Companies seemed to prefer share buybacks in 2007 and 2008, and maybe part of 2009. Why not, if the stock is cheap? But then 2009 came and many companies were derailed by…
Large consumer companies spend a great deal of marketing money on creating, preserving, and increasing the image of their brands. If a product has problems, the process does not always work. Toyota…
These are this Friday’s top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen in Wall Street research calls: Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank. CIENA Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) Cut…
Customer satisfaction with the e-commerce operations at Neiman Marcus and Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) was particularly bad this shopping season based on research covering the 40 largest US retailers based on internet revenue. The poll results come from…
Measurements from online research site Experian Hitwise show that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been the most visited e-commerce site during the holiday shopping season since 2006. It is in the process of extending that lead…
You might think that companies tend to repurchase fewer and fewer shares in their share buyback plans when shares rise and rise. When you compare the moves from the March 9 close,…
Reuters:  The Senate is near its first vote on healthcare. Reuters:  Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) is betting on corporate spending for its recovery. Reuters:  Time Warner’s (NYSE:TWX) AOL showed that the worst is not…
We are right at a week away from the highly awaited Black Friday for 2009’s holiday and Christmas season. As you likely know, this is THE day that retailers look forward to…
The earnings season is mostly winding down, but we still have a slew of retail earnings in the apparel and home categories. On Thursday alone, we have earnings from Dick’s Sporting Goods…
It seems that earnings season is winding down, but next week we have many of the key retail and apparel players reporting earnings. Saks Incorporated (NASDAQ: SKS), BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. (NYSE:…
These are this Monday’s top ten analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations in Wall Street research calls: Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs. Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA)…
There are a number of ways to rank brand values. One of the most important is the level at which a brand contributes to the market value of a public company. 24/7…
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) hits a yearly high of $22.54. Fellow retailers Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE: RL), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) and J. Crew Group (NYSE: JCG) also hit yearly highs.…
Several consulting firms post annual figures for the world’s most valuable brands. The two best known are probably the Interbrand and BrandZ surveys. They are notably different, up until now at least.…
Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) is holding its own considering the past few years. The apparel retail giant reported a slight gain in quarterly earnings, although this is on the heels of a…
Douglas A. McIntyre 