The global market for consumer spending on mobile content, apps and games, and services totaled $121.8 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow to $138.2 billion this year. The advertising spend on mobile…
Even though the market for US stocks is at a four-year high, some 76% of Americans are not willing to invest more in equities. Only 18% of those surveyed by Bankrate.com (NYSE: RATE) plan…
Sunoco Inc. (NYSE: SU) has been shopping its two Pennsylvania refineries since late last summer with not a lot of interest from prospective buyers. That could be about to change. Last week we noted…
Car sales by gender in 2011 pretty much reflect what you’d expect. Men prefer fast cars and big SUVs and pickup trucks. Women favor smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles. Men buy 92.5% of all…
Hopes for a recovery in homebuilding have picked up recently, primarily as a result of pent-up demand for new household formation. All those college grads who moved back in with their parents are supposedly…
Diabetes drug maker Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: AMLN) has hired bankers and lawyers to help the company find a buyer. In February Amylin turned down a $3.5 billion ($22/share) offer from Bristol-Meyers Squibb Co.…
Spain’s central bank, Banco de España, has issued its quarterly report on the Spanish economy, indicating that for the first time in eight quarters the country’s economy has contracted. In the fourth quarter of…
Markets opened higher this morning although a decline in tech stocks weighed on the Nasdaq, leaving the index with only a small gain going into the last hour of trading. Energy stocks boosted the…
Last April, cotton prices had climbed to around $2.10/pound as drought in Texas threatened to play havoc on the crop. The March price this year was $0.995/pound and the today’s price is around $0.90/pound.…
ThinkstockMotorcar Parts of America Inc. (NASDAQ: MPAA) wrecked its share price today, following the company’s announcement of a $15 million private placement of shares at a price of $7.75. The company remanufactures starters and…
Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) had already guided its quarterly earnings down, but last night’s report also lowered the company’s forecast by about $250 million (our coverage here). That is likely the cause of the…
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE: KMB) posted earnings and revenues this morning that exceeded expectations, setting the stage for next week’s reports from Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) and Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL). Kimberly-Clark posted…
Among the more developed countries of Asia — China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan — the top global brand is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) in three and trails only a local brand in South…
If any of the major US railroads needed a good quarter, it was Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP). The company has been fighting a running battle with activist investor William Ackman for over…
Same-store sales in US McDonald’s Inc. (NYSE: MCD) stores rose 8.9% in the first quarter, substantially higher the 5.5% rise in same-store sales in the company’s Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa region and the…
The monthly manufacturing index from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank fell in April from a March reading of 12.5 to 8.6, substantially worse than a consensus estimate decline to 10.5. Any reading above zero…
The US Energy Information Administration today reported the US natural gas stocks rose by a total of 25 billion cubic feet, well above the 8 billion cubic feet increase that analysts had expected. Natural…
Premium luggage maker and lifestyle brand Tumi Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TUMI) priced its IPO at $18/share, a buck above the projected range. The really good news for the company is that the price jumped…
From a high of around $4.60/pound in February of 2011, copper prices have fallen around $3.60/pound today, which is actually better than the price of around $3.40/pound at the beginning of the year. Copper…
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) reported first quarter earnings this morning, and the US’s second-largest wireless carrier mostly met or slightly exceeded expectations. The company’s EPS came in at $0.59 compared with a consensus…