PCs Getting So Cheap, Consumers Return To Stores
The good news for PC companies is that consumers are starting to buy computers again. The bad news is that they are not paying very much for the machines. The “new” PC business is…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Which Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway Stocks Bounced The Most? (BRK-A, BAC, WFC, KMX, GE, GCI, IR, USG)
We recently gave a list of companies which we thought Warren Buffett might want to consider selling or lightening up on after Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) disclosed that it had finally decided to…
Government Bails Itself Out At GM: Cash For Clunkers Gets $2 Billion
The $1 billion “Cash for Clunkers” program was an ideal way for the government to protect its $50 billion investment in GM by stimulating domestic car sales as the industry enters the critical new…
Microsoft Analyst Day: As The King Was Looking Down, Google Plays Jester
Microsoft Corp’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Steve Ballmer inks a deal with Yahoo, the software giant’s biggest in years, and all of a sudden he’s invincible. He sure made it sound that way at the company’s…
Is Carl Icahn Stealing XO? (XOHO, IEP)
XO Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: XOHO) is not a usual company we’d cover because of the size and because of the Bulletin Board status. But this week we have been getting multiple inquiries about this…
A Buy and Sell Case For Motorola (MOT)
Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) has been a troubled handset and communications and networking equipment provider for what is becoming longer than memory cares to record. Its restructuring plans have never seemed to end in…
Top Day Trader Alerts (ARIA, ANDS, SYNA, NVTL, ABAX, FSLR, ESLR, AVII)
The following are some of the top stocks to watch for active trading today based on pre-market and after-hours volume activity. There are links through to more detailed coverage and volume analysis at VSInvestor.com:…
Q2 GDP Masks The Real Woes
We already knew GDP was coming out and that it was going to be bad. At least it was not an echo of the -5.5% GDP drop seen in Q1. The preliminary GDP came…
Top 10 Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (ARIA, RATE, IRM, ISLN, MOT, OMX, RTP, SYNA, VSEA, DIS)
These are ten of the top pre-market analyst calls with upgrads and downgrades that we have seen from Wall Street early this Friday morning: Ariad pharmaceuticals (ARIA) Cut to Sell at Merriman Curhan Ford.…
What If Swine Flu Cases Have Peaked?
It is an audacious statement, but Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer of the UK, believes that swine flu cases may have peaked at about 110,000. He sees evidence that the number of people…
Deflation Emerges With Force
The Fed has stated that it is not worried that low interest rates and an economic recovery will cause inflation. Adjustments in economic policy and control of the money supply will prevent that. Deflation…
“Christmas In July” May Kill Retail Jobs In The Fall
The Wall Street Journal reports that a number of retailers are running “Christmas In July” sales. They may help store chains that are low on money, but they probably just displace sales that would…
“Cash For Clunkers” An Artificial Program Shields Auto Industry
Ford (F) makes better cars than it did last year, or at least there is better demand for them. The “cash for clunkers” program put together by the US government helped sell cars, a…
The Government’s Fight To Make Rich Bankers Poor
Andrew Cuomo, who is running for governor of New York State without having announced it, is denouncing Wall St. because of its big pay packages while in his current role as state attorney general.…
24/7 Wall St. TV: Sony–No Hit Products Since The Stone Age
Sony has been skewered for its lack of innovation for the last half decade. Its last big consumer electronics hit was the Walkman which went on sale in June 1979. Sony had another hit…
Media Digest 7/31/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: Banks paid out billions of dollars in bonuses last year while losing money. Reuters: The US closed its car “clunkers” program just as it began as funds ran out. Reuters: Obame faces more…
Asia Markets And Europe Open 7/31/2009
Markets in Asia were mostly higher. The Nikkei rose 1.9% to 10,367. Sony (SNE) moved up on earnings. The Hang Seng rose 1.6% to 20,551. The Shanghai Composite was up 2.7% to 3,412. At…
Wynn vs. Las Vegas Sands, A Tale of Two Casinos (WYNN, LVS)
Today we had earnings from casino rivals Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) and Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS). While many consider these companies very similar for having higher-end operations and Macau operations or…
Rosetta Stone Proves Its Worth (RST)
Rosetta Stone, Inc. (NYSE: RST) just gave us its first earnings report that had a full quarter’s worth public data in it. The language learning software solution provider did not disappoint. In fact, this…
First Solar Kills Estimates, But Mute on Guidance (FSLR, TAN)
First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) has just given its earnings report. The solar leader in the U.S. reported its revenues were $525.9 million. While this is up from $418.2 million in the first quarter…