Schawk, Inc. (NYSE: SGK) provides brand management services to clients in a variety of businesses. While the company just posted record operating income in FY 2007, it must also restate 2006 income, and faced flat or declining sales in numerous business segments. Income from continuing operations in 4Q 2007 was $0.24, the same as 4Q 2006. 4Q 2007 sales rose less than 1%. The company was particularly hard hit by the writers' strike in Hollywood. Its entertainment accounts unit posted an 18% drop in sales due to fewer ad pages produced.

The company kept a very tight rein on administrative expenses. The company has taken a defensive position, choosing to decrease capital expenditures and reduce interest expense while trying to develop more rigorous internal controls for recognizing revenue. CEO David Schawk remains optimistic the company will have all financial accounting weaknesses under control by the end of 2008. He remains optimistic that the company will show gains in income, sales, and profitability in 2008. The majority of Schawk's clients are in the consumer product packaging unit. Regardless of unfavorable or unstable economic conditions, those accounts will continue to require services.

The stock is currently trading under $15, and may be one patient value investors want to take a look at.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), caught in a firestorm of criticism over its decision to relocate much of its senior management to Dubai, UAR, cranked up the spin machine today by announcing they will add 13,000 jobs this year, including some (exact number not disclosed) right here in the U.S. The corporation currently employs 104,000 people in more than 100 countries. Of those, around 11k work in the old home office in Houston.

Halliburton's employee numbers are about to plummet, however. Over half of the employees work for KBR (NYSE:KBR), and when the separation of this business from Halliburton is complete, probably next month, only about 45 thousand will remain as Halliburton workers.

What will be the company's next brand-rebuilding move? Keep an eye on the news for more face-saving (and contract-saving) moves. How about a makeover for the Statue of Liberty? Her gown is so 19th century.

Yesterday I visited a near by Gap store in 'up-scale' Santa Monica. When I walked in I was immediately disappointed by how down scale the store was. It was clean and bright and the sales people were helpful but there was little of interest to purchase and few customers too.

Actually, I was out for a lunch walk and the Gap store was on the way so I decided to see if they might have a nice simple shirt. As an architect and designer (dad was a tailor) I was wondering about their window displays before I entered. The Santa Monica store has seven large windows, each with mannequins wearing a reddish-mauve t-shirt with black jeans. The motif repeated in each window as if that was the only thing the Gap sold, or as if repeating the same thing over and over created something 'chic' or artistic -- I don't think so. It looked poor on product and ideas!

Since the crumpled, wrinkled, used, worn-out look is obviously in vogue you can be sure there was nothing for me. I can do that to my clothes by myself without anyone's help and without paying extra. Even notwithstanding my own personal taste, there were really very few products for sale, or variations on the theme even if one were looking for this type of wardrobe. I will not waste your time by enumerating the number of things that were not available that should have been, or could have been. I will simply point out that my impression was that this was a nice place with nice people and NO IDEAS and NO MERCHANDISE to choose from!

The women's section had more selection and the kids and baby offerings were only a little better.