Playboy (PLA) is going through a troubled period, one that has lasted a long time. And, quite frankly, I'm not sure when it will end. I guess it will end when the business eventually finds a buyer. Whether such a buyer turns out to be founder Hugh Hefner or some other entity, we'll have to wait and see (I would assume Hefner would have the obvious advantage).

Shares of the stock are, as I write this, priced at $4.93. The 52-week low for the company is $2.73 while the 52-week high is $6.10. Yes, this has been a great trading vehicle. But don't underestimate the risk here, even though the latest quarterly report did bring some relatively good news.

Playboy (PLA) is a fascinating stock. As with every trade, there are two sides to the story. One side will argue that the stock has bounced nicely off the 52-week low of $2.30, and that it has room to run as the concern continues to alter its model for making money. At some point, the bull might say, the market will become excited and buy the shares.

Interesting thesis. My argument against speculating with this idea is simple: it's Playboy. You might do well; you might not. I don't know how much plainer it can be.

Ooh la la! Fans of the old-school Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) catalog have something to giggle about. After seven long years, the risque quarterly featuring scantily clad young adults is being reinstated. And even though the catalog is ostensibly just marketing itself -- advertising the clothes that the models are barely wearing -- it will cost you $10 (it is available for pre-order now at the Abercrombie website and will hit shelves July 17).

When the recession hit and allowances dried up, ANF suffered even more than most of its peers as teens and young adults offered for similarly trendy fashion at cheaper prices, turning to the Gap's (GPS) Old Navy, Aeropostale (ARO), and American Eagle (AEO) as substitutes. After months of resistance (or denial), ANF finally cut the prices on some items, but it is still facing lackluster sales and revenue numbers. The shares, meanwhile, are down 50% over the last two years.

Who is Hilary Rowland? Buisness Insider labeled her as one of the sexiest CEOs alive, while Wired magazine calls her the sexiest geek. But she is more than just a pretty face. Hilary started out writing a very early form of a blog, and then learned code and web design to create the first women's magazine online. She plans to re-launch the magazine in 2010 as Urbanette Magazine, which she says better describes the focus as "A magazine for the smart, stylish and successful urban woman."

BloggingStocks: What advice would you give to emerging internet entrepreneurs?

Hilary Rowland: I would say that they need a unique idea, and a solid revenue plan. Don't get discouraged. Starting a successful business takes more work than you think but it's doable if you have the will and determination to keep pushing yourself until you've reached your goal. Make sure you have a viable business plan that fills a gap in the market or is an innovative approach. Think everything out thoroughly.

Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PLA) published its quarterly numbers today, and while there were some positive developments, overall, I think it's safe to say that the stock is a risk that should be avoided. Unless, of course, you simply want to roll the dice and speculate.

Hey, nothing wrong with having a little fun, I suppose, although there surely are more attractive speculative bets out there. According to , Playboy lost 83 cents per share in Q4. Last year at this time, there was a loss of $4.40 per share.

There has recently been an interesting development at eBay (EBAY). It seems that at some point while the New Orleans Saints were winning their championship rings, someone snuck through the halls of eBay and pulled all the listings for back issues of that perennial herb magazine, High Times.

Of course, some well meaning souls immediately began complaining about First Amendment infringement. However, unless the eBay ban on High Times was initiated by government interests, there are no viable complaints on that score. eBay is an independent business and may ban whatever classes of goods it may so choose.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations reported today that newstand circulation for magazines fell 9.1% in the second half of 2009. Overall circulation -- including subscriptions -- fell too, but newstand circulation is a better indicator of the health of the industry because it is a more timely reactor to economics changes, and many magazines have kept their circulation up with deep subscription discounting. For instance, a one-year subscription to Glamour is being offered for just $7 on Amazon.com. Interestingly, the two-year rate is $14.97, a reversal of the usual "commit to 2-years and get a lower per-issue price" deal that publishers offer. That may be a sign of optimism on the part of the industry, suggesting a belief that greater pricing power will return as the economy improves.

U.S. stock futures were lower higher Monday morning as concerns about the debt situation in Europe continued to weigh on sentiment. The Dow industrials, it seems, for now will continue to flirt with the 10,000 level, following general declines in U.S. stocks markets last week.

[Update: So far this morning futures have changed direction several times as investors try to find a firm footing.]

Stocks slumped last as worries mounted over debt problems in Greece, Portugal and Spain and a mixed bag of economic indicators in the U.S. Meanwhile, concerns over Greece abated somewhat as the government worked Monday on a tax overhaul aimed at getting its deficit under control.

Glam Media, an online content company focused on women, seems to grow in any kind of economic environment. In fact, it has shown revenue increases for the past 17 quarters.

And with the top-line poised to cross over $100 million, it only seems natural that investors have been clamoring to put money into Glam. So, this week, the company announced that it has raised $50 million from an investor group that includes Aeris Capital, Burda Digital Holding and Mizuho Capital. This puts the total amount raised at $130 million.

It's been a long time since there's been any good news for the print media, but this is a start: ad pages at leading fashion magazines are significantly year over year.

InStyle pulled off an incredible 33.5% jump in year over year ad pages for its March issue, and Vogue eked out a 0.6% increase. Harper's Bazaar was up 4.4%. Elle was up 4%. The big laggard was W, which saw its ad count fall 23.4%.

Five of the largest companies in the print business are testing the digital waters together. Rather than yield their content to alien formats, Time Inc. (TWX), News Corp. (NWS), Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith Corp. have announced plans to develop a digital content format of their own. This new product would compete with the newly released Nook from Barnes & Noble (BKS), as well as one from Sony (SNE) and the industry-leading Kindle from Amazon (AMZN). The new e-reader content will come in color and in a format that would work across several devices.

The five media companies are equal partners in this joint venture, which will allow publishers to set their own prices for their content -- an obvious response to what they see as unfavorable revenue share deals offered by Amazon earlier this year. Rupert Murdoch has been particularly vocal on this issue, particularly about the fact that News Corp. only receives a little more than a third of the $14.99 a month it costs to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal on a Kindle. He says of the device that it's "a fantastic invention for reading books. It is not much of an experience for newspapers."

Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX - option chain) stock is trading lower today after an article in Barron's (subscription required) over the weekend said the company could see trouble ahead if its experimental epilepsy drug, which is undergoing the regulatory review process, is not profitable enough to offset declining royalties from its hepatitis C treatment. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on VRX.

This morning, VRX opened at $32.15. So far today the stock has hit a high of $32.95 and a low of $31.88. As of 11:30, VRX is trading at $32.07, down $1.21 (-3.6%). The chart for VRX looks bullish.

Teradata (NYSE: TDC - option chain) shares are rising today after the stock received positive coverage in Barron's (subscription required) over the weekend. An analyst wrote in the magazine that the stock could rise by as much as 80 percent over the next two years, helped by the company's high cash reserves, good client roster, and technical advantages. This could be a good sign for TDC. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on TDC.

TDC opened this morning at $29.58. So far today the stock has hit a low of $29.11 and a high of $29.75. As of 11:25, TDC is trading at $29.36 up $1.03 (3.6%). The chart for TDC looks neutral and S&P gives TDC a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO - option chain) shares rose Monday after the stock received positive coverage in Barron's over the weekend. An analyst wrote in the magazine that shares of the stock could appreciate quickly since it is the only bond insurer among its competitors that still has the credit rating and financial strength to write insurance on new issues of municipal bonds and bond securitizations. Barron's also said that Assured Guaranty could have smaller-than-expected losses from claims. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on AGO.

AGO opened at $18.70. In morning trading, the stock hit a low of $18.70 and a high of $19.63. As of 11:05, AGO was trading at $19.53 up 1.38 (7.6%). The chart for AGO looks neutral and S&P gives AGO a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Eventually, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) will just be Warner Brothers, HBO, and Turner Networks, says Gordon Crawford, managing director of The Capital Group.

Why does this guy's opinion matter? Well, his company is Time Warner's biggest shareholder. He sees the coming divestiture of AOL (to which BloggingStocks belongs) as part of a broader effort that will eventually include the sale of its print division.