Starbucks (SBUX) has been talking about its foray into the instant coffee business for some time. The product “VIA Ready-Brew” will actually launch in the US and Canada today. According to the…
Douglas A. McIntyre Reuters: China may hold the key to a sanctions program against Iran. Reuters: The head of the AIG (AIG) unit that caused most of the firm’s losses is back in US. Reuters: The…
These are this Friday morning’s top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive research calls from Wall Street affecting shares: Allstate (ALL) Raised to Buy at Argus. American Tower Corp. (AMT) Started as Outperform…
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.…
The debt ratings agencies might be tarnished on many fronts, but traders for debt and equities still pay attention to debt ratings agencies when they raise ratings on companies. That is exactly…
Douglas A. McIntyre Reuters: Derivatives traders dipped into $4 trillion in client collateral. Reuters: Home sales and durable orders improved. Reuters: The US softened its stance on private equity deals to buy banks. Reuters: The…
Short sellers moved out of tech stocks in large volumes at mid-month. Based on short interest figures as of August 14, shares short in Intel (INTC) fell 33% to 88.3 million. The…
Steve Jobs worked at Apple (AAPL) for $1 a year in 2000, just before the launch of the iPod which completely changed the company’s fortunes and made him astonishingly wealthy. Lee Iaccoca…
Starbucks (SBUX) has come up with a plan to lower prices on many of its drinks and raise prices on others. The process is almost certainly not random, but the company’s thinking…
Douglas A. McIntyre Reuters: Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) are battling to control home entertainment but consumers are slow to adopt their technologies. Reuters: The “clunkers” program will end on August 24. Reuters: GM is…
Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) has come back from the sub-$10.00 category with a vengeance. In fact, if it rallies another $2.00 then it will have recovered a sharp 200% from lows. With…
Douglas A. McIntyre Fidelity Management & Research Company, or FMR, was among the giants which released its quarterly holdings over the most recent days. While it is always interesting to see which holdings are the…
Starbucks (SBUX) brand value dropped 40% to $7.3 billion. Starbucks ran the playbook on hurting a brand’s value. The public perceived that it did not offer enough value for the dollar, particularly…
Douglas A. McIntyre Several companies run annual brand valuations. It is a good business for advertising and marketing firms to be viewed as experts on brands. Brand values are based on the cash flow they…
Reuters: A plan for universal healthcare in China could cut the savings rate. Reuters: Bank regulators are opposing the Obama shake-up of the system. Reuters: Bank of America (BAC) settled SEC charges…