BUCA Selling to Planet Hollywood (BUCA)
So much for thinking the consolidation in small restaurant chains is over, albeit this is a tiny deal. BUCA, Inc. (NASDAQ: BUCA), the owner and operator of Buca di Beppo, has announced that it…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
Cisco Earnings On Deck, To Trump FOMC Impact (CSCO)
We may have an FOMC decision on interest rates due at 2:15 PM EST today, but technology stock traders may actually care more about what John Chambers of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) has…
IPO Filing Withdrawal: Convio, Inc.
There was an IPO filing almost a year ago for Convio Inc. which would have traded under the ticker "CNVO" on NASDAQ. While the company has made several amended filings, the company has just…
Archer Daniels Midland Heads For Fresh Lows (ADM, VLO, TSO)
Today’s earnings report from Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) not only missed analyst’s targets, but may have missed the broad side of the barn. Analyst expected EPS of $0.67, and got EPS of $0.58. Revenues…
The Dolans & The Cablevision Pie Cutter (CVC)
Today feels like another episode of deja-vu in failed mergers, although perhaps this is just a similar situation rather than a total repeat. Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) has announced that its board of…
3COM Pulls A Rabbit From Its Hat (COMS)
This morning we are seeing some news out of 3Com Corporation (Nasdaq: COMS) which many may have guessed wouldn’t be possible. The networking company raised guidance previously provided for the quarter-end of August 29,…
Gabelli Enters SPAC IPO Game (GBL, VZ)
Last night there was a filing from Gabelli Entertainment & Telecommunications Acquisition Corp. to come public via an initial public offering for a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) or a blank-check company. This is…
P&G Earnings Half Empty & Half Full (PG)
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) posted a 33% earnings gain to $0.92 net EPS, but before a tax gain it showed $0.80 EPS. Estimates from First Call were $0.78 EPS. For its next quarter…
Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (AIG, AU, AAPL, BLKB, CREE, GENZ, HGG, LL, RDS.A, WBD)
These are some of the top analyst upgrades and positive calls we are seeing this Tuesday morning: American International Group (AIG) Raised to Buy at UBS. Anglogold (AU) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.…
Top Pre-Market Analyst Downgrades (BBY, BBBY, CC, DELL, HPQ, JNS, LIZ, LSI, PIR, RACK, RSH, SFD)
These are some of the top Downgrades or negative calls we are seeing early this Tuesday morning. Neutral and Hold ratings are not technically negative, but they aren’t ringing endorsements either. Best Buy (BBY)…
Otter Tail Loses Its Tail (OTTR)
Otter Tail Corp. (NASDAQ: OTTR) may have been caught with its tail between its legs. The small diversified mini-conglomerate has warned that its earnings were going to fall short of expectations. For those new…
Oil Price Slide Likely To Stop At $120
Economists are giddy over the prospects of $100 crude. Predictions of oil dropping to that level are almost as prevalent as were forecasts of $200 just three months ago. The swings in the forecasts…
A Fed Rate Increase In The Making
Ninety-nine out of one hundred economists say that the Fed will not raise rates this time around. The agency will express its concern about inflation and leave it there. The agnosticism about about the…
China Begins To Look Like 1980s Japan
Japan hosted the Olympics in 1972, toward the end of a decade in which its economy grew 10%. Now China gets the games and word is that its GDP expansion will be a disappointing…
Can Porn Industry “Stimulate” The Economy?
Many Americans have taken the $168 billion in government largesse that the government granted them to spend on stimulating the economy on stimulating themselves. According to The New York Times of all places, a…
Merrill’s (MER) CEO Cites “Employee Morale” As Reason To Raise Funds
Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain’s decision to sell billions of dollars in bad mortgages at fire sale prices attracted the scorn of Wall Street, which saw it as an ill-time move and a departure…
Media Digest 8/5/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTImes, FT, Bloomberg
According to Reuters, large Yahoo! (YHOO) holder Capital Research want to know whether vote counts from the company’s annula meeting were accurate. Reuters writes that the Fed is seen as holding rates steady. Reuters…
Asia Markets 8/5/2008 (CN)(CHL)(CHU)
Markets in Asia were lower. The Nikkei fell .1% to 12,915. Hitachi rose 2.6% to 822. Nippon Oil rose 2.6% to 630. The Hang Seng fell 3.% to 21,832. China Mobile (CHL) was down…
Cisco’s Fiscal Year Earnings on Deck (CSCO)
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) reports after the close on Tuesday and you can count on technology investors and traders alike to pay attention to the comments of CEO John Chambers more than they…
Alnylam Cancels Conference… What’s Brewing? (ALNY)
We just saw a report out of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) that may get traders moving on both sides of the stock. The company has just announced that management will not be presenting…