Posts for Ticker ‘HMC’

Asia Markets And Europe Open (11/19/2009)

Markets in Asis were mixed.

The Nikkei fell 1.3% to 9,549. Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE:MTU) fell. Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Toyota (NYSE:TM) fell. Sony (NYSE:SNE) was also off.

The Hang Seng dropped 1% to 22,643. China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) ticked up.

The Shanghai Composite rose .5% to 3,321.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE dropped .2%. The Dax was off .2% to 5,777. The CAC 40 dipped .2% to 3,320.

Data from Reuters and MarketWatch.

Douglas A. McIntyre

VW Gets “Safest Car” Rating But Can’t Sell Autos In US

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety came out with its annual list of safest cars. Ford (NYSE:F) and its Volvo unit got six awards, VW and Subaru each got five.

Chrysler had four cars on the list and Honda (NYSE:HMC) and GM each had two

Toyota  (NYSE:TM), BMW, Mazda Motor and Mitsubishi ended up with nothing. Read More »

VW Passes Toyota (TM) And GM As World’s Largest Car Company

carToyota (NYSE:TM) did not keep its top spot as the world’s largest car company for very long. It held the crown for about a year. Industry statistics show the new VW-Porsche combination has produced 4.4 million cars this year compared to only 4 million by Toyota.

According to The Guardian, Toyota’s cut in production helped VW take the top spot. Toyota could ramp up manufacturing again as the recession ends and move into the  No.1 spot once more.

VW may be helped by the fact that it sells almost no cars in America. Read More »

Asia Markets And Europe Open (11/12/2009)

chinaMarkets in Asia were moderately lower.

The Nikkei fell .7% to 9,804. Honda (NYSE:HMC) rose.

The Hang Seng fell 1% to 22,402. HSBC (NYSE:HBC) dropped.

The Shanghai Composite fell .1% to 3,173.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE lost .1% to 5,263. The Dax dropped .2% to 5,656. The CAC 40 fell .2% to 3,806.

Data from MarketWatch and Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Asia Markets (11/6/2009)

chinaMarkets in Asia rose.

The Nikkei was up .7% to 9,790. Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE:MTU) was down. Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Sony (NYSE:SNE) both gained.

The Hang Seng rose 1.6% to 21,830.

The Shanghai Composite was up .3% to 3,164.

Data from Reuters and MarketWatch.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Toyota (TM) Pull Out Of Formula One: The Death Of Car Racing’s Profits

TVThe three major car racing circuits–Formula One, NASCAR, and Indy Car–have built a multi-billion business. Formula 1 revenue, which includes sponsorships and broadcast fees, is estimated to be $3.9 billion, which is more per event than either the NFL or The Premier League of soccer clubs.

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has elected to pull out of Formula 1 because of cost considerations. The world’s largest car company has lost money for more than a year. Read More »

A Guide To The Auto Industry’s 2010 Winners And Losers

chryslerJerome York is a nasty piece of work and a financial genius who has been successful as a lieutenant to billionaire raider Kirk Kerkorian. York’s curriculum vita as a financial analyst is impeccable. He has been CFO of Chrysler and IBM (NYSE:GM) and a board member of GM, when it still had a real board, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

York was at the center of Kerkorian’s efforts to sell-off Chrysler and GM, or at least get new managements for them both.  He knows the global auto industry as well as anyone in the world who does not work in it full time, and probably better than most of those who do. Read More »

A Little Miracle At Ford (F)

fordThe UAW rank-and-file may have given Ford a little fit over the weekend by voting down a contract with the No.2 US car company.

Monday dawned a better day as Ford may the surprise announcement that it made $1 billion in the third quarter. The firm reported net income of $997 million, or $.28 per share, an improvement of $1.2 billion from the third quarter of 2008. Pre-tax operating profit totaled $1.1 billion, an improvement of $3.9 billion from a year ago. It was Ford’s first pre-tax operating profit since the first quarter of 2008. Read More »

The Genius Of The Consumer And The Failure Of Car Brands

gmConsumer Reports came out with its annual new car reliability survey. The study is widely anticipated because it  pre=”it “>is based on the opinions of 1.4 million people and because the Consumers Union is considered unbiased in its work of evaluating goods and services for the American public. It is also one of the most well-known non-profit organizations in the US. Read More »

Asia Markets (10/28/2009)

chinaMarkets in Asia were mixed

The Nikkei fel 1.4% to 10,075. Honda (NYSE:HMC) rose on good earnings and Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Sony (NYSE:SNE) are about to announce their results.

The Hang Seng fell 1.3% to 21,893.

The Shanghai Composite was up .3% to 3,031.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Media Digest 10/27/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   UBS (NYSE:UBS) will put in a new US chief.

Reuters:   Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) says “dark pools” help investors.

Reuters:   The US is welcoming the rise of the yuan.

Retuers:   Nelson Peltz’s board seat at Legg Mason (NYSE:LM) may not signal change. Read More »

Asia Markets (10/27/2009)

chinaMarkets in Asia were sharply lower.

The Nikkei fell 1.5% to 10,212. Honda fell (NYSE:HMC).

The Hang Seng was down 1.7% to 22,197. China Life (NYSE:LFC) rose.

The Shanghai Composite was down 2.8% to 2,031.

Data from Reuters.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Cadillac’s Irreversible Slide

carWhen GM decided to close its Saturn and Pontiac brands it forgot to put a “do not resuscitate” sign on Cadillac.

Cadillac is in trouble, and that trouble is likely to get much worse in 2010 due to a poor product mix, a leasing system that puts it at a huge disadvantage to its competition, and an ongoing perception that many of its models are not as well-made as their Japanese and European counterparts. Read More »

Asia Markets And Europe Open (10/22/2009)

chinaMarkets is Asia were mostly lower.

The Nikkei dropped 6% to 10.297. Mitsubishi UFJ (NYSE:MTU) fell and Honda (NYSE:HMC) rose.

The Hang Seng was down 1% to 22,098. China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) fell.

The Shanghai Composite fell .6% to 3,951.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE fell 1.4% to 5,164. The Dax was off 1.6% to 5,741. The CAC 40 fell 1.5% to 3,816. Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) fell on poor earnings.

Data from Reuters and MarketWatch.

Douglas A. McIntyre

The 100 Hardest Working Brands In The World

hersheyThere are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company.

24/7 Wall St. asked Corebrand, the brand research and consulting firm, to look at the top 100 brands based their contribution to market capitalizaton. Using this method, the hardest working brand was Hershey (NYSE:HSY), followed  by Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG)

Corebrand described the process briefly to 24/7 Wall. St.

24/7 Wall St.: Corebard often refers to the brands on this list as the”hardest working brands”. How did you come to that description?

Corebrand: There are a lot of people measuring and examining the “strongest brands” or the “most valuable brands”.  Our opinion is that examining one without the other is somewhat meaningless.  How “strong” a brand is nice to know but not very relevant unless you understand how that strength benefits business.  Similarly, “value” is little more than a measure of corporate size unless you understand the drivers of that value and how to influence it. By examining the strength of the brand and it’s contribution to total market value, we can help companies and their leadership manage that strength and value over time.

24/7 Wall St.: Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having a brand value be a very large percentage of market cap in the present and as an indication of a company’s future performance?

Corebrand: The brand will need to be in balance with the rest of the company’s assets.  A company should strive to have it’s brand strong enough to fend off competitors or changing market conditions but not so strong that it becomes overly dependent on the brand as a single driver of value.  If a company can achieve and maintain its appropriate maximum strength without becoming over-dependent, it will see greater returns in bull markets and retain greater value in bear markets.

The list: Read More »

Asia Market And Europe Open (10/15/2009)

chinaMarkets in Asia were higher.

The Nikkei rose 2.1% to 10,273. Sony (NYSE:SNE), Toyota (NYSE:TM), and Honda (NYSE:HMC) were all higher.

The Hang Seng rose 1.1% to 22,125. HSBC (NYSE:HBC) was up.

The Shanghai Composite moved up .3% to 2,980.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE was up .1% to 5,260. The Dax was higher by .2% to 5,862. The CAC 40 rose .1% to 3,885. Nokia (NYSE:NOK) which is scheduled to report earnings, was up.

Data from MarketWatch and Reuters

Douglas A. McIntyre

Asia Markets And Europe Open 10/13/2009

chinaMost markets in Asia rose.

The Nikkei was up .6% to 10,055. Honda (NYSE:HMC) gained.

The Hang Seng was up 1.5% to 21,603. HSBC (NYSE:HBC) was up.

The Shanghai Composite was higher by 1.4% to 2,936.

At the open in Europe, the FTSE wsa down .1% to 5,206. The Dax dropped .4% to 5,762. The CAC 40 was off .3%.

Data from Reuters and MarketWatch

Douglas A. McIntyre

GM China Sales Rise 55% To A Record

gmGM’s sales may be taking a thrashing in its home market, but Chines sales for the No.1 US car company are getting good enough to trump the company’s trouble in America, or at least offset.

GM said that its sales in China rose to 181,148. Sales for the first nine months of 2009 where up and extraordinary 55% to 1.3 million vehicles. Read More »

Chrysler Fires Top Management As Sales Get Worse

chryslerChrysler is in deep trouble. It is deep enough that analysts and the media have questioned whether it has enough cash to make it through a turnaround, especially in a harsh auto sales enviroment in the US.

The head of Fiat who now runs Chrysler as well gave a sign that the problems at Chrysler are indeed very severe. He fired the CEOs of both the Chrysler and Dodge brands. They are being replaced by more junior managers at the No.3 US car company. Read More »

Media Digest (10/2/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

newspaperReuters:   The retirement package for Ken Lewis of Bank of America (BAC) may be as high as $125 million.

Reuters:   US car sales plunged in September with Ford (F) up and GM down. Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) also lost sales.

Reuters:   The CIT (CIT) board approved a restructuring plan. Read More »