J. Crew Buyout, An Unfair Price to Many (JCG)
Retail and apparel mergers are still alive and well for good brands. J. Crew Group, Inc. (NYSE: JCG) is reportedly close to being acquired in a private equity buyout led by TPG Capital and…
All Work
Jon C. Ogg
The Daily Gimmick: Blockbuster’s TV Ads (NFLX, CSTR, AMZN, AAPL)
Being Blockbuster must be just awful now. We picked this as one of several key brands which would disappear, and it has already met our criteria for disappearing because it filed for bankruptcy and…
HP Joins Other Tech Earnings, Distancing Itself from Cisco Woes (HPQ, IBM, DELL, CSCO)
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is out with earnings and the IT and PC giant reported $1.33 EPS on $33.28 billion in revenues. Thomson Reuters had estimates of $1.27 EPS on revenue of $32.75 billion. …
GM Analyst Call Lacks Conviction (GM, F)
General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) may have been one of the top IPOs of American history. It was also one of the biggest bankruptcies in American history. S&P Equity Research has decided that GM…
Massey Energy Directors Divided on Strategy (MEE, ANR, MT, ACI, CNX, KOL)
The board of directors of Massey Energy Co. (NYSE: MEE) are meeting this week to decide on the company’s next step following a report in mid-October that it was “exploring strategic alternatives, including a…
McDonald’s Online Promotion, Proven Success For Others to Follow (MCD, WEN, JACK, YUM)
comScore data comes out monthly and it is very frequent where the trends come in almost exactly as you might have guessed when it comes to popular websites and the traffic growth. Then there…
Insider Trading Woes Come Home (GS, MS, BAC, JPM, FAZ, FAS)
Speculation is running rampant on insider trading. This is over who is going to get caught up in the dragnet of insider trading charges rather than on which companies are soon to be acquired. …
High Expectations for H-P (HPQ, ORCL, SAP, IBM, DELL)
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) reports earnings this afternoon, after the market closes. Non-GAAP EPS is expected to be $1.27 on revenue of $32.75 billion. That’s substantially better than the EPS of $1.08 the company…
Real Mergers & More in Potash Sector (POT, BHP, VALE, KCL.TO)
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) may have seen its shares surge on a buyout offer from BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP), but there is other merger that is standing out in the sector.…
Ireland, E.U., IMF, Bailout Dusts Banks (IRE, AIB, RBS, LYG, IRL)
Ireland may be on the road to salvation after an E.U. and IMF bailout and that may be lending further support to the Euro. Just don’t look for the love to be put into…
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (APSG, MT, ARBA, ARMH, ATW, CEDC, CIEN, CRUS, FNGN, GMCR, MEE, PSA, SNDK, SOLF, TER)
These are some of this Monday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls. Applied Signal Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: APSG) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus. ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) Cut…
Is Salesforce.com Now Too Frothy? (CRM)
Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) is on fire after earnings, with shares hitting all-time highs and many analysts raising targets and/or estimates. What we wanted to see is if the frothy valuations will get in…
Mixed Bag on Rig Counts (BHI, OIH, USO)
We are seeing a mixed bag on the rig counts in the oil patch. While the numbers are often higher than a year ago, they are on the decline from week ago data that…
Misguided Management, More Buybacks from Cisco (CSCO)
John Chambers is currently a misguided CEO. We have been very vocal about the need for a dividend here, and the company has finally promised to initiate paying one. Where Chambers is off the…
Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (DE, DECK, EMN, DD, EMC, NTAP, NUS, RBS, NGG, REG, CRM, VMW, WFMI)
These are some of this Friday’s key analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls. Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) Raised to Buy at UBS. Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NASDAQ: DECK) Started…
Harrah’s Caesars IPO Dies… The Ides of Nothing
Do we need another public casino chain? It must be that we do not. Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. has dropped its plan to come public “due to market conditions.” The private equity-owned casino and hotel…
What Saving Ireland Looks Like (AIB, IRE, IRL, NBG)
Want to see just how much the saving of Ireland added to the key ADRs today? Look no further than Allied Irish Banks plc (NYSE: AIB), The Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE), and The…
Rail Dividends Trending Higher, 2011 Outlook (UNP, GSH, NSC, CSX, CNI, CP, BRK-A, BRK-B)
It turns out that Warren Buffett was right about railroads. They are part of a country’s fabric, and their place as a relatively low-cost shipper is well-fixed in a country’s infrastructure. Now that view…
New “Call of Duty” on Way to $1 Billion in Sales (ATVI, GME)
To call the new mega-hit game “Call of Duty: Black Ops” a success would be the understatement of 2010 in video games. Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) has set a record in sales and…
GM’s IPO Sets Stage for Other Autos (GM, F, TTM, HMC)
Government Motors is now back to being General Motors (NYSE: GM). The taxpayer will start to recollect some of the bailout money, although shares would have to be far far higher for a full…