inthenews posts
FeedPosted Nov 8th 2009 2:10PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Competitive strategy, Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Target Corp. (TGT)
Santa hasn't even been tugged down Central Park West yet, and Wal-Mart (WMT) is already slashing its prices. The market among major retailers is intensifying, with many offering products as loss leaders in order to entice customers into the store (physical or otherwise) and boost their basket sizes. Along with Target (TGT) and Amazon (AMZN), Walmart is slashing DVD prices, the same tactic it's using with books.
Retailers are rushing to undercut each other this year, which is causing prices to spiral down quickly. When Walmart announced reduced prices on several titles to $10, Amazon followed at $9.99, with Walmart stepping back in at $9.98.
Continue reading Walmart, Amazon now slash DVD prices: What's next?
Posted Nov 8th 2009 10:10AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Media World, Technology
The Twitter ecosystem may be changing constantly, but most of that comes on the back of individual developers and outside companies. They beat on Twitter APIs to create new products that may win them glory, recognition or cash. Over the past month, though, Twitter itself has gotten into the game, releasing or announcing a handful of new features.
A new function for "retweeting" (echoing another's tweet to your own followers), changes to how trending topics are managed, and the ability to create lists are new tools intended to engage users ... on the Twitter.com website. Considered within the context of Twitter's changed terms of service this year, the upgrades may be part of a broader ad-based revenue plan.
Continue reading New Twitter features suggest ad-based financial future
Posted Nov 7th 2009 11:20AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Costco Wholesale (COST), Gap Inc (GPS), Federal Reserve, Recession
Consumer borrowing fell for the eighth straight month in September. This record-setting streak is due largely to tightening by lenders, unemployment and the conservative preference to pay down debt rather than spend. This widespread fit of fiscal responsibility, economists fret, could prevent a recovery from taking root, since consumer spending is responsible for 70% of the U.S. economy. This conventional thinking, of course, overlooks the fact that an eventual increase in spending that isn't fueled by consumer spending will yield a recovery that's more likely to last.
According to the Federal Reserve, borrowing fell at an annual rate of $14.8 billion in September -- it's biggest drop since July and much larger than the $10 billion predicted by economists. The behavior is exactly what you'd find in people worried about losing their jobs or focused on rebuilding safety funds and investment portfolios. Those who want to borrow are finding banks won't be complicit this time, as they clamp down on lending practices.
Continue reading Consumer spending falls victim to debt repayment
Posted Nov 6th 2009 4:20PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Television, General Electric (GE), Walt Disney (DIS), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World

Shares of
CBS (NYSE:
CBS) are no longer rolling around in the pits of equity hell. Do you recall when they were trading around $3 per share? Nasty time it was. Amazingly, as I write this, CBS is hovering near a 52-week high. They are well over $12 in value.
Yet, when I look at the latest earnings report, I don't feel as upbeat as the market. According to the press release (the link goes to a .pdf file), revenues were flat for the third quarter and adjusted income dropped to 25 cents per share from the year-ago figure of 39 cents per share.
Continue reading CBS challenged in Q3, waiting for better advertising climate
Posted Nov 6th 2009 2:30PM by Tom Taulli (RSS feed)
Filed under: Personal finance, Housing

As expected, the popular home buyers tax credit has been
extended. In fact, it is even more attractive.
OK, let's first look at the extension of the current program, which includes a maximum $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers (which is someone who hasn't owned a home in the past three years). The home must be a principal residence and the value may not exceed $800,000 (the credit is either 10% of the value of a home or $8,000, whichever is less). The credit is also refundable, which means that you can still get money even if you do not owe taxes.
Continue reading A new and improved home buyers tax credit?
Posted Nov 6th 2009 12:20PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Technical Analysis
Shares of The Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) surged to a new 52-week high Friday morning, after the brewmaster reported a third-quarter profit of $10.4 million, or 72 cents per share, on revenue of $108.7 million. The company swung to a loss of 2 cents per share in the third quarter of 2008, but attributed its turnaround to strong shipments and decreased advertising expenses.
The results were better than analysts expected, with consensus estimates calling for Boston Beer to bank a profit of 39 cents per share on $107.5 million. Looking forward, Boston Beer now expects full-year earnings of $1.75 per share to $2.05 per share, a marked increased from its prior forecast for a 2009 profit of $1.40 per share to $1.70 per share.
Continue reading Boston Beer blows away 3Q expectations, hikes 2009 forecast
Posted Nov 6th 2009 12:00PM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Deals, Columns, NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), Business of sports
An interesting situation developed this week in Florida, where Heir Jordan (Michael's son Marcus) cost the University of Central Florida (UCF) its $3 million sponsorship with Adidas. Marcus felt it necessary to wear Nike (NYSE: NKE) basketball shoes, since they were his father's Nike Air Jordans.
Jordan took to the court in an all-white pair of Nike Air Jordans, which differed from the school's normal black-and-white Adidas basketball shoes. Jordan wore ankle braces with the Adidas logo displayed, but this was a cursory move made to placate Adidas. In fact, the move may have been made so he could say that he was wearing Adidas, just not the shoes. Quite honestly, there is a little soap opera surrounding the situation, so let's take a deeper look.
Continue reading JockStocks: Some thoughts on the Marcus Jordan/Central Florida/Adidas situation
Posted Nov 6th 2009 11:40AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Wal-Mart (WMT), Target Corp. (TGT), Costco Wholesale (COST), Gap Inc (GPS), Nordstrom, Inc (JWN)
There's a chill in the air and a slight up-tick in confidence. Holiday discounts are coming a bit earlier, too. For retailers, this has been a great combination, leading to the second consecutive month in which retail sales increased.
This follows more than a year of drops. Consumers aren't going crazy, but they are loosening their wallets a little bit. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy, and the coming holiday season is where the action is -- for the retail sector and, consequently, for everyone else.
Continue reading Retail sales: Signs of life, but not yet a rising tide
Posted Nov 6th 2009 11:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, General Electric (GE), Amazon.com (AMZN), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS), Analyst initiations, Deere and Co (DE)
Analyst upgrades:
- Bernstein upgraded General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Outperform from Market Perform Thursday after the close. The firm sees an improved risk/reward on the stock and raised its price target to $19 from $18.
- Bernstein also upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes sales growth and margin expansion expectations are too low. The firm raised its target on shares to $160 from $125.
- Piper Jaffray upgraded CBS (NYSE: CBS) to Neutral from Underweight following the company's Q3 results and raised its target on shares to $13 from $12.
- JPMorgan upgraded Macy's (NYSE: M) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect the company's improving comps. The firm has a $23 target on the stock.
- Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
- Travelers (NYSE: TRV) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
- Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AMZN, CBS, CVS, DE, GE, M, TRV ...
Posted Nov 6th 2009 10:20AM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Activision Inc (ATVI), Technology, Nintendo (NTDOY)
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) published third-quarter results on Thursday after the bell. I can't say I was wholly taken with them. I know the best is probably yet to come once the Christmas shopping season really gets under way, but I was a little disappointed that the company saw a decline in adjusted profit.
Excluding items, Activision Blizzard made 4 cents per share this quarter versus the 7 cents per share made in last year's similar period. Well, did I say I was a little disappointed? Make that a lot disappointed. After all, this is supposed to be the publisher with the best pipeline on the block, the one with the Guitar Hero franchise and a great portfolio of licensed intellectual properties.
Continue reading Activision Blizzard's Q3: Am I right to be bearish?
Posted Nov 6th 2009 9:40AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Deals, NYSE Euronext (NYX), News Corp'B' (NWS), Initial public offerings
The IPO market has been pretty slow for the past two years due to the effects of a subprime mortgage crisis that turned into a credit crisis that turned into a worldwide financial crisis and recession. Nonetheless, two companies made their debuts Thursday -- one on the NYSE (NYSE: NYX), the other on the NASDAQ -- and they nailed it. Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H) gave its investors a 12% gain on its first Big Board trading day, and Ancestry.com (NASDAQ: ACOM) switched those digits, jumping 21% in its first day of trading.
Hyatt Hotels overcame two major concerns. The worldwide travel market slump has been tough on hotel companies, and Hyatt has been subject to the same forces as everyone else. Also, investors may have been worried about infighting among the founder's heirs (the Pritzker family), but the double-digit price increase suggests that investors don't foresee Bancroft-style squabbles screwing investors -- or, if you don't like Dow Jones, now a part of News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS), Playboy (NYSE: PLA) makes the same point.
Continue reading Hyatt and Ancestry.com IPOs: Beginners' luck?
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