Google (GOOG): More Sneaky By The Day
Google (GOOG) is sending spies to Procter & Gamble (PG) to see how the big package goods company makes marketing plans and spends its $8 billion advertising budget. That is a lot of intelligence…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Citigroup (C) Continues To Hang Its Own Noose
Citigroup (C) CEO Vikram Pandit may have simply locked himself in the executive washroom and thrown away the key. No one has anything encouraging to tell him and if he does not come out,…
Media Digest 11/19/2008 Reuters, WSJ, New York Times, FT, Bloomberg.
According to Reuters, Toyota (TM) cut production and Nissan was downbeat about its prospects. Reuters reports that if a new CEO at Yahoo! (YHOO) wants to be well-regarded by shareholders, he or she must…
Asia Market and Europe Open 11/19/2008 (BCS)
Markets in Asia were mostly lower. The Nikkei fell .7% to 8,273.Mitsubishi Corp fell sharply. The Hang Seng was off ,4% to 12,859. The Shanghai Composite was up 6.1% to 2,018. At the open,…
GM (GM) Taking Sirius (SIRI) Down To Zero
Correction: Based on the financial contribution of GM subscribers to the Sirius P&L, the satellite radio company would not have an immediate loss of earnings if it were not selling product through the large…
Level 3 Scores Credit Downgrades (LVLT)
Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) has just seen another negative development, this time from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. S&P lowered its corporate credit rating Level 3 to ‘CC’ from ‘B-‘ and it…
Henry Paulson to Supply-Side Economics: Drop Dead
By John Tamny , RealClearMarkets In his 1984 book, The Supply-Side Revolution, Paul Craig Roberts wrote of England’s gasping late ’70s economy. Despite the country’s dire economic outlook, London’s streets were full of Rolls-Royces.…
Will Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Go OTC-BB? (FNM, FRE)
There are many bad things that can go wrong at public companies. Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) have both seen their share of EVERYTHING go wrong. And the good news…
The 52-Week Low Club (SIRI)(GM)(C)(CIT)(SKS)(XTLB)
Sirius (SIRI) traded down to $.20 on concern that a bankruptcy at GM (GM) could ruin its already troubled business. The 52-week high is $2.94. Citigroup (C) Still concerns that bank can hold off…
GE Taking $2 Billion Costs Out Of GE Capital (GE)
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) looks like it is taking its previous reorganization a step further. In July, it announced it was bringing together its financial services businesses under a common umbrella. The goal…
Housing Stinks, But… “Please No Bailout There Too”
The National Association of Home Builders index for November is yet another record low. This drop was into single-digit territory with the index falling to 9, under the low of 14 put from last…
Online Spending Gains Slow To Crawl (AMZN)
The latest data from comSCORE is showing some very troubling trends. In the past, online retails sales have grown while on-site retail sales have seen their ups and downs. It was the growth of…
Evidence of Corporate Debt Issues Stabilizing (T, DUK, PCG, MO, TWC, BA)
We have been tracking the developments in corporate bond spreads and the lack of liquidity for new capital. Over the last ten days or so we have witnessed several corporate bond offerings of size…
China Now Largest Holder Of US Treasuries
The next time Congress wants to raise a $700 billion bailout fund or put together a new package to help a firm like AIG (AIG), Washington is going to have to call Beijing. As…
Big WWF Match Between FDIC And Fed At Congress Hearings
Hank Paulson and FDIC chief Sheila Bair got into a fight over how the $700 billion bailout package should be used. Congress had a ring side seat. A little color from MarketWatch: "The root…
Ethanol News From All Over (PEIX, AVR, JAVA)
The news on the ethanol front this morning is, shall we say, mixed. First, Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ:PEIX) announced yesterday that it would increase its non-cash impairment charge for the suspended construction of its plant…
New Biotech Zombie: XTL Biopharma (XTLB)
XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: XTLB) is an Israeli biotech player that most traders have not heard of. By the looks of the trading today, it doesn’t look like shareholders will get to hear about…
And Like That, Budweiser Goes European (BUD)
Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. (NYSE: BUD) is no more. Any doubts over whether this merger was going to properly close are now history. InBev has now completed its acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. This merger will create…
Transocean’s Move to Switzerland Pays Off for Note Holders (RIG)
The world’s largest offshore drilling contractor, Transocean (NYSE:RIG) is moving its incorporation location from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland. Pending final approvals, the move will be effective on December 18th.
Cliffs, Alpha Scrap Merger Plans (CLF, ANR)
Two weeks ago, Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF) pushed out its shareholder vote on a merger with Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR) to mid-December. Alpha promptly filed suit, seeking to force Cliffs to stick to its…