deficit was near $1 trillion in the government’s fiscal first half.
Reuters reports that Congress is set to curtail risky mortgages.
Reuters reports that a quarter of companies globally are set to freeze wages. Read More
According to Reuters, Obama said that the recession would be halted by government efforts.
Reuters reports that Treasury wants broad new powers to wind down troubled non-bank financial firms.
Reuters reports that the latest US market rally may have legs.
Reuters writes that hedge fund Bridgewater may participate in the government toxic asset plan.
Reuters reports that the US will need more foreign oil as domestic drilling is cut back. Read More
Will a 'going concern' note burn your money?
We are still in the midst of “annual report season” as companies have been submitting their 10-K filings with the SEC. Or in some cases delaying those filings. There is one theme that has been much stronger during this recession than during any recent years, and that is the dreaded “GOING CONCERN” notice from auditors in the amount of companies which are well known. And this year’s round of GOING CONCERN notes has a host of names that were formally great stocks.
A going concern is the ability of a company to continue to operate as things are now and not go out of business or have to liquidate its assets. The out is of course that the company must be able to raise enough capital or exit certain operations to stay operational. Here are some of the big names with the notes that have come out this week:
Read More
According to Reuters, a price battle among goods makers is beginning.
Reuters reports that payments to AIG (AIG) employees is causing rage among people already concerned about the bailout.
Reuters reports that Bernanke sees a US recovery starting in 2010.
Reuters writes that the Feds want to freeze Ruth Madoff’s assets.
Reuters writes that Obama will announce measures to help small businesses.
Reuters reports that the newspaper crisis is sparking a debate about free online news.
Reuters writes that the Treasury is close to proposing new bank rules. Read More
According to Reuters, Madoff will plead guilty.
Reuters reports that most consumers do not expect any recovery until 2010.
Reuters reports that Bernanke says new management at AIG (AIG) has curbed costs.
Reuters reports that Chinese exports fell.
Reuters writes that the uptick rule may be brought back.
Reuters writes that Greenspan says the Fed did not cause the housing bubble. Read More
According to Reuters, Obama will start work on getting his healthcare plan passed.
Reuters reports that February joblessness is estimated to rise 648,000 for February.
Reuters reports that the pick for the No.2 spot at Treasury withdrew.
Reuters writes that the US will invite wealthy funds to invest in the bailout.
Reuters writes that the House approved an overhaul for how housing is treated in bankruptcy. Read More
According to Reuters, Obama spoke about the economy with optimism as his aides defended the budget.
Reuters reports that a Senate panel will question Swiss banking’s secrecy policy.
Reuters reports that foreclosures drove up the 2008 US home sales index.
Reuters reports that Bernanke had no choice other than to help AIG (AIG). Read More
According to MarketWatch, shares in Rio Tinto (RTP) dropped 40% after BHP Billiton (BHP) dropped its offer for the company.
According to Reuters, Citigroup’s (C) assurances that it did not need capital is causing investors to wonder what problems other banks may have not disclosed.
Reuters reports that Paulson will release a plan to help consumer loans.
The evidence that sales at many companies are struggling and that employment will suffer are almost everywhere. Recently, a division of GMAC said it would let 5,000 people go. According to MSNBC, "Job cuts announced by U.S. employers last month jumped 12 percent over a year ago to cap the busiest summer of downsizing in six years." Job cuts through October could top what they were for all of 2007.
The economy is beginning to look like it did during the deep recessions in the early 1990s and 1973. Eric Rosengren, the president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, sees the situation getting much darker in the second half. Speaking of deteriorating financial conditions he said, "It may push the unemployment rate up to 6%, with more than 2 million people losing their jobs since the financial turmoil began last summer.".
| Today’s top tickerspy Indexes | |
| Home Furnishing R... | +14.1% |
| Ethanol and Biofu... | +5.1% |
| Electronics Retai... | +2.1% |
| Diabetes Stocks | +2.0% |
| Memory Chip Stock... | +2.0% |
 | |
| |
RSS Updates
Email Updates
