Shorts Attack The Banks Again, But Flee Bailout Targets And Retailers
No matter how far down bank stocks go and how hard regulators try to keep short sellers out of financial shares, some of the smart money is willing to gamble that the fortunes of…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Nortel’s (NT) woes spell trouble for Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and Motorola (MOT)
Nortel Networks Corp. (NT), which until recently was Canada’s largest company, is has hired bankruptcy attorneys to advise it in the event that its restructuring plan fails, according to The Wall Street Journal. Odds…
The Specter Of Eight Million Foreclosures
Trying to guess how many homes will be lost to foreclosure over the next several years is a fool’s game. No one knows what will happen to employment. The role that the federal government…
The Stupidity Of Attacking Paulson
The board that Congress appointed to take on the job of keeping track of how Henry Paulson was spending his bailout fund is about to make its first report. That may determine whether Treasury…
Media Digest 12/10/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, the House will vote on the auto bailout as early as this week. Reuters writes that Rio Tinto (RTP) will cut 14,000 jobs. Reuters reports that AIG (AIG) owes other firms…
More Recession Carnage For Video Games (ERTS, ATVI, GME, THQI, TTWO)
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) signaled about six weeks ago that the video game industry wasn’t recession-proof. It turns out that the company (and likely the sector) is not even as recession-resistant as many…
Online Video: 15 Billion Views And Not A Dime Of Profit? (GOOG)(MSFT)(NWS)(VIA)(YHOO)
New data released by comScore shows that US internet users watched more than 15 billion videos last month. Almost 40% of those were watched on Google (GOOG) sites, most of them on YouTube. The…
The Dynamics Of OPEC Increase Get More Complex
OPEC ministers are indicating that when they meet later this month, they may cut production by two million barrels a day. That would be on top of a similar cut in September. Neither the…
Posted Without Comment: Chrysler Refuses To Give Congress Its Financials
Chrysler would like several billion dollars as a part of the initial car company bailout and says that it is close to bankruptcy. In an essay in Bloomberg, Jonathan Weil points out that the…
US Rushes To Catch Russia In Czar Total, Currently Down By 26 To 13
It is relatively easy to count the Russian czars. There were twenty-six from Ivan IV to Nicholas II. That does not count the grand princes that ruled before them, but it still puts Russia…
Which Major Energy Stock Is Best For 2009? (XOM, VLO, SLB, CHK, KMP, KMR)
Energy stocks have taken a pounding since crude oil prices started falling in July. In virtually every part of the energy business, share prices for the premiere companies are off by as much as…
When Lower Guidance Is Good (BRCM, TXN, NSM)
Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM) followed the path of other chip stocks and came out with lower guidance last night. This was on the heels of atrocious guidance from Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) and National…
The 24/7 Wall St. CEO Of The Year: James A. Skinner Of McDonald’s (MCD)
Today 24/7 Wall St.named its annual CEO of the Year James A. Skinner of McDonald’s (MCD). He was picked from a field of ten executives which we profiled over the last ten days. Skinner…
Clayton Williams Unwinds (CWEI)
Clayton Williams Energy (NASDAQ:CWEI) is a small-cap oil & gas E&P company that has seen its share price fall by more than 70% a 52-week high of $122.50 to close yesterday at $33.81. The…
Duncan Energy & Enterprise Swap Cash for Assets (DEP, EPD)
Duncan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE:DEP) announced yesterday that it had purchased limited partnership interests in several midstream assets belonging to Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD). These two companies have more in common than just…
IPO Markets in 2008, Worst in Decade
It is no secret that the IPO market has gone to hell in a hand basket. How many deals have we had since summer in the U.S. and abroad? One real IPO came and…
Pali Research Cuts Disney (DIS) To Neutral, Citing Valuation Gap
Pali Research took the bold step of downgrading the Mouse House, The Walt Disney Company (DIS), to neutral saying the valuation gap with its large cap media peers cannot be ignored. Pali notes that…
Merck Bares All In Pipeline Presentation (MRK)
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) today outlined its drug pipeline and has reaffirmed its guidance given last week. Merck plans to emerge next year and into the next decade leaner and more responsive…
Fannie Mae (FNM) And Freddie Mac (FRE) Could Still Trade Down To Zero
Some investors are still clinging to the hope that the share prices of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) will recover with financial help from the federal government. Both stocks trade below $1…
Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (ADSK, CVA, SFD, MMM, ATU, BLK, CBEY, ITW, RFMD, ROP, UPS)
These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and downgrades we are seeing this Tuesday morning: AutoDesk (ADSK) Started as Buy at KeyBanc. Covanta (CVA) Started as Buy at Jefferies. Smithfield Foods (SFD)…