Reuters: China will send an envoy to the US to discuss the yuan.
Reuters: European carriers who lost money on the Apple (AAPL) iPhone won’t do the same in their deals to sell the iPad.
Reuters: The CBO said the health care plan will cut the deficit.
Reuters: Google (GOOG) may announce its China plan next week. Read More
A look at the “hardest working” major brands for 2009 shows that a number of them belong to companies which have done poorly and, in at least one case, may file Chapter 11. This is due to the definition of a hard-working brand, which is based on the ratio of its value to the market capitalization of its parent company.
CoreBrand reviewed the top 100 hardest working brands for the final quarter of 2009. Their researchers point out that “the food industry moves to the top of the list, reflecting the economy and the general improvement of consumer staples businesses. Hershey’s (HSY), Campbell Soup (CPB), and Kellogg (K) make it into the top 5.” On the other hand “troubled industries like financial services and auto manufacturers have seen dramatic decline.”
Harley-Davidson (HOG) is in the top 10 among the hardest working brands. Before rumors of a buy-out, the motorcycle firm’s stock languished at $25, down from $42 less than two years ago. Harley’s stock trades for a low 1.2 times sales. Also near the top of the list is crippled book retailer Barnes & Noble (BKS), which trades for .3 times sales. Blockbuster (BBI) is in the top 25, with a ratio of .1x sales. The firm said in its 10-K that it is at risk for filing Chapter 11.
Restrictive state banking laws are not preventing Walmart (WMT) from extending its reach as a financial services presence which dwarfs many banks. The world’s largest retailer will extend its “Money Centers” this year to 1,500 stores, up from 1,000.
Walmart’s financial push has focused on the relatively poor who have no bank accounts or only have tangential relationships with other financial institutions. Read More
Walmart (WMT) intends to use what it charges for groceries as a weapon against its competition. By lowering prices, it may have the dual effect of drawing new shoppers and helping the overall economy.
Walmart has decided that the route to the heart of the cash-strapped consumer is through his stomach. Grocery prices are a significant piece of most family monthly budgets. Walmart intends to ease that burden while bringing customers into its stores at the same time. It could be persuasively argued that lower food prices give shoppers more discretionary income. In theory, that should help accelerate consumer spending. Read More
Reuters: The Fed is likely to keep interest rates low for some time.
Reuters: China said the yuan in not behind the US trade gap.
Reuters: A record number of Chinese are unhappy about inflation.
Reuters: The recession left “walking wounded” workers according to a study. Read More
These are this Monday’s top 10 analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls during the pre-market hours:
ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARMH) Cut to Hold at UBS.
DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) Cut to Neutral at Janney Montgomery Scott.
Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) Started as Buy at Auriga.
Green Plains Renewable Energy (NASDAQ: GPRE) Started as Buy at Jefferies.
Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) Cut to Buy at Needham.
IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
JDS Uniphase Corp. (NASDAQ: JDSU) Started as Buy at Auriga.
Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) Raised to Market Perform at FBR.
RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) Removed from Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
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JON C. OGG
The 24/7 Wall Street Corporate Power Rankings of the thirty-two most important companies in America are determined by earnings, analyst rankings, important corporate news, trends in each firm’s industry, product introductions, management strength and changes, and credible rumors. It is, in effect, a new version of the DJIA.
The Corporate Power Rankings are released at midnight on each Sunday based on performance during the previous week.
McDonald’s (MCD) sharp improvement in same-store sales moved it to the top of the list. Google (GOOG) was beaten down by its probably decision to exit China. Ford, which has been near the top of the list, what hurt by news that Toyota (TM) has posted strong sales in the early days of March
Wal-Mart (WMT), the world’s largest retailer which has sales greater than the GDP of many countries, has decided it is so successful that it can stock products that no one wants.
According to Reuters, Wal-Mart has put roughly 300 items back on its U.S. store shelves after the retailer said it “disappointed” customers by not stocking certain products. “We did discontinue some things that people didn’t buy very often, but were aggravating to a customer to lose,” said Wal-Mart U.S. Chief Operating Officer Bill Simon. Read More
The 24/7 Wall Street Corporate Power Rankings of the thirty-two most important companies in America are determined by earnings, analyst rankings, important corporate news, trends in each firm’s industry, product introductions, management strength and changes, and credible rumors. It is, in effect, a new version of the DJIA.
The Corporate Power Rankings are released at midnight on each Sunday based on performance during the previous week.
Apple took the top spot as its market cap moved toward $200 billion and it set April 3 to launch the iPad. Ford moved into second place as its February sales topped GMs for the first time in 12 years.
Home Depot dropped to 31st as home sales dropped.
24/7 Wall Street has a real-time index we keep of the 500 largest market caps of US equities. This is The 24/7 Wall St. Real-Time 500. Of these, the 23 highest are deemed mega-cap stocks as they have market capitalization rates of more than $100 billion. Almost every public information source varies on market capitalization rates based upon the dilution or full number of shares which are counted. But what gets interesting is that as companies get larger and larger in market cap, it seems as though it gets harder and harder for their stocks to keep rising indefinitely. Enter Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) at new 52-week and all-time highs today. Apple’s market cap today is now within striking distance of $200 billion.
If that holds, it will be the #4 position in US market cap on our list per Interactive Data calculations for real-time market cap calculations. We would note that other lists may show it as being ranked #5. The position is not the point exactly. The issue that needs to start being considered is the actual market capitalization or market cap.
As far as how Apple ranks, the company is worth more in stock market dollars than JPMorgan Chase & Company (NYSE: JPM) at $169 billion, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) at $174 billion, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) at $176 billion, and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) at $184 billion. These values and rankings of course change each day based upon share prices.
Costco (COST) has built its revenue over the years by selling quality goods for low prices. That is in contrast to Target (TGT) and Walmart (WMT) which have reputations for selling cheap products at a low prices. Costco parking lots often have as many Mercedes and BMWs in them as Subarus and Nissans. Upscale consumers like bargains just as well as those less money.
Costco’s sales over the last month took a big jump, up 11% to $5.61 billion. Same-store sales for the period which ended February 28 were up 9%.
The 24/7 Wall Street Corporate Power Rankings of the thirty-two most important companies in America are determined by earnings, analyst rankings, important corporate news, trends in each firm’s industry, product introductions, management strength and changes, and credible rumors. It is, in effect, a new version of the DJIA.
The Corporate Power Rankings are released at midnight on each Sunday based on performance during the previous week.
Ford was thrashed in the rankings due to the likelihood that February car sales in the US will be extremely weak. Buffett’s company climbed after it released his annual letter and strong financial results. Abbott moved up on news that stents, one of its major products, are effective in fighting strokes. And, Goldman Sachs (GS) stayed near the bottom of the list as investigations into the bank’s role in the Greek debt debacle grew.
American companies have been criticized for years for outsourcing work, particularly to China and India. Much manufacturing work actually went to other nations, such as Vietnam and Mexico, but China has been a convenient target of criticism.
Warren Buffett’s new annual letter to shareholders is out. This is a far different read than a year ago. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) said its annual shareholder value rose by 19.8%, a figure which would be great most years but was short of the return of the S&P 500 Index. Book value per share rose to $84,487.00… yet the stock ended at $99,200.00 on December 31, 2009. The large premium was in part due to the pending mega-merger of Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
The good news here is that Warren Buffett is less cautious than in the past and is far less pessimistic and depressed compared to how he sounded a year ago. Buffett claims to have added at least 650,000 shareholders to the 500,000 or so already on Berkshire’s books. What is going to be different here is that Buffett is appealing to the new shareholders to understand what the company is and what it is not by directing holders to its principles…. Buffett notes, “Berkshire has adhered to these principles for decades and will continue to do so long after I’m gone.”
And there are many more zingers and explanations throughout, along with constant references to Charlie Munger.
Many alternative energy stocks themselves may sometimes represent little more than highly leveraged bets on the price of oil. But there is still big business in the world of clean tech and green technology. This week saw some interesting developments in the world of green business. In the news were Capstone Turbine Corp. (NASDAQ: CPST), Deere & Company (NYSE: DE), First Solar, Inc. (NASAQ: FSLR), Evergreen Solar Inc. (NASSDAQ: ESLR), and Veolia Environnement SA (NYSE: VE). Even Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) got in on the lower carbon news.
Reuters: Akio Toyoda met with Transportation Secretary LaHood.
Reuters: Lloyds posted huge loss driven by bad debts.
Reuters: A job creation effort is hung up in Congress again.
Reuters: Blackstone (BSX) got commitments for its fund in China. Read More
Short selling is seen for many reasons, but universally traders tend to track short selling to track the biggest changes in the short interest twice each month. Whether these are hedges, forward delivery trades, or just raw short sales, the trend is generally viewed as a bet against the overall market. During the month of February, we saw short selling increase at both the NASDAQ and at the NYSE. And it turns out that the short selling increased against more Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B, BRK-A) stocks than those short positions which were lightened up.
The total NYSE short interest rose by 3.78% to 14,002,613,200 shares versus 13,492,652,518 shares in the period ending January 29, 2010. NASDAQ short interest was up 4.75% to 7,019,657,092 shares versus 6,701,137,021 shares ending January 29, 2010. It turns out that the best against Warren Buffett’s core holdings were frequently far higher than these short interest averages.
The bets against Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway were likely left over arbitrage plays or more importantly were index addition bets that the stock would drop after it was added to the S&P 500 index. We took a look here at the few first that actually saw a decrease in the short selling. These are Buffett stocks which saw traders making lower bets against his portfolio stocks as follows:
There is one headline about management that almost always brings up concerns from the financial community….. CFO Resignations. GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) is paying a price this morning because CFO Catherine Smith left the company. To make matters worse, she only joined GameStop late in 2009. Smith took a job with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) in the Walmart International operations. When CFOs resign and already have a job lined up it is usually less of a concern than when CFOs resign for personal reasons or due to fundamental disagreements. In the case of GameStop, the news implications here might not just be that the added bad news is a ‘one and done’ scenario.
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Reuters: The Senate overcame opposition to allow jobless benefits to be extended.
Reuters: The $15 billion jobs bill advanced in the Senate.
