According to this Wall Street Journal (subscription required) piece, a member of the Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) board has left the building. Lead outside director Mikael Salovaara resigned yesterday. Can you blame the guy?

No you can't. Circuit City doesn't have any sort of game plan at the moment, and it's sinking fast. The company's stock is priced at $2.31 as I write this. The goofy Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) transaction is gone (for now, at least...there are reports saying that it could be resurrected at a later date, although I don't buy that it will happen at all). It isn't competing effectively against Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT). In short, Circuit City is a Titanic-like electronics retailer that doesn't know how to keep its ship from hitting icebergs.

So this resignation isn't surprising. Of course, is there any way to make money off the stock? I do believe there is downside to come on the share price, which would therefore imply that shorting it could work out. Alas, I wouldn't recommend it. You just know that some company and/or financial entity out there might come in at any point and make a bid, and the shares could skyrocket. Although the Blockbuster deal didn't make sense, it doesn't mean that there isn't some transaction scheme out there that would be logical. Circuit City is a stock merely to watch out of curiosity, it's not one to do anything about.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned here; positions can change at any time.

Circuit City loses board member (and the patience of investors) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Phillip Schoonover's performance as Circuit City Stores Inc (NYSE: CC) CEO has not been terrific. Last March he canned 3,400 of the highest paid people in the company -- many of which were top sales people who took their customers to Best Buy (NYSE: BBY). Circuit City's financial performance has faltered and its stock has lost 80% of its value in the last year.

As I posted here, I can't understand why Schoonover continues to occupy his position as CEO. A Circuit City spokesman denies a rumor I received this morning from an anonymous tip via e-mail suggesting that Circuit City's stockholders hounded the board into agreeing -- Schoonover will be out by the end of this month, the tipster alleges. Two e-mails from different addresses, which apparently were fake, contained the rumor. The senders didn't identify themselves. I called the company and the two executives mentioned in the e-mail for comment.

Here's one of the e-mails:

Continue reading Is Circuit City's Phillip Schoonover on his way out? Unsubstantiated rumors reach my inbox

Is Circuit City's Phillip Schoonover on his way out? Unsubstantiated rumors reach my inbox originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.