Why No One Will Buy A New Car This Year
US new vehicles sales reached almost 17 million in 2005. The number dropped to 10.4 million units in 2009, the lowest level in 27 years. Most industry analysts expect the American car market to…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Brand Value And Stock Value: Soft Drinks, Candy, Soap, And Soup
Large consumer companies spend a great deal of marketing money on creating, preserving, and increasing the image of their brands. If a product has problems, the process does not always work. Toyota (NYSE:TM) has…
Media Digest 2/9/2010 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: Toyota (NYSE:TM) will recall the Prius. Reuters: UBS (NYSE:UBS) posted a profit. Reuters: Nissan posted a profit and raised forecasts. Reuters: JAL will maintain its ties with AMR (NYSE:AMR).
Asia Markets And Europe Open (2/9/2010)
Markets in Asia were mixed The Nikkei fell .2% to 9,933. Toyota (NYSE:TM) rose. The Hang Seng was up 1.2% to 19,790. The Shanghai Composite rose .5% to 2,949. At the open in Europe,…
Motorola Still Owns US Handset Market
Motorola’s (NYSE:MOT) handset business came close to collapse after its failure to replace its successful RAZR cost it the No.2 global market share position in its industry. The firm’s shares crashed from over $26…
Big Company Bankruptcy Candidates (ZLC)(BGP)(WAVE)(ARM)
Which US companies of significant size have among the highest odds of declaring bankruptcy? According to recent data from Audit Integrity, four firms are in extraordinary financial trouble. These corporations each has a high Audit…
The EA Conundrum.. An Earnings DUI (ERTS)
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) is driving while intoxicated. The company cannot find its footing and cannot find its way home. In fact, things are getting to the point that many holders and traders…
Knife Catching for Traders… Toyota’s Stock (TM)
How bad do things get for major brands suddenly under fire? If you have followed the brand damage assault against Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), you know it gets bad for a brand and…
Gmail and Social Media Meet-Up, No Clear Winners (GOOG, NWS, NYT)
We are hearing more reports about social media combining with email. This has been evolving for a decade or so, and now we have Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) reportedly trying to either catch up…
China Reveals Its Stakes in US Companies
For the first time, China Investment Corp., the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has filed a Form 13F with the US Securities and Exchange Commission listing details of its investments in companies traded on US…
SAP CEO Shuffle Shows Strength of Oracle (SAP, ORCL)
Things just still are not going well at SAP AG (NYSE: SAP). Its CEO Leo Apotheker has stepped down as the company reached an agreement with him not to renew his contract. The problem…
Today’s Best Market Rumors (2/8/2010) (AMR)(DAL)(MS)
Updated throughout the day Updated 8.47 AM EST Yelp rejected a $700 million bid from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). (BusinessWeek) Toyota (NYSE:TM) is preparing Prius recalls in the US and Europe (Reuters) Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Google…
10 Expected Big Dividend Growth Picks for 2010 (DPS, JPM, GE, MO, VZ, T, CSCO, DOW, WMT, KMB)
Over what we saw during the recession, 2009 was the year that dividends were cut down to effect cash conservation to get through the recession. In fact, the dividend cuts may have saved many…
Snowstorms, Cabdrivers and Interest Rates
John Tamny of Forbes Washington, D.C., experienced its latest snowstorm the weekend before last. Though the 8 inches that fell didn’t constitute a record, the heavy snow managed to complicate getting around the city.…
Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMZN, ARG, BRCM, CME, XOM, HD, NWL, HK, PCLN, DIS)
These are this Monday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls: Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) Raised to Buy at Collins Stewart. AirGas Inc. (NYSE: ARG) Cut to Neutral at…
China Shut Hacker Operation In November, So Who Hacked Google?
Another example of the Chinese government’s unreliable public relations is its claim to have shut down one of the largest hacker operations in the country–in November. The announcement was made today, at least two…
Greenspan Warns On Recovery
Alan Greenspan, 84 years old, and still defending his role as chairman of the Fed from 1987 to 2006, made a case for his relevance once again. Greenspan told “Meet The Press” that “if stock…
Trouble For Coke And Pepsi? Sugary Drinks May Increase Cancer Risk
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly forms of the disease. The American Cancer Associate says that the five-year survival rate for the condition is only 5%. New research by the Singapore Chinese Health Study…
Disgraced Former Merrill CEO Gets Top CIT Job
They are a perfect pair. Disgraced former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain will join CIT (NYSE:CIT), the lending firm disgraced by a Chapter 11 filing, as its new chief. Thain’s partner in the Bank…
Geithner, Soothsayer, Says US Will Never Lose Aaa Rating
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, looking toward a future he cannot predict, said the US would not lose its Aaa rating. He told ABC’s “This Week”, when ask if the rating will ever be dropped…