Overnight, Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) signed several cell carrier deals in Asia that will put its mobile search onto a large number of new phones. According to the company, it now reaches 600 million handset customers worldwide.
Maybe mobile search will be a big market, but maybe it won't. Reuters writes that "the mobile advertising market is expected to rise to $16.2 billion in 2011 up from $1.5 billion in 2006."
Yahoo! may want to avoid counting its chickens too early. Despite the firm's upbeat tone, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are having success getting into the same market. In China, where there are well over 300 million handsets in use, Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU), the county's largest search company, does not want to give up market share to US-based companies.
If Yahoo! gets 20% of the market in 2011, it would pick up $3 billion in additional revenue. Is that a nice chunk of change? Yes, but that is a long time for Yahoo! shareholders to wait.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Minyanville's top dog, Todd Harrison, dares to ask in public what Wall Street types quietly consider in private. For more insight and ideas, visit www.Minyanville.com.
If S&P 1340 doesn't hold, you're going to hear a lot of chatter regarding the March lows (S&P 1275) in a hurry. Be prepared. Be very prepared.
One very savvy soothsayer, who I just got off the phone with, doesn't think we get there. He's looking for S&P 1320-ish as a long side opportunity. Just so you're hearing what I'm hearing as heck, we don't call him "As Good As It Gets" for nothing.
Moi? Are you talking to me? You know my drill: I've got a pretty sizable ratio bet on (short crude, long oil), which I'm trading around as a function of price, along with some tertiary trading exposure, including Goldman (GS) calls.
Speaking of taxi drivers, how long do you think it'll be before cabs are allowed to pick up multiple passengers in the Big Apple? That should help with societal acrimony!
If you looked up "Where there's smoke, there's fire," you'd probably find a picture of Lehman Brothers (LEH)., this thing trades funky.
I'm seeing a lot of stocks trade "wide," which is to say they're jumping around. That's a recipe for smaller size. Adapt, don't conform.
Given the amount of typing I do on any given day, do you think I should get finger insurance?
Today's trading action was interrupted and then switched gears late morning after two unrelated pieces of worrisome news. Most importantly, I'd argue, reports surfaced that a Navy contracted ship fired warning shots at two fast-approaching Iranian vessels. Iran denied any hostilities over the incident (it must have been 'Fauxranians'). Oil shot up $2.43 to $118.49 per barrel. Also, consumer sentiment from University of Michigan (revised) was reported at a 25-year low at around the same time.
These are the unofficial closing prices today for major US index readings:
Baidu.com Inc., (ADR) (NYSE: BIDU) was a big gainer on a mixed day after earnings. The company beat earnings last night and saw an upgrade from Citigroup this morning. Shares rose 6% to $363.00 in the last minutes of trading.
Baidu (NYSE: BIDU) is recently up $2.28 to $351.94 in pre-open trading.
BIDU is scheduled to report Q1 results after the market close tonight.
RBC Capital has a $361 price target on BIDU.
BIDU May option implied volatility is at 81, September is at 68. BIDU average option implied volatility over the last 26-weeks is 70 according to Track Data, suggesting larger near term price fluctuations.
Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com
It was bound to happen sooner of later. Growth of new internet users in the US has slowed. Growth in China is robust. As of February, the big Asian nation now has a many people online as America does. Both countries have about 221 people using the internet.
According to the AP "China's February figure for Internet users was a 61 percent jump over the 137 million people online reported by the government at the start of 2007."
Who cares? US internet companies for one. With China's audience so huge and growing, the next battle for web users in moving quickly to the mainland with companies like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) understanding that much of their future revenue prospects will have to come in the world most populated country. Online activity in the US and Europe is close to its saturation points.
The challenge in China is that leading local companies there like Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) and Sina (NASDAQ:SINA) are already control much of the market. They are not likely to give up any of that share with out considerable fighting.
The Chinese market may hold the key to ongoing revenue growth for US internet companies, but, if they cannot find a big foothold there, it is a sign that their long-term growth prospects may be stunted.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
By some measures, China-based search engine Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) has 60% of the search engine market in that country, which now has more internet users than the U.S. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a distant second.
According to Reuters, "Lee Kai-Fu, Google's president for Greater China, said in an interview that the Silicon Valley company intends to add 200 staffers in 2008 to its existing 600 employees and to keep up that level of hiring for the next three to five years."
All of the effort may not help. The Chinese may prefer to use the services of a company that was founded in their own country and where the search technology was originally based on their language. China has watched U.S. tech efforts from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Hewlett-Packard (NASDAQ: HPQ) come into the country and dominate market share. The capital from those efforts makes it way back to the U.S.
Baidu is one of the few Chinese tech companies that has a huge lead on its Western competition. Many people there prefer it that way.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
When I saw the news of NTT DoCoMo (NYSE: DCM)'s new mobile phone that emits fragrances, I began wondering what other oddities today's corporate powerhouses may be working on. No financial advice here, these are just some ideas I came up with:
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) will unveil headgear that doubles as both headphones and a personal masseuse, giving tantalizing head, neck and shoulders massages.
In an attempt to help with falling click-through rates, Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)'s new mobile phone will be offered free as long as you sign Google's activation agreement requiring you to click on a mobile ad every hour, even while you sleep.
A Chinese court has opened the way for the music industry to take forward its lawsuit against local companies that may have allowed downloads without payment. According toThe Wall Street Journal, "The music-industry lawsuits claim $9 million in damages." One of the defendants in the action will be China's leading search engine, Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU). There is speculation that, if the music companies win the action, they will make much broader cases against other firms in the country.
It is strange that a Chinese court would let the matter be litigated. China has been known for piracy of intellectual property from companies outside the country for years. The software and movie industries have been especially hard hit as the Communist government has turned a blind eye to piracy.
If the court decision goes against the alleged pirates, it may begin a series of suits from companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and major movie studios.
The rip-offs have been going on for years. It is about time that China does something about them.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Troubled savings and loan giant Washington Mutual Incorporated (NYSE: WM) will receive a $5B investment from private equity firm TPG and other investors, the Wall Street Journal reported. For now, this eliminates the possibility that it will be acquired by another financial institution such as J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM).
People close to the situation said that Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corporation (NYSE: NWA) have revived merger talks. It is speculated, the Financial Times reported, that weak demand and high fuel costs are urging the airliners back to the table to work out a merger arrangement.
OTHER PAPERS:
Evergreen Solar Inc (NASDAQ: ESLR) is expected to announce today that it will double the size of its manufacturing facility in Massachusetts and add about 350 new jobs as part of its ongoing expansion, according to the Boston Globe.
WEB SITES:
Bloomberg reported that The Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) has been the only major investment bank that has refused to reduce its leverage. In fact, Goldman's adjusted leverage ratio of assets rose to 18.6 at the end of February, from 17.5 at the end of November.
The Shanghai Composite moved up moved from 1,330 two years ago to over 6,100 last October. It was a dizzying rise. But, since its peak, the index has fallen to 3,300.
Investors who bet on the exchange have lost 45% of their money in a short time. Some of the key China stocks traded in the US have also dropped sharply. The shares of China search engine Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) hit a 52-week high of just over $429 and now trade at $273. The company still has a P/E of 105.
The Shanghai market has been dented for two reasons. First, if stock markets are leading indicators, investors in China are worried about rising inflation and falling exports to the US as the economy here slows. For a country where GDP rises 10% most years and inflation by almost as much, a share drop in growth could do huge damage to the China economy. According toThe New York Times, "there are worries that a prolonged downturn could reverberate through China's financial markets."
Today's summary of the full day would be highly incomplete without mention of the higher buyout price for Bear Stearns Co. (NYSE: BSC). The $2.00 all-stock bid from JPMorgan Chase Co. (NYSE: JPM) has finally been boosted to $10.00 per share, and the target shares rose some 88% to $11.25 on the day. There were many reasons that this price was going to have to be raised, but the question was by how much? Shares traded up even higher than that $10.00 threshold on hopes for better share conversion rates and perhaps even on hopes of a higher price. Below are the unofficial closing levels for US stock markets:
DJIA 12,548.64 (+187.32; +1.52%)
S&P500 1,349.88 (+20.37; +1.53%)
NASDAQ 2,326.75 (+68.64; +3.04%)
10YR-TBond 3.522% (+0.194%)
Despite Blue-Horseshoe loving everything, there were still many 52-week lows.
It appears that Visa, Inc. (NYSE: V) isn't going to just rise indefinitely after its IPO, or so it seems today as shares fell by 7% to $59.73.
Apple Inc. (NYSE: AAPL) was one of the key standouts today in tech, yet its news today was more strategic than groundbreaking. Its web browser Safari may be going after Windows, but even for Steve Jobs this may be a long hard journey. Shares closed up 4.7% to $139.53.
While I believe much of the price action in the most actively traded technology stocks to be rather unpredictable, there are specific price points at which the odds can be in your favor. Because so many traders believe in chart reading, or technical analysis, the price action often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy (as I've written about here). So, let's take a look at some popular names with traders:
Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), after a big drop, has already put in solid sideways price action and if it can break $140, there looks to be a rather clear path to $160.
Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ: RIMM) has weathered this storm incredibly well, putting in a solid double bottom in the low $80s and more recently, holding the key $100 level. There's still resistance at both $110 and $120, so a big breakout doesn't seem likely anytime soon.
Priceline.com Inc (NASDAQ: PCLN) is still in the midst of a strong yearlong uptrend, a mere $10 off its highs. On any market rebound, I fully expect this stock to break out to new highs.
Jarrett Lilien, E-Trade Financial Corporation's (NASDAQ: ETFC) president and COO, who lost out on the CEO job last month to Donald Layton, is going to resign from the online brokerage firm, the Wall Street Journal reported; Layton doesn't plan to fill the position.
Chinese Internet search firm Baidu.com Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) is poised for aggressive growth but must also confront a number of obstacles, according to the Wall Street Journal's "Heard in Asia," including a number of lawsuits regarding its music services and a vacancy in the CFO position.
Alibaba Group, a Chinese Internet company , is in advanced talks with investors to finance its acquisition of Yahoo! Inc's (NASDAQ: YHOO) stake to expand its management independence, the Wall Street Journal reported.
OTHER PAPERS:
According to inside sources, the New York Post reported that billionaire Joseph Lewis and former Bear Stearns Companies Inc (NYSE: BSC) CEO Jimmy Cayne are looking for a white knight that could surpass JPMorgan Chase & Co's (NYSE: JPM) takeover offer for Bear Lewis and Cayne have reportedly reached out to several private equity firms and overseas banks, including Barclays Plc (NYSE: BCS) and Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS).
WEB SITES:
Medical supplies boss Michael Mastromarino, accused of stealing the body parts of around 1,000 corpses, has pleaded guilty to several charges in a deal with prosecutors. The BBC News reported that the Biomedical Tissue Services company shipped bones, skin and tendons to tissue-processing companies such as LifeCell Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFC) and Tutogen Medical Inc (AMEX: TTG), which are in turn facing hundreds of civil lawsuits.
Baidu.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) shares are rising after an article in Barron's(subscription required) published Thursday evening predicted the Chinese internet sector would be quite profitable in 2008. A positive outlook from the respected publication often gives any stock a boost. If you think that the company 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 BIDU.
After hitting a one-year low of $92.80 in April, the stock hit a one-year high of $429.19 in November. BIDU opened this morning at $241.70. So far today the stock has hit a low of $240.83 and a high of $249.84. As of 12:45, BIDU is trading at $244.40, up $1.98 (0.8%). The chart for BIDU looks bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a March bull-put credit spread below the $210 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 8.7% return in just two weeks as long as BIDU is above $210 at March expiration. Baidu would have to fall by more than 14% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.
BIDU hasn't been below $210 since August and has shown support around $235 recently. This trade could be risky if the this momentum stock has lost its mojo, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support the stock might find around $230, where it has bottomed over the past month.
DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in BIDU.
Minyanville's top dog, Todd Harrison, dares to ask in public what Wall Street types quietly consider in private. For more insight and ideas, visit 
Here are some highlights from this past week's 
Baidu
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The Shanghai Composite moved up moved from 1,330 two years ago to over 6,100 last October. It was a dizzying rise. But, since its peak, the index has fallen to 3,300.
While I believe much of the price action in the most actively traded technology stocks to be rather unpredictable, there are specific price points at which the odds can be in your favor. Because so many traders believe in chart reading, or technical analysis, the price action often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy (as I've written about .gif){kind=logo}
Alcoa's Q2 2008 earnings transcript
Anheuser-Busch (BUD) sues InBev, what's next?
Wal-Mart might help your portfolio during the recession
