When Bond Funds Change Investment Objectives (PHK)
It is no secret at all that the bond funds, particularly closed-end funds, have had a hard time in the latest credit mess. Yet today marks perhaps a new change for closed-end funds, and…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Holiday Success At Amazon (AMZN) Runs Against The Grain
Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon (AMZN) is the Internet’s great escape artist. His company has been in trouble countless times only to emerge better off. He was beaten on by the…
Mr. Darwin Goes To Washington
The new Congress and administration will probably set up programs using $800 billion to create jobs. The total number of people they hope to put back to work could be three million or more.…
Being California Gets More Expensive
Institutions that are not likely to pay their bills have to offer higher interest rates for capital. Old rule. Usually works. Credit agencies issue ratings which allow investors to decide how much risk they…
For Retailers, The Worst Holiday Gets Worse
How can the worst retail holiday season in years get worse? It can become the worst holiday season since anyone kept accurate records. There have been signs for several weeks that e-commerce and store…
Media Digest 12/26/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, as investors moved to cash, oil has come down, but that is not likely to last. Reuters writes that data from MasterCard (MA) shows holiday spending may have dropped as much…
Asia Markets 12/26/2008
A number of markets in Asia were closed. The Nikkei rose 1.8% to 8,740. Investors continued to buy depressed shares in Toyota (TM). The Shanghai Composite was down .1% to 1,852. Data from Reuters.…
Retail Falls Completely Apart (SHLD)(GPS)(M)
Bricks-and-mortar retail sales were predicted to be down by 5% or so this year. At companies like Sears (SHLD), Gap (GPS), and Macy’s (M), which have been suffering for several quarters, the fall-off might…
Shorts Up Bets Against Healthy Banks And Big Industrials, Move Out Of Tech (AAPL)(C)(GE)(F)(INTC)(MSFT)(YHOO)
If investors had a notion that short sellers were going to stay in big financials, they were wrong. Short interest in the weakest companies in the sector dropped. Shares short in Citigroup (C) fell…
Media Digest 12/25/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, as the recession is spreading countries are increasing spending in an attempt to revive economies. Reuters reports that GMAC got federal approval to be a bank holding company. Reuters writes that…
Asia Markets 12/25/2008 (TM)
Most markets in Asia were closed. The Nikkei rose 1% to 8,600. Toyota (TM) moved up slightly after a huge sell-off earlier in the week. The Shanghai Composite fell .6% to 1,852. Data from…
Bull Market Christmas Tree From 24/7 Wall St.
As 2008 draws to a close, it is time for Christmas. It is time for Hanukkah. It is time for New Years. It is time for reflection. And it is time for planning. It’s…
Coal for Christmas: Stocks on 52-Week Lows (APL, KDE, HNSN, IPCM, LUFK, SYNA, THO, TRAC, RIG)
It almost never matter what the markets do anymore. Some stocks just can’t get it right. Most of these lows that we chose to outline did not even have real news out themselves today. …
OPEC’s Worst Christmas
You read it here first. OPEC will have to cut its output by another two million to three million barrels a day once the new year comes. The oil consuming world has slapped the…
Chimera Files To Raise More Cash, Again (CIM, NLY)
Chimera Investment Corporation (NYSE: CIM) is back at the trough to raise more cash. The vulture mortgage investment REIT has filed to sell up to $750 million in common and preferred stock. No underwriters…
Refiners Squeezed Again (BP, MRO, VLO)
On December 12th, the US Energy Information Agency reported that the cost of a barrel of crude in the US was $36.58/barrel. On December 22nd, conventional regular gasoline in the US sold for $1.635/gallon…
Eyeblaster Cancels IPO (EYEB)
Eyeblaster, Inc. has just withdrawn its registration statement with the SEC for its planned initial public offering. You can guess the reasons… "because of unfavorable market conditions that would adversely affect the offering of…
Adult Social Networking Site FriendFinder Filed For IPO (FFN)
There was a rather interesting initial public offering filed this week. A company called FriendFinder Networks, Inc. wants to sell shares to investors. This is not a run-of-the-mill IPO. FriendFinder is the parent company…
As Business Crashes, New York Times (NYT) Moves To Survival Mode
It would have been hard for The New York Times (NYT) to post numbers much worse than their sales for November. Advertising revenue for the News Media Group, which includes the firm’s newspapers. declined…
Cramer Touts Suburban Propane (SPH) as a Play on the Cold Winter Weather
From Street Insider On last night’s Mad Money, Cramer recommended a stock which he called "a play on the cold winter weather", Suburban Propane (NYSE: SPH). Cramer believes Suburban’s story is a simple one,…