We're all pretty happy to put 2009 behind us, especially those who submitted the 1.4 million bankruptcy petitions last year, making it the seventh-worst on record.

Data gathered by the Associated Press from the 90 bankruptcy districts in the U.S. shows that filings surged 32% from 2008, with 116,000 bankruptcies in December alone. The 22% jump last month, though substantial, was at least below the annual average. That said, the holiday season may have chewed up time that people would use to file, so the apparent reprieve (if you can call a 22% increase in bankruptcies a reprieve) may not be real.

Continue reading Every State Sees Double-Digit Bankruptcy Growth

Every State Sees Double-Digit Bankruptcy Growth originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.

Cabela's Inc. (NYSE: CAB) has come a long way since the husband and wife team of Dick and Mary Cabela sold outdoor gear from their kitchen in 1961. Today, Cabela's has become the largest mail-order, retail, and internet outdoor outfitter in the world, with record revenues of $2.3 billion in 2007. The company sponsors dozens of outdoor events, from the Cornhusker State Games to the Iditarod, and was named one of the Top 100 Companies to Work For in the Forbes January 2000 issue.

The company's world headquarters is located just off Route 80 in a small town called Sidney, Nebraska. Sidney has also come a long way since being called the "wickedest town in the west" back in 1868. The frontier town now holds more than 6,000 residents and was named one of the Top 100 Rural Communities in America in Boom Town, USA by Jack Schultz. Cabela's is by far the largest employer in Sidney, with more than 2,000 employees. The town's Memorial Health Center is a distant second, employing 300 people.

According to Cabela's, the Sidney store sees millions of visitors each year. In addition to all the fishing, hunting, climbing, and camping gear your heart can desire, the store is outfitted with museum-quality animal displays, huge aquariums, and the largest of trophy animals scattered around the store. They have a delicatessen-style restaurant with selections that would make your mouth water, including elk, wild boar, ostrich, and bison sandwiches. Cabela's even has a large campground and RV park outside its store where visitors can put their newly purchased equipment to good use.

Continue reading Big company, small town: Cabela's, Sidney, Nebraska

Big company, small town: Cabela's, Sidney, Nebraska originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier this summer the Motley Fool took a look at investment opportunities in Nebraska. Apparently, only 18 public companies are based in the cornhusker state, the largest of which are familiar names to even the most casual investors: Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A), Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP), Conagra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG), and TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD). But the Motley Fool also mentioned two smaller, less-familiar stocks: sporting goods retailer Cabela's Inc. (NYSE: CAB) and fashion retailer The Buckle Inc. (NYSE: BKE).

Sidney-based Cabela's was founded in 1961 and went public in 2004. Cabela's is considered a buy by the consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, but a closer look shows that they are split between strong buy and hold. The share price reached a 52-week high of $28.80 in early August after Cabela's second quarter results beat Wall Street expectations. The price was $23.91at the close on Wednesday. The Motley Fool points to tough same-store sales and insider trading as reasons for Cabela's "sophomore slump." In other words, high expectations from the IPO have worn off and its time to consider buying. In addition, Motley Fool, like Consumer Reports before it, likes Cabela's VISA credit card. Cabela's was also recently included on S&P Small Cap 600 index, and it made the 2007 Forbes list of 100 best mid cap stocks. Cabela's will release third quarter results on November 1.

Continue reading Investing in Nebraska: Cabela's (CAB), Buckle (BKE), and Valmont (VMI)

Investing in Nebraska: Cabela's (CAB), Buckle (BKE), and Valmont (VMI) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Oct 2007 13:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Schilling Bridge Winery

Continue reading Git-R-Drunk? Larry the Cable Guy beer launches

Git-R-Drunk? Larry the Cable Guy beer launches originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.