There's only one month left. If it can pass with no major catastrophic rocket failures, the space insurance sector will look back on a fantastic -- and profitable -- 2009. Insurance for this market can be a tough business, as failures are frequent, and the cost to launch can reach (or even exceed) $250 million. So, it's not always easy to eke out a profit.

Aon (AOC) International Space Brokers forecasts space insurance sector profits of above $400 million this year, making it another strong annual performance for this line. The space carriers have sustained losses of $400 million to $450 million in 2009, but premiums paid to the insurers exceeded $800 million for the first three quarters of the year.

Continue reading Space insurance sends profits to the stars

Space insurance sends profits to the stars originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bloomberg News reports that Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) has a whole lot of losing going on. Yesterday, Boeing suffered its fourth straight defeat in three months on a U.S. defense contract. This loss represents $41 billion in lost revenue.

Here are the four contracts:

• Yesterday. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) the world's largest defense company, beat Boeing for a $1.46 billion U.S. Air Force award to build a new network of navigation satellites for military and civilian use. The Air Force said it reviewed five years of past performance for both contractors. Boeing has yet to launch a single satellite under its most recent GPS contract from April 1996, and in 2006 the company forfeited $21.4 million and replaced the program's managers after delays and cost overruns.
• February 2008. EADS, parent of Airbus and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) won a $35 billion tanker contest for the Air Force. I've spilled much electronic ink on this one -- it looks like the Air Force changed the specifications for the project but only told EADS about the change.

Continue reading Boeing loses four contracts in three months

Boeing loses four contracts in three months originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 May 2008 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The following excerpt originally appeared as part of the Israel Opportunity Investor, a monthly newsletter I publish for paid subscribers.

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT) provides Internet Protocol [IP] based digital satellite communication and networking products and services. The Company designs, produces, and markets very small aperture terminals (VSATs), two-way satellite ground stations with dish antennae smaller than 3 meters, and related network equipment. Gilat has customers in over 85 countries. Its products are primarily sold to communication service providers and operators that use VSATs to serve enterprise, government, and residential users. The company also provides services directly to end users in various market segments in the United States and Latin America. The Company competes with Hughes Network Systems, Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), iDirect, AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T), Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q).

Investment Thesis

Gilat focuses on niche markets within emerging markets and the government sector, with a lot of opportunity for new deal flow in markets like Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. A recent win with the US. Postal Service could be a good springboard to more deals of the sort. In the deal, Gilat's wholly-owned subsidiary, Spacenet Inc., is working with Verizon Business to deploy a custom satellite network for the Postal Service. The satellite network will provide high performance broadbandcommunications for over 5,000 Postal Service sites in the continental United States, Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico.

Continue reading The long case for Gilat Satellite Networks

The long case for Gilat Satellite Networks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Globecomm Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: GCOM), provider of satellite-based communications infrastructure, including both hardware and software, hit a high for the year on 15 October, closing at $16.04, up $0.91 for the day. The rise in stock price comes on the heels of two recent contract awards. Globecomm has joined with the National Hockey League (NHL) to provide streaming feeds of up to 30 simultaneous games to subscribers of NHL's Center Ice package. In a completely different venue, Globecomm also won a contract from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to build a networked prototype so that all weather-related information, particularly information on hazardous weather, can be merged into one location.

As a results of these contracts, and the acquisition of Global Sat earlier in the year, Globecomm posted a month ago record revenue for both fiscal 4Q 2007 as well as for FY 2007. For the fiscal 4Q, Globecomm posted revenues of 49.2 million, an increase of 38%. Revenue is divided into 2 segments: infrastructure solutions revenue, which was up 29%, and service revenue, which increased 77%. The results are the same for FY 2007. Revenue increased 20% to $150.7 million, with service revenue increasing over 28%.

CFO David Herschberg predicts that Globecomm will post record revenues of $190-$200 million in FY 2008, with diluted EPS of $0.70. Such rsults are entirely possible. Globecomm won part of a 5 year, $5 billion US Army telecommunications contract, as well as a NATO contract to develop a friendly-forces tracing system to prevent friendly-fir deaths. Globecomm has been in Asia constructing a $26 million media processing center. Although on a much smaller scale, Globecomm is beginning to rebuild the telecommunications infrastructure in Afghanistan, and bring wireless communications to rural Alaska.

The stock opened the year trading at $8.85 and is on its way to doubling in 10 months, with no signs of slowing down. In a few months, the current share price of $16 may seem like a real bargain.

Globecomm Systems (GCOM) reaches high for the year originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Solid results at Sirius -- good entry point? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

$5 billion Intelsat deal: Private equity goes into orbit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The next generation of military satellites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 30 Apr 2007 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Stay away from XM -- Too many unanswered questions originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that the expiration of Roche Holding's (OTC: RHHBY) Tamiflu stockpiles poses a dilemma for some poor Asian countries of whether to spend millions and restock with the drug.
• The Financial Times wrote that China has launched its first navigation satellite.

• The Associated Press reported that Michael Dell outlined corporate changes in a company wide email, and said he will "quash" bonuses for 2006, reduce managers, would not hire a new COO, push for faster product development and expand into new businesses at Dell Inc (NASDAQ: DELL).
• The New York Times reported that Simon Property Group is expected to bid $1.56B for Mills Corp (NYSE: MLS).
• The Los Angeles Times reported that General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal will name Jeff Zucker as its new CEO this week.
• According to the Detroit Free Press, DaimlerChrysler AG's (NYSE: DCX) Chrysler Group may cut up to 10,000 jobs next week.

Newspaper wrap-up 2-5-07: Michael Dell fed up at Dell Inc. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Feb 2007 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

XM and Sirius rally big originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman Sachs views the cable & satellite sector favorably and was positive on cable given expectations for multi-year ROIC expansion. Comcast Corp 'A' (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was given a Buy rating from a Neutral and is Goldman's top pick. Cablevision Systems 'A' (NYSE: CVC) and EchoStar Comm (NASDAQ: DISH) were both rated Neutral.

• Broadcom Corp 'A' (NASDAQ: BRCM) was initiated with a Buy rating and $15 target at Webush; the firm believes Broadcom still has ramping product cycles to drive growth and also feels revenues are likely to accelerate on a year-over-year basis beginning in June 2007.

• Leerink Swann initiated Hansen Medical (NASDAQ: HNSN) with an Outperform rating and $17 target, noting their survey showed significant interest in remote navigation by EPs.

• RBC Capital Markets initiated SiRF Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: SIRF) with an Outperform rating and $34 target, positive on SiRF Tech given its strong market growth driven by a significant increase in the GPS attach rate, slower erosion in the company's dominant market share and improving margins.

• Wedbush initiated shares of Marvell Technology Group (NASDAQ: MRVL) with a Hold rating and $20 target, as the firm finds shares fully-valued relative to the company's 2007 and 2008 earnings power.

Analyst initiation 1-4-07: Cable & satellite viewed favorably at Goldman originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jan 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A lawsuit was filed late last week that has Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) suing DirecTV Group, Inc. (NYSE:DTV) over deceptive trade practices and false advertising about the NFL Network. The suit filed in Manhattan, with unspecified damages sought, claims that DirecTV was trying to lure away customers from Time Warner Cable by lying about accessibility of pro football broadcasts in local markets.

It cited newspaper advertisements claiming that the Dec. 30 game between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins will not be available to 4.4 million people around New York unless they join the DirecTV network, yet Time Warner Cable said the game will be available to its customers in New York on WNBC-TV regardless of if they have DirecTV or not. Time Warner also notes that the same sort of trickery has occurred in Green Bay, Cincinnati and elsewhere.

The suit also says that the satellite provider used ads with Jessica Simpson and William Shatner saying that HD TV was better on satellite, when both can be the same. DirecTV apparently ran these ads after agreeing to change them.

What Time Warner didn't say was that if this news broke simultaneously on cable and on satellite TV, you would have gotten the news 3 to 5 seconds faster via cable than via satellite. Time Warner Cable should do a commercial showing a "Bandwidth Taste Test" with a recording of a live broadcast on cable versus on satellite. If you are a trader in the markets or involved in the media, you cannot afford that delay in satellite TV.

This suit will almost certainly not involve monetary awards for Time Warner, but it shows that Satellite TV may have to use a little trickery to win cable subscribers these days.

Time Warner sues to keep satellite TV honest originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 09 Dec 2006 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cramer is serious on Sirius Satellite Radio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Globalstar IPO: Redux Re-IPO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Nov 2006 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Sirius and XM leveling off: but Howard Stern effect is real

Sirius and XM leveling off: but Howard Stern effect is real originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Oct 2006 07:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It remains to be seen how effective the Harpo machine will be in drawing subscribers to XM. Oprah seems to turn everything she touches into gold but, I'm just hoping, for the sake of my own santiy and that of the other 6.89 million XM subscribers, that she doesn't decide to bring Dr. Phil with her.

XMSR gains 398k subscribers in Q2 '06 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Jul 2006 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Firing quite the shot across the bow of its satellite radio rival, Sirius Satellite Radio CEO Mel Karmazin told audience members at a conference on media convergence that he'd happily buy XM Satellite Radio. Executives from XMSR (surely wondering what "the right price" might, exactly, mean) hadn't commented, yet, at the time of this post.

That would be quite some convergence. As the two companies have raced each other to forge deals with opposing car makers and big media names, and have struggled to out-innovate and out-subscribe one another, it seems as if nothing defines the sector so much as the rivalry.

Monopolistic concerns would certainly be raised by regulators, although really: what harm could come of having only one satellite radio company? It's not like consumers have no other choice for their listening pleasure in their cars, or anywhere else, for that matter -- what with offerings ranging from the iPod to the common FM station.

Regulators, it's possible, wouldn't agree with my "who cares?" analysis: they stopped an earlier proposed deal between DirecTV and Echostar.

Sirius: would happily buy XMSR (if regulators said 'yes') originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 26 Jun 2006 17:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to the HRRC, a new lawsuit brought by the recording industry's bulldog, the RIAA, is treating law-abiding consumers as "pirates" and violating the implied promise that they would not go after consumers who rip their own recordings for personal use. At the heart of the lawsuit is a new device released by XM Satellite Radio, the Inno, which allows consumers to record the programming broadcast over its network.

The RIAA seeks $150,000 in damages for every song copied by consumers onto the Inno. The suit is roundly being attacked as a desperate and evil move by an industry association that has already placed itself on everyone's most-hated list. The most succinct analysis, though, comes from Mike at Techdirt: "this is about the recording industry looking to squeeze more money out of a dying business model rather than recognizing these new services help make the recording industry's product much more valuable."

Either way, this could be very critical for XMSR (and similar products that Sirius might have in development) if it's taken at all seriously by the courts. The stock is down $0.12 in intraday trading, which saw the stock dip to its 52-week low, to $16.50, after a relatively huge drop yesterday.

XMSR being squeezed by 'dying' recording industry originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 May 2006 15:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.