ArcelorMittal Posts First Loss (MT)
Results from the world’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT), could have been worse, but it’s hard to see how. For the fourth quarter, the company posted a loss of $2.63 billion (EPS of -$1.93) on…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
A Different Take on R-I-M ‘Warning’ (RIMM)
Somehow, some way, Wall Street was surprised that Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) reported worse-than-expected earnings. Based on all the corporate layoffs, this should have been expected. Where this gets interesting its that…
NY AG Cuomo Said Merrill “Secretly and Prematurely” Awarded $3.5B In Bonuses Before Merger
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) paid out $121 million in bonuses for the top four recipients before being acquired by Bank of America (NYSE: BAC). Cuomo said Merrill…
Treasury Plan Flaw: Where Is George Soros?
A number of aspects of the bank bailout program presented by the Treasury yesterday troubled investors. The biggest problem was that it lacked details about how it would work. One of the most important…
New Nokia (NOK) Cuts Not Good For Motorola (MOT) And Apple (AAPL)
According to several media reports, Nokia (NOK) says it will cut several hundred employees and temporarily lay off 2,500. Nokia blames the move on the declining market for handsets around the world.
Why A Sirius (SIRI) Chapter 11 Does Not Matter
It does not matter if Sirius (SIRI) goes bankrupt now. Creditors and bondholders may care. It probably will not be noticed by customers. In that way, it will be like an airline bankruptcy. And,…
Why Does Congress Care What Wall St. CEOs Make?
Wall St. CEOs are going to be hauled in front of Congress, as they are almost weekly, to defend their use of TARP funds. The subject of what they get paid will almost certainly…
China Export Drop Signals Deepening US Recession
China’s exports declined 17.5% to $90.45 billion in January. By some measures, the is the biggest drop in a decade. For the same period, China’s imports plunged 43.1% to $51.34 billion. Both pieces of news are…
Fighting Delays In The Bank Rescue: The Treasury Can Always Add Another $500 Billion Later
The argument over the Treasury Department’s use of new TARP funds and other stimuli focused a great deal on putting $500 billion into propping up banks and another $1 trillion into freeing up credit.…
Content, Once King, Becomes A Pauper (AAPL)(YHOO)(CBS)(TWX)
Up until very recently, perhaps as recently as six months ago, the prevailing wisdom among analysts who covered the media industry was that “content is king.” It is an inexact way of looking at…
Shorts Move Out Of Big Retail And Consumer Products
JNJ Short sellers are not willing to bet that shares in large retailers or consumer products companies will go any lower. The are gambling that consumer spending has bottomed. Shares short in Wal-Mart (WMT)…
Media Digest 2/11/1009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, Congress and The White House are working on the final stimulus package. Reuters reports that Wall St CEOs will defend their use of bailout money before Congress. Reuters reports that the…
Asia Markets And Europe Open 2/12/2009
Markets in Asia were lower with Japan closed. The Hang Seng fell 2.3% to 13,561. The Shanghai Composite was off .2% to 2,281. At the open in Europe, the FTSE opened down .4%. The…
3M Adds Pressure On GE Dividend Situation (MMM, GE)
3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) just did the opposite of what many large companies are doing in the current liquidity-crunched environment. The conglomerate just raised its dividend to $0.51 per share. We have been commenting…
Third Wave SPAC IPO Dies Before Launch
Third Wave Acquisition Corp. has just filed with the SEC to withdraw it proposed inital public offering. You can probably guess why: In light of current market conditions.
No Love For NVIDIA (NVDA)
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) earnings show the dual problems of the PC sector. If you are not a fan of caution or if you think you can’t take any more negative news, let’s just…
Applied Leaves Little To Imagination (AMAT)
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) just reported earnings. There was of course the expected drop as many chip and chip equipment players have shown. Although the company warned about earnings, there were very few…
The 52-Week Low Club (CXW)(LFG)(COF)(MGM)
Corrections Corp (CXW) Weak earnings outlook. Plunges to $10.50 from 52-week high of $10.50. Lions Gate (LFG) US box office numbers drop. Shares down to $3.65 from 52-week high of $10.97. Capital One Financial …
Hopes Rise with Baltic Dry Index (BHP, MT)
The Baltic Dry Index is rising from a low in December 2008 of about 660 (essentially zero) to about 1800 (only a little better) now, and the rise is producing a glimmer of hope…
Pink Slips At Wal-Mart HQ? (WMT)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) was supposed to be a winner in the economic slide as the “trade down” shopping destination. It goes without saying that Wal-Mart has more than a few critics. Now…