The Biggest Recession In History: A Minority Report
It is a minority opinion, but one held by some astute people. The recession which may hit the US, or has already hit the US, could be the worst in 50 years. The argument…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
The World’s Safest Stocks Market Sell-Off Edition (VZ)(MO)(ORCL)(MSFT)
When the market drops almost 400 points, investors start to think about 1,000 point drop day. They forget the little run-up the market had over the previous two weeks. Some of the safest stocks…
LBO Debt: Another Banking Debacle
Banks thought they would make money on everything in 2007. Instead, they made money on nothing. That winning streak appears to be extending into 2008. One of the most sure-fire schemes at banks was…
A Junk Bond Depression?
The default rate on junk bonds in 2007 was well under 1%. Junk guru and finance professor Edward Altman says that number will move well above 4.6% this year. According to The Wall Street…
Media Companies Say “What Recession?” (DIS)(NWS)
Either media companies live in a world all their own or a recession is not just around the corner. Results from Disney (NYSE: DIS) were especially good. Disney is a good indicator of the…
Nothing Goes Right At Toll Brothers (TOL)
Things are getting worse at Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) For fiscal 2008’s first quarter ending January 31, home building revenues of approximately $842.7 million declined 22% compared to the same period a year ago.…
Media Digest 2/6/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Barron’s
According to Reuters, BHP BIlliton (NYSE: BHP) raised its bid for Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP). Reuters writes that Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) may raise its bid for Yahoo! (NASD: YHOO). Reuters reports that the current…
Asia Markets 2/6/2008 (SNE)(TM)(LFC)(PTR)
Markets in Asia fell sharply The Nikkei was off 4.7% to 13,099. Mazda was down 7.2% to 439. Softbank was off 6.3% to 2005. Sony (SNE) fell 3% to 4,570. Toyota (TM) was up…
Cramer Critical About NYSE (NYX, NDAQ)
On tonight’s MAD MONEY on CNBC, Jim Cramer was discussing the rhythm of the markets being short sharp rallies followed by sell-offs. But he also had the CEO of NYSE Euronext, Inc. (NYSE: NYX)…
BHP Billiton (BHP) Raises Rio Tinto (RTP) Bid
BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) is doing the one thing good bargainers never do. It is negotiating against itself. Today, it raised its bid for fellow metals company Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) from three shares…
Major Relief Rally in JDSU (JDSU)
If you have been following tech stocks for a decade or more, JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU) is one you will know quite well. For almost the entire 2000’s, you probably wish you didn’t know…
THQ, Not So Recession-Proof (THQI)
THQ inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) just posted earnings that it called in-line with previous guidance. The video game maker just posted $0.24 non-GAAP EPS on $509.6 million in revenues. First Call had estimates at $0.33…
Disney’s Earnings Surge Propels Major Share Buybacks (DIS)
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has posted earnings of $0.63 EPS, although excluding gains its EPS increased 29% to $0.63 for the quarter. It also posted $10.452 Billion in quarterly revenues. First Call had…
Bankrate Shares Hit On Ad Cancels & 2 Acquisitions (RATE)
Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) has just posted earnings of $0.33 non-GAAP EPS on revenues of $25.3 million. First Call has estimates at $0.39 EPS on revenues of $26.83 million. The company also gave some…
The 52-Week Low Club (SIRF)(RMKR)(WOOF)
Primus Guaranty (NYSE: PRS) Bad quarterly earnings. Shares drop to $3.64 from 52-week high of $12.96. SiRF Technology (NASD: SIRF) Big miss on earnings takes half of stock’s value in one day. Trades down…
Multiple Downgrades Challenge Bankrate Ahead of Earnings (RATE)
Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) is set to report earnings after the close today. What in interesting is that we have seen four downgrades in the recent trading days based on valuation, and this stock…
Potential S&P Downgrades Of MBIA (MBI) and Ambac (ABK) Hammer Bank Stocks
Citigroup (NYSE: C) is trading off over 5% today. Wachovia (NYSE: WB) and JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) are down over 3%. Is it any wonder? S&P today said that its potential downgrade of Ambac…
CDO Markets Dead
Trading in CDOs is just not happening. According to Bloomberg "buying and selling of collateralized debt obligations based on mortgage bonds, high-yield loans or preferred shares has ground to a near-halt." We have…
SPAC Goes Operational: Aldabra 2 To Become Boise (AII, BZ)
Aldabra 2 Acquisition Corp. (AMEX: AII, AII.U, AII.WS) has announced that its stockholders have approved the company’s plan to acquire Boise Cascade, LLC’s packaging and paper manufacturing businesses. The vote took place today at…
Could Qimonda Be Acquired? (QI, MU, RMBS)
There is an interesting research note out of American Technology Research that questions whether or not Qimonda AG (NYSE: QI) could be a takeover candidate. Since its first quarter earnings, shares are up some…