Skype: The Best Things In Life Are Free
Getting people to pay for something that they are used to getting for free is nearly impossible. The newspaper industry is finding that out the hard way as it tries to get people to…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
The Princes Of Anarchy
The members of The American Society of Half-wits were out in force on the weekend Washington talk shows. The regular guests must have been off celebrating the holiday that falls just after the Vernal…
The Recession Fighters’ Caravan Moves Back To Detroit
The team that plans to bring the economy out of the recession is a bit like a traveling circus. Once every few days, it stops on Wall St., the metaphor for all of the…
Media Digest 3/23/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, the US will woo private capital to get buyers for bank toxic assets. Reuters reports that US shoppers are likely to remain frugal. Reuters reports that US car dealers are struggling…
As Americans Make More Coffee At Home, Starbucks (SBUX) Faces Trouble
The recession is claiming another American habit. People are not going out to drink coffee. They are making it at home, probably to save money. The National Coffee Association, which tracks these habits, says…
At $218 Million, AIG (AIG) Bonuses Higher Than Originally Believed
There was at least some chance that the furor over $165 million in bonuses paid to AIG (AIG) employees might die down this upcoming week. Because the insurance company got tens of billions of…
Treasury Plan For Buying Toxic Assets Is Complex Beyond Belief
If The Wall Street Journal’s description of the Treasury’s plan to get toxic assets off of bank balance sheets is correct, it may be the most complex set of programs in the history of…
Wholesale Credit Unions Seized
Two very large wholesale credit unions were taken over by the government, extending the scope and expense of the bailing out of the US financial system. It is another example of the number of…
Our Rig Count Keeps Dropping, Despite Rising Oil (BHI, OIL, USO)
Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) has just released its weekly total rig counts for the US and Canada and for offshore rigs. Despite the notion that oil is now back above $50.00 and calls…
Bernanke Keeps Challenging ‘Too Big to Fail’ Notions
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has been out in his last three or four speeches now trying to address the “too big to fail” issue. What is interesting is that he is now ringing the…
Simon’s Dilution Takes Away Some Debt Worries (SPG)
Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE: SPG) priced a secondary share offering of 15 million shares at $31.50/share. Simon also made a concurrent offer of approximately $500 million worth of 10-year senior notes. Proceeds should…
The State Of Starbucks (SBUX):Inside its existential crisis.
By Dan Mitchell of TheBigMoney Most years, Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks, uses the annual shareholders meeting to introduce a major new product or a cool new piece of coffee-making equipment. Something…
The Fallacy of Buffett Takeover Lists (BRK-A, SYY, VFC, DHR, BNI, WFC, COP)
It seems that there is renewed interest in a Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) acquisition strategy for another large takeover. This has always been on the table, and as we noted…
Market Sees Rising Chance That Geithner Will Be Out At Treasury, Taking AIG Blame Won’t Help
The calls for the head of U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner are growing daily and with news breaking late tonight that Geithner is taking the blame for the AIG (NYSE: AIG) bonuses, this trend…
This Week’s Biggest ‘GOING CONCERN’ Stocks (AVR, BBI, CROX, EBHI, MGM)
We are still in the midst of “annual report season” as companies have been submitting their 10-K filings with the SEC. Or in some cases delaying those filings. There is one theme that has…
Top Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (EXPE, F, JNJ, CTXS, DSX, EGLE, GM, JCI, HOT, URBN)
These are the top upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street analysts this Friday morning: Expedia (EXPE) Raised to Buy at Citigroup. Ford (F) Started as Buy at UBS. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Raised to…
Sony Ericsson: Global Handset Sales Disaster (NOK)(MOT)(AAPL)(PALM)
Based on recent data on handset sales from research groups, Motorola (MOT), and Nokia (NOK) reinforced their forecasts that global cellphone demand could drop modestly this year It would be the first time that…
Oil Moves Toward $60,
Oil prices hit a low of $33.87 about a month ago. Now there are a lot of reasons that they could top $60, coming close to doubling in less than 60 days. While the…
The Sony (SNE) PS3 Hits The Wall
Sir Howard Stringer, the CEO of Sony (SNE), tried to convince himself and his company’s stockholders that the PS3 game platform would be a key component to turning the consumer electronics and entertainment firm…
Stupidity And The Alchemy Of Chaos
“Never apologize and never explain–it’s a sign of weakness.”, John Wayne as Captain Nathan Brittles in “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon.” One of the goals of big government in the midst of a crisis…