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China Is Crazy over KFC

"Ya'll oughta try some of this here fried chicken; you ain't gonna believe it!" "Xie-Xie!" (pronounced "she-she") That is Chinese for thank you. From the hills of Kentucky, the Colonial Sanders secret recipe has made a splash in China. While it is well known a lot of the stuff you buy at Walmart (WMT) is made in China; what you may not know is that China is crazy for KFC.

You may not think anything of going out for Chinese with your friends and practice eating with chopsticks; when the Chinese go out with their friends to practice eating with a fork; KFC seems to be a popular option.

Continue reading China Is Crazy over KFC

Ben Graham Values: Ten Conservative Growth and Income Ideas

"Investing in conservative stocks to build or rebuild the core of your portfolio makes sense right now; investors should buy companies that have a long history of steady earnings and dividend growth, through good times and tough times," says J. Royden Ward.

The editor of the specialty newsletter, Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter, explains, "The obvious benefit of adhering to a disciplined system of value investing like ours is that you build long-term profits and, ideally, financial independence.

Continue reading Ben Graham Values: Ten Conservative Growth and Income Ideas

Walmart's 'Small Box' Strategy Moving Forward

Walmart WMT logoWalmart (WMT) seems to have the big-box retail format cornered. It is growing sales faster than the competition, is expanding internationally with success and seems to be able to do no wrong (albeit with a few small sidesteps).

Shares haven't really done much in recent years, closing yesterday right above $50 after sitting in $40 land for much of the past three years. About this time last year, shares were on a trajectory to hit $60 -- which they made before declining again.

Continue reading Walmart's 'Small Box' Strategy Moving Forward

Closing Bell: A Fifth Straight Win, but Sloppy (AA, BP, HEW, AON, SNDK, WMT, WY)

Today was a strange day in the market, with EU markets mixed and an overall mixed bias being present all day ahead of earnings season. A Fed official noted that rates were appropriate on the same day that Ben Bernanke was out discussing the lack of credit available at small businesses. Despite today's win looking more like a tie or surrender, we have now been up 5 days in a row.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,216.27 +18.24 (0.18%)
S&P 500 1,078.75 +0.79 (0.07%)
Nasdaq 2,198.36 +1.91 (0.09%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: A Fifth Straight Win, but Sloppy (AA, BP, HEW, AON, SNDK, WMT, WY)

Wal-Mart Stores (WMT): A Ben Graham Value?

"The stock market is now below the midpoint of fair valuation, a fact that leads us to believe there is further upside for the market ahead," says J. Royden Ward, who specializes in uncovering value-oriented investments.

The editor of Cabot Benjamin Graham Value Letter explains, "Our goal is to identify value and one such value, in our view, is Wal-Mart Stores (WMT), the world's largest retailer, employing more than two million workers in more than 7,500 stores.

Continue reading Wal-Mart Stores (WMT): A Ben Graham Value?

Sam's Club Enters World of Small-Business Finance

Walmart's (WMT) Sam's Club chain is launching a new initiative that is bound to steal a few customer away from rival Costco Wholesale (COST). It is teaming up with Superior Financial Group to offer loans of up to $25,000 to its small business members.

Now small business owners will be able to get their office supplies, their break room treats and their financing in one stop.

The credit markets have been tight since the financial crisis of 2008, and it has been especially difficult for small businesses to obtain financing -- which makes this a ripe market for Sam's Club to dive into. The program will focus on businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans.

Continue reading Sam's Club Enters World of Small-Business Finance

Walmart Marketing Chief John Fleming to Leave Company

Walmart WMT logoFormer Target Corporation (TGT) merchandising chief and current Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) merchandising chief John Fleming will be leaving the world's largest retailer come August. The retailing veteran succumbed to four straight quarters of declining same-store sales, and made the personal decision to leave the company. In all fairness, would any merchandising chief had fared any better through the recent economic recession, even as Walmart fared well among all retailers?

Continue reading Walmart Marketing Chief John Fleming to Leave Company

Unemployed American? Teach English Overseas!

teaching EnglishAre you one of the millions of Americans out of work and not able find a good job locally? If you have an adventurous spirit and native English accent, you can teach overseas and it is more doable than you may think.

Maybe you hate your current job and need a change before you go crazy? Maybe you are unemployed tired of beating the street around town and always wanted to see the other cultures. There is an entire world of opportunity out there in teaching English in foreign countries. Teaching experience, a college degree, or 1 month TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification are pluses, but none of them are required and depending on the program you may not even need to know much grammar.

Continue reading Unemployed American? Teach English Overseas!

Walmart Finally Coming to Chicago?

After years of pretty staunch resistance, Walmart (WMT) may finally be gaining access to the nation's third-biggest market: Chicago. In the past, labor unions and other organizations had banned the retailing giant from the metro area, citing unreasonable salaries and unfair treatment.

In an effort to respond to these concerns, WMT has devised the "Chicago Community Investment Partnership," which carries enough economic clout to win over the Windy City's decision-makers. As Alderman Anthony A. Beale summed up in a release, "most of all, [the city of Chicago] need(s) good jobs."

The Partnership, to be carried out over the next five years, promises the following:

Continue reading Walmart Finally Coming to Chicago?

Kroger: Buy or Sell After Q1 News?

Supermarket chain The Kroger Co. (KR), whose competitors include Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT), was up over 3% at the time of this writing. At a price of $20.71, it was roughly four bucks under the 52-week high of $24.80. The volume was pretty active, indicating some conviction behind the trade. The catalyst was a Q1 earnings report. What should we make of the news?

Well, according to this item, the company competently beat the projections. Kroger made 58 cents per share; Wall Street was betting on 54 cents per share. But, investors won't enjoy the following information: last year at this time, the business earned 66 cents per share. Therefore, we have a decline in the bottom line to contend with.

Continue reading Kroger: Buy or Sell After Q1 News?

Wal-Mart an Unlikely iPhone 4 Launch Partner

Apple, Inc. (AAPL) is synonymous with exclusivity, from its closely controlled operating systems to its top secret research. So it's a bit surprising that for the first time ever, the mass retailer Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (WMT) will be partnering on the launch.

When the iPhone 4 debuts June 24, Wal-Mart will stock the gadget on its shelves at the exact moment the company's namesake Apple Stores do. And if that's not impressive enough, the deal is not just a first for the tech giant. It's a first for the big-box store, too. Most major electronics companies delay release of their goods at Wal-Mart, not let the store share in the debut. This move could mean Wal-Mart will be the site of future launch parties for highly anticipated electronics gear.

Continue reading Wal-Mart an Unlikely iPhone 4 Launch Partner

Talbots Enjoys a First-Quarter Profit, but It Doesn't Help the Stock

Talbots TLB logoTalbots (TLB) was enjoying a nice uptrend for much of the past year. Then, economic troubles appeared in Europe, and the bears came clawing their way to Wall Street to ruin the rally. Like many other stocks, Talbots got hit. And on Tuesday, it closed down 9.5% to $12.20. The 52-week high on the shares is $17.79.

During the fourth quarter, the retailer beat estimates by a wide margin. This time around, it's more of the same. According to Reuters, adjusted profit from continuing operations calculated out to 38 cents per share, much higher than the call of 16 cents per share (and much better than the adjusted loss of 23 cents per share from continuing operations in the year-ago period).

Continue reading Talbots Enjoys a First-Quarter Profit, but It Doesn't Help the Stock

Could Walmart Be a Defensive Play?

Walmart WMT logoWalmart (WMT) is a big-cap, blue-chip business in retail, one that competes with Sears Holdings (SHLD) and Target (TGT), among others. It's generally considered one of the safer, although considerably more boring, names in the universe of equities. However, could it be a defensive play in this economy?

Difficult to say for certain. As I've said before, I don't care what stock you hold in your portfolio, it'll go down if the markets become very choppy, defensive reputation or not. And Walmart isn't necessarily the first idea you think of when you think defensive. Usually, you might come up with a Coca-Cola (KO) or a Kraft (KFT) ... something with food involved, something that sells products consumers use and need every single day and can buy at multiple locations, not just at one single shopping source.

Continue reading Could Walmart Be a Defensive Play?

Closing Bell: Things Fall Apart (C, F, INTC, NVDA, BP, WMT)

The day started with rumors about problems with Hungary's sovereign debt. Whether the rumors about a potential default had any truth behind them hardly mattered. Stock prices in Europe crumbled and the euro fell to a four year low -- below $1.20. At 8.30am the Labor Department announced May employment numbers. The market consensus was that 540,000 new jobs were created in May. About 400,000 of those were expected to be temporary positions created by the Census Bureau. The total number was only 431,000 and the private sector created barely 20,000 new positions. Futures were down by 2% before the market opened.

The unofficial closing numbers:

Dow 9,931.22 -324.06 (-3.16%)
S&P 500 1,064.88 -37.95 (-3.44%)
Nasdaq 2,219.17 -83.86 (-3.64%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: Things Fall Apart (C, F, INTC, NVDA, BP, WMT)

Wal-Mart Announces College Aid Program for Employees

Under a new program started by Wal-Mart (WMT), employees will be offered tuition money to help pay for a college degree. The program is being run through American Public University. The courses will be taught online in order to provide flexibility to employees already holding jobs at Wal-Mart.

The program will offer a 15% tuition reduction and Wal-Mart Stores will invest another $50 million over three years in other tuition assistance.

Wal-Mart employs 1.4 million people in the United States. Most earn an average of $11.75 per hour. Estimates are that 200,000 employees will be eligible for the program. A two-year degree would cost about $11,700, and a four-year degree would cost about $24,000.

Continue reading Wal-Mart Announces College Aid Program for Employees

Next Page »

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-1.2210,465.94
NASDAQ+3.012,254.70
S&P 500+0.071,101.60

Last updated: August 01, 2010: 01:35 AM

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