In 1999, about 92% of $13.2 billion in home entertainment spending went to VHS tapes.That percentage fell to zero in 2009. In 2010, spending on DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, and streaming video totaled $18.8 billion,…
Markets opened lower this morning, and continued to fall before holding at around -150 points for most of the day on the DJIA. Japan’s yen sale pushed the dollar sharply higher and pushed down…
Shares in Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) are both down more than -5% in mid-afternoon trading today. There’s not specific news to account for the drop, but we might…
There are plenty of challenges facing the network and cable TV industry these day, not the least of which is the growth in streaming video. The well-known troubles of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) to…
A mere 17% of Americans believe that their overall financial situation is better now than it was a year ago. Only 19% say their net worth is higher today than it was 12 months…
Last week Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) said it would buy out the 50% stake in Sony Ericsson owned by its partner L.M. Ericsson Telephone Co. (NASDAQ: ERIC) for about $1.46 billion. The joint venture…
When Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported that it sold 17 million iPhones in the third quarter of this year, that meant that the company’s smartphone market share fell from about 17.4% to about 14.6%.…
Markets opened slightly lower this morning and spent the morning trying to decide on a direction. The Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose more than expected, but even that was not enough to…
A couple of weeks ago we looked at implied share price gains at several retailers, and today we’ll take a more focused look at mall anchor stores. Three retailers from our previous survey are…
Two of the world’s largest advertising agencies reported earnings this morning, and while the reports are good, the outlook for the current quarter is soft. Things are expected to get better in 2012, with…
The DJIA jumped above 12,000 in the opening minutes of trading this morning and had topped 12,200 by mid-afternoon. European Union leaders have agreed on a deal that would make up to $1.4 trillion…
Transportation stocks get a lot more attention as economic bellwethers than they do as market participants. Railroads, ships, and trucks are not particularly glamorous, and the industries are so entrenched that they most resemble…
Crude oil prices have jumped more than $3/barrel this morning on the expectation that the European agreement on sovereign debt will put some life back into the global economy. That outcome is at least…
Fertilizer maker Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. (NYSE: POT) reported third-quarter earnings this morning that were more than double earnings for the same period a year ago. But in this case, a hit may…
Markets opened higher this morning on renewed hope for a deal on Europe’s debt debacle. At a meeting of EU leaders, the group approved a 9% capital buffer to go into effect by June…
Nearly every forecast for PC sales indicates slower growth in desktop and laptop sales, waning sales of netbooks, and rising, if not booming, sales for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. If those forecasts…
The first large-scale geothermal electricity generating plant in the US was developed in the 1960s in northern California. Unocal, now part of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), did the initial work and the complex, known…
When Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) announced earlier this month that it would bet the company on its sales of the iPhone from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), investors pounded the stock down to a…
For all its struggles with new airplanes, Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) put up some pretty big numbers for the third quarter. The company’s EPS of $1.46, sharply above the consensus estimate of $1.12. Revenue…
Shares opened lower this morning on continuing concern about European bank debt. The Case-Shiller report on housing contributed to the weakness and then the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index came it at its lowest…