Can Rambus Regain Its Shine? (RMBS, MU)
Calling last week a rough spot for Rambus, Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS) might be the understatement of the year. This was after a federal judge in Delaware ruled that the chip patent shop could not…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
When Americans Save, They Are Stimulating
John Tamny RealClearMarkets Amid the U.S. economy’s continuing struggles, conventional wisdom has suggested that Americans must spend in order to bring the economy out of its slump. Along those lines, a recent newspaper beamed…
Early Bird Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (A, GNTX, PFE, AA, AGN, HOG, PBH, SSS, STM, TEN)
These are some of the top early bird upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street analysts this Monday morning: Agilent (NYSE: A) Raised to Outperform at Baird. Gentex (NASDAQ: GNTX) Raised to…
Corporate Bankruptcies: The Next Hurdle For Banks
The list of problems that could hurt bank earnings is already pretty long. The first big problem was mortgage-backed securities. That was followed by consumer credit write-offs. Then came loans for commercial real estate.…
CBS (CBS) Loses At Musical Chairs
Shares in CBS (CBS) are down almost 65% over the last year, much more than the DJIA and other major media companies. Part of the reason is that the firm is poorly diversified and…
Making Obama Wait
No one being seating in the next Congress, the 111th United States Congress, is likely to accused of beating his wife, using the wrong fork, or passing gas while speaking with a head of…
The Imbecile’s Ball: Citigroup (C) Dances Around Management Change
What will happen next on Citigroup’s board or among the ranks of its senior management involves a guessing game. By several accounts, chairman Win Bischoff is leaving. But, he has been on his way…
Twelve Major Media Brands Likely To Close In 2009
No one working in the media industry will ever have seen a year as bad as 2009 will be. The sharp slide in advertising began in 2008, and, based on the worsening economy, there…
Media Digest 1/12/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, Citigroup (C) is near a deal to form a venture putting its brokerage business together with the one at Morgan Stanley (MS) Citi would be paid about $2 billion. Reuters reports…
Asia Markets And Europe Open 1/12/2009
Markets in Asia were lower. The Nikkei did not trade due to a holiday. The Hang Seng fell 3% to 13,946. The Shanghai Composite was off .2% to 1,900. At the open in Europe,…
Americans Growth To Like Old Cars
Imagine millions of Americans owning antique cars. A 1966 Ford Fairlane is worth almost $140,000. A 2001 Chrysler Prowler $40,000. Consumers are keeping their vehicles much longer because they cannot afford to buy new…
Hearst To Dump Seattle P-I
It seems that the newspaper industry changes are not going to slow down any time soon. An ominous announcement came across Business Wire today saying Hearst Corporation intends to jettison the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and…
Rubin Out At Citi (C)
The WSJ first reported that famed ex-Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin will be leaving the board of directors at Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C). This has now been confirmed in multiple reports elsewhere. This follows about…
Counter-Cycle Upgrades in YRC Worldwide (YRCW)
The business of trucking and transporting goods has not been a stellar for quite some time. In 2007 to 2008, the sector was hurt by escalating gas prices and an inability to pass on…
More Nukes in the Pipeline (CEG, PPL, EXC)
UniStar Nuclear Energy, a joint venture between Electricite de France (EDF) and Constellation Energy Group Inc. (NYSE:CEG), and PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL), a UniStar partner, have passed the first regulatory review on the road to…
Boeing Goes Boing Boing With Pink Slips (BA)
Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) has decided that it wanted to get into the business of pink slips. The aerospace and defense giant announced that it plans to shed some 4,500 workers. The cuts are…
Rig Counts Fall in December (BHI)
Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) released its monthly rig count report this morning. Compared with November counts, drilling rigs in North America are off about 9%. Compared with December 2007, North American rigs are down…
A Big Writedown At Macy’s (M)? A Question Of Who Is Next
It is beginning to dawn on Wall St. that jobs are not the only thing that retailers will be cutting. The value of their stores, inventories, and any past M&A deals may be on…
More Layoffs Coming in the Oil Patch (CVX, SLB, XOM, COP, BP)
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) already gave its severe earnings warning and we have already seen layoffs coming out of Schlumberger Limited (NYSE: SLB). and its dragging down share prices for the other oil majors. Interestingly,…
Nordstrom Gets New Largest Shareholder (JWN)
It looks like Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) has a new largest shareholder. An existing holder called Capital World Investors has increased its ownership in the upscale retailer and now owns a 10.1% stake in…