BloggingStocks

As Yahoo! hits a five-year low, bets about direction increase

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-09-05T10:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) yesterday posted its lowest price in nearly five years. The stock moved to $17.75, down from a 52-week high of $34.08.

The Wall Street Journal pushed the idea that this was an options play. "Trading in Yahoo options leapt to four times the normal level as investors picked up 168,000 calls that allow them to buy the company's stock." In other words, some traders are willing to gamble that the shares will go up.

But, they won't go up. There is growing evidence that marketers prefer search internet ads to display advertising. Yahoo! sells a great deal of display inventory and is a distant second to Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) in search. Some of that may change as Yahoo! begins to use the Google system to create its search results.That may not offset the fact that Yahoo! probably has as much display advertising availability as any company in the world.

Because Yahoo! has shown it is unwilling to make major cost cuts, a flattening of its revenue growth would be a disaster for its investors. The firm's year-over-year sales improvement is already barely above 10%. What had been a growth stock three or four years ago has now become a buyout gamble. Investors still hang on to some hope that Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) or a large media company will make an offer for the portal company.

That means that Yahoo! still carries a "takeover" premium, which begs the question of where the shares might trade at the end of the year, if there are no offers. Investors are gambling that there is a 30% chance that Yahoo! will be bought, if it is not, the stock heads toward $13.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Stocks: Buy 'em like Buffett, what the pros are saying about Thursday's meltdown & retirement wreckers - Today in Money 9/5

Allan Halprin — 2008-09-05T09:06:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Dell (DELL), McDonald's (MCD), Halliburton (HAL), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Money and Finance Today, Altria Group (MO), Boeing Co (BA), Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW), Research in Motion (RIMM), Oracle Corp (ORCL), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM), Genentech Inc (DNA), Mexico, Freep't McMoRan Copper (FCX), Garmin Ltd (GRMN)

In the News:

· Stocks Plunge Yesterday, Will They Extend Losses Today?

· World Markets Sink After Wall Street's Plunge

· U.S. Loses 84,000 Jobs in August; Unemployment Rates Surges to 6.1%, Highest in 5 Years

· Altria in Advanced Talks to Buy Maker of Skoal and Copenhagen Smokeless Tobacco Brands

· Dell Looks to Sell Its Factories

· Last-Minute Move to Try and Avert Strike at Boeing

· France's 35-Hour Work Week Envy of the World; Is It Working Out?

· Lloyds of London Makes a Push Into Emerging Markets

· Yahoo Stock Hits 5-Year Low

· Can Steve Jobs Save iPod?

· Mexico Halts Beef & Poultry Shipments to U.S.

· Microsoft Kicks Off $300M Seinfeld Ad Campaign

· $92,500 for Rolling Stones Tongue Logo

Stocks: Buy 'Em Like Buffett
S&P turns up 49 attractive names with its newest stock screen that tracks the Berkshire Hathaway honcho's investing criteria. Among the attractive stocks are Alcon, Charles Schwab, Freeport-McMoran, Garmin, Genentech, Halliburton, J&J, McDonald's, Microsoft, Novo-Nordisk, Oracle, Qualcomm & Research in Motion.
Stock Screen: Buy 'Em Like Buffett
See: List of 49 Stocks

Thursday's Market Meltdown: What the Pros Are Saying
What market strategists and Fed officials had to say about Thursday, September 4th's stock plunge. PIMCO's Bill Gross, S&P's Chris Burba and Miller Tabak's Tony Crescenzi speak out.
The Market: What the Pros Are Saying

5 Ways to Go Solar on the Cheap
If the price tag of a whole-house photovoltaic, or PV, panel system makes getting off the grid a green dream you can't quite bankroll yet, consider starting smaller when you switch to sun power.
5 ways to go solar on the cheap -Bankrate.com

Retirement Wreckers
If treacherous markets don't spoil your golden years, retirement scams could leave you in the poor house.
Retirement Wreckers - Forbes.com
Plus: Top 10 Tips to Avoid Being Taken

Best Peanut Butter
If you are going to indulge in PB&J choose a product that's worth eating. Consumer Reports tests of 11 creamy peanut butters and the bottom line is For the best taste, try Smucker's Natural or Smucker's Organic. To cut back on fat (but not necessarily calories), try Smucker's Reduced Fat. If you don't like to stir before serving and like a sweeter butter, choose Peter Pan, a CR Best Buy. If sodium is a concern, try Smucker's Organic or Simply Jif, which cut sodium by at least half, to 50 mg and 65 mg per serving, respectively.
ConsumerReports.org - We test 11 peanut butters and 4 jams.

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Online ad trend get worse for Yahoo!, newpapers

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-09-04T10:03:00+00:00

Filed under: Forecasts, Industry, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), New York Times'A' (NYT)

New evidence shows that online advertisers are building their search engine marketing and moving away from big display ad investments. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Faced with a slowing economy, advertisers are sticking to what they view as the safest way to reach online customers directly: the plain text ads that appear on search-result pages."

To state the obvious, the news seems to be bad for Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and AOL. These portals rely heavily on display ads for their revenue and have modest search income.

The data is much, much worse for newspapers. Companies like The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) are counting on online advertising to take the place of falling print revenue. A great deal of the advertising that runs at newspaper sites is retail and national display. Total ad revenue at The New York Times dropped more than 16% in July. Internet advertising was up less than 1%. Clearly, at that rate, online ads can do little to help that nation's big dailies.

The portals will struggle to keep their display growth intact. They have the lion's share of the market, so scale is on their side. They will almost certainly have the best chance of picking up the marketing dollars from the largest online advertisers. Even if the market keep slowing, their sales should be steady to modestly up.

Newspapers will not be so lucky.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Microsoft's browser upgrade: Bad for ads?

Steven Mallas — 2008-08-31T17:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Marketing and advertising, Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), News Corp'B' (NWS), Technology

According to this article, advertisers who use the Internet to get their message across may not like Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Internet Explorer 8 beta. That's because the software giant is incorporating technology into the browser that will make it harder for data collection that could be used to target ads. In addition, the browser will be able to block some ads entirely, as well as block content from another website from appearing on the current site a user is viewing. The rationale for the latter is that the outside website could be capturing data on the user's habits.

All this adds up, in my mind, to a legitimate fear for advertisers. Look, I'm like anyone else. I don't want a lot of data collection going on. But, there are basically only two ways for companies like Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) to make money off web content: engage a subscription model, or utilize ad platforms to monetize eyeballs. The Internet has proven to be very resistant to subscription models. Sure, some do work to great success. For the most part, however, surfers don't want to have to throw a credit-card number into a form to be able to see content. It just doesn't work. They want unfettered access to sites. If this is to be the case going forward, then highly-targeted ads are going to play an increasing role in the solution to monetization challenges. Web sites aren't like cable channels, which have the dual revenue streams of subscriber fees and ad sales.

And, keep in mind that the companies mentioned above aren't the only ones who rely on targeted ads. How about Disney (NYSE: DIS)? News Corp. (NYSE: NWS)? Viacom (NYSE: VIA)? They all have major Internet strategies that utilize ad revenues. And let's not forget the incredible irony here. Mr. Softy has its own Internet strategy that needs ads to survive. I guess it's a tough position to be in: the designers want to enhance the attractiveness of Internet Explorer to users by helping them avoid the very thing that powers, in part, shareholder value for the maker of Internet Explorer. A conundrum, to be sure. I personally hope a solution can be found that will allow advertisers to continue selling their wares. I don't find advertising to be evil. I think it's a great industry that serves an important function in the economy. Microsoft had better consider that.

Disclosure: I own Disney; positions can change at any time.

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Microsoft spends another $486 million on web search

Brian White — 2008-08-29T09:42:00+00:00

Filed under: Deals, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Marketing and advertising

Sheldon suggested the other day that Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) should split off its web search and services arm so that it could fit better with a possible Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) combination. Instead of entertaining that notion, Microsoft still has some cash to spend to ensure, for now at least, it still has a growing presence in the web search and e-commerce arena.

To that end, the company announced this morning that it will spend $486 million to purchase Greenfield Online, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRVY) as it swiped an earlier takeover offer from the Quadrangle Group with its $15.50 per share offer. Microsoft's offer of $17.50 per share is a 10% premium over Greenfield's closing price this past Monday, when the offer was received without Greenfield knowing the origin. That is, until today.

Microsoft wants control of www.ciao.com, one of Europe's leading price comparison shopping search engines. Does Microsoft really think owning a leading consumer review and price shopping search engine will bolster its Microsoft Live platform? Since it couldn't compete in the U.S. against Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), perhaps Microsoft is turning to international purchases as a second competitive act. Greenfield also has an "internet survey solutions" division that Microsoft will sell to an undisclosed buyer.

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Brand.net gets a $10 million pickup

Tom Taulli — 2008-08-28T12:04:00+00:00

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), Next big thing, Small business

This week, I had a chance to talk to Elizabeth Blair. She joined Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) in 1998 and then became the company's vice president of business operations for the global operating group. Yes, she got a great education in the online marketing space. Interestingly enough, she also has a law degree from Harvard and even practiced M&A and securities law.

Well, Blair has leveraged her experience into an upstart venture: Brand.net. The company recently raised a $10 million Series B round. The investors include: Norwest Venture Partners and InterWest Partners.

Essentially, Brand.net is an online advertising network focusing on major customers. The platform is more than just some technology, though, as Brand.net has assembled a top-notch team of brand experts.

Of course, as seen with companies like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), the search-based ad business has become a huge profit machine. But this is only one part of the advertising game. Of course, branding is a huge market in the ad market, so why can't it be the same for the online world?

Certain issues still need to be worked out, such as dealing with user-generated content or finding ways to measure performance. No doubt, these are tough problems. But , if companies like Brand.net can find some creative solutions, it should open up another big growth opportunity in the online world.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

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SkillSoft (SKIL): Shares cycle in bullish 'flag' consolidation pattern

Larry Schutts — 2008-08-27T09:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Yahoo! (YHOO), International Business Machines (IBM), Merck and Co (MRK), Technical Analysis, Stocks to Buy

SkillSoft PLC (NASDAQ: SKIL) provides on-demand Internet-based training courses for professionals in business and information technology (IT). The company catalog includes more than 6,600 courses addressing such issues as project management, sales, business strategy, finance, regulatory compliance, operating systems, network technologies and Web design. SkillSoft also offers online coaching for more than 100 IT certification exams and provides access to some 19,000 engineering, IT, and business books online. Clients include IBM (NYSE: IBM), Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO).

The firm pleased investors last week, when it reported Q2 EPS of ten cents and revenues of $83.3 million. Analysts had been expecting seven cents and $82.4 million. Management also guided Q3 EPS to 9-10 cents (nine cent consensus), Q3 revenues to $84.0-$85.5 million ($84.83M consensus), FY09 EPS to 35-38 cents (34 cent consensus) and FY09 revenues to $335-$338 million ($336.43M consensus).

The SKIL share price popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Stocks frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with three "strong buys", two "buys" and one "hold". Analysts see a 32% growth rate, through the next year. The SKIL Price to Cash Flow ratio (13.20), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (19.28), Sales Growth rate (16.50%), Operating Margin (14.15%), Net Profit Margin (19.43%), Return on Assets (12.72%), Return on Investment (21.52%) and Return on Equity (32.24%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutions hold about 82% of the outstanding shares. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $7.75 and $11.42. A stop-loss of $9.50 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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Bloated MSFT, sluggish YHOO & confused AOL need a new diet

Sheldon Liber — 2008-08-22T15:38:00+00:00

Filed under: Rants and raves, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Time Warner (TWX)

My very first post on bloggingstocks was Microsoft: What are you thinking about? where I ranted that Microsoft Inc. (NASDAQ: MSFT) stock was going nowhere. Over the last 29, months that is exactly what it has done. It closed yesterday at $27.62.

This is not to say it has not had it's moments rising at one time to a 52-week high of $37.50 on a lot of hopes and prayers. Nevertheless, I felt then and do now that MSFT would be better off in pieces Micro'soft' vs Micro'hard' -- Break it up fellas!

If Microsoft wants to compete against Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and be a dominant player on the web, it should split out its web services as a separate company. That new company would be the right merger partner for Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO). There is no reason to tie the web services business to the future of the Zune (if it has one) or the XBOX entertainment game player and other equally unrelated business.

Many in the business world have expressed similar thoughts. And those sentiments have extended to AOL which is clogging up the works at Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and would be worth far more on its own.

In reviewing one of my early comments about Yahoo I wrote:

YHOO: No. By any metric you choose P/E, P/S, Price to book value, price to cash flow its expensive, ROIC stinks --there is none, and no dividend. Positive notes: almost no debt, ROE is good. Profit margins are great and might be sustainable. But this is another guessing game. Soooo what about YAHOO - anybody home?

Sometimes the difficulty is not so much defining your goals but negotiating the treacherous path to get there. In the case of management at MSFT, YHOO, and AOL they may see the benefits that others see in breaking out in a new form, slashing overlapping departments and getting under performing ones off the books but they cannot make the compromises necessary about valuation to make it happen. It might be big egos, or just inertia but the best they seem to be able to muster is a tweeking of the system with what seems like dubious results in the case of all three.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. DISCLOSURE: I own shares of TWX.

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Google presses its mobile advantage

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-08-22T10:37:00+00:00

Filed under: Deals, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Verizon Communications (VZ)

Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) success over the next decade depends, to some extent, on moving its search products from PCs to the new generation of mobile devices. It will go a long way toward getting a head start on that in a deal with Verizon (NYSE: VZ).

According to The Wall Street Journal, "The deal under discussion, which would make Google the default search provider on Verizon devices and give it a share of ad revenue, is aimed at dramatically simplifying what is now a confusing set of search options for cellphone users."

The news is not good for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) or Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO). After losing the PC search battle, their next, and perhaps last, option to pick up substantial business is on mobile handsets. Because Verizon has about 70 million subscribers in the U.S., a large opportunity to gain share from Google is gone.

Deals with cellular carriers are overrated. Even if the default search engine is on a handset, users can still access any other search company through the phone's web browser.

If PC habits carry over to the wireless world, Google has already won the new war. Few people are likely to change search preferences from device to device.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Intel: Another TV marriage with the PC that won't work

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-08-21T10:35:00+00:00

Filed under: Launches, Consumer experience, Yahoo! (YHOO), Intel (INTC)

PC and chip companies have been trying to get TV viewers to use internet functions on their home entertainment systems for years. The problem may be that people who watch television are old. Consumers who use PCs are young. That has not stopped repeated attempts to marry the two.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) are making another run at putting the two technologies together and it will probably fail. According to The Wall Street Journal, "The pair outlined software tools, based on Yahoo technology, to help companies deliver Web content alongside TV programming. The software complements a new chip from Intel designed to enable interactive features on TVs."

Under this new plan, web content will sit in a bar at the bottom of the screen.

TV viewers already see information at the bottom of their TV monitors. Most business news channels like CNBC use the space to run stock quotes. Sports programming often scrolls scores in that section of the screen. Those bits of information may be useful, but TV is still a passive experience.

People who sit in front of a television set want information and entertainment. They do not want to have to make any effort to get those things. The PC has hundreds of applications that involve a great deal of effort. The keyboard is an "active" feature. People sitting in lounge chairs to watch the tube want to fall asleep.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Yahoo spent $36 million fending off Microsoft

Brian White — 2008-08-15T17:08:00+00:00

Filed under: Deals, Bad news, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO)

As if the getting-older-by-the-minute Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) didn't need another mark against it, the internet pioneer and stubborn company recently provided information on the costs it incurred in fending off a successful Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) bid this summer. The final tab: $36 million.

Much of this tab was with advisory and law firms that helped the company deal with Microsoft along with a proxy battle by Carl Icahn that was settled just a few weeks ago with the installment of some Icahn puppets as board directors.

As a Yahoo! investor, are you pleased with the way Yahoo! has defended itself? Would the company be better suited for long-term success as a Microsoft division, or going at it alone as it has been?

How about the company taking $36 million from its cash pile to pay for all those consultants and attorneys? Was all the effort and expense in the best interest of the Yahoo! shareholder? Oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens doesn't think so -- but what about you?

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Before the bell: DE, LIZ, NVDA, AMAT, CVS, AAPL, TOL ...

Melly Alazraki — 2008-08-13T08:08:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Deals, Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Home Depot (HD), Market matters, Applied Materials (AMAT), Best Buy (BBY), CVS Corp (CVS), Toll Brothers (TOL), Economic data, Deere and Co (DE), Liz Claiborne (LIZ)

U.S. stock futures were mixed Wednesday ahead of retail sales, import price data and oil inventories reports. Analysts expect retail sales, to be reported at 8:30 a.m., rose 0.5% in July. Futures may find direction after the report. Meanwhile, oil futures rose ahead of the inventory report due out at 10:35 a.m., the dollar fell against some currencies and gold futures rose.
[Update: Following a decline in retail sales in July, futures turned lower.]

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) has just reported quarterly results and shares sank 6.1% in premarket trade. The world's largest maker of farm machinery, said earnings in the latest quarter rose 7% and revenue increased 17% as soaring crop prices boosted global demand for its agricultural equipment. The company, however, missed on earnings and gave forecast that was lower than estimations.

Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) reported a net loss this quarter but beat estimates on an adjusted basis. It also issued a downside guidance.

Earnings are still due from Macy's (NYSE: M), among others.

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares rose 7.3% in premarket trading despite reporting a $121 million loss Tuesday. Investors liked that Nvidia announced a stock buyback of $1 billion and predicted margin improvement.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) also rose, up 1.2% in premarket trading after the largest maker of semiconductor-production machinery forecast better-than-estimated orders and CEO Mike Splinter said conditions will improve. Its fiscal third-quarter profit plunged 65%, but sales results beat estimates.

CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) said it's going to buy Longs Drug Stores (NYSE: LDG) for $2.9 billion, or $71.50 a share, a 32% premium over Longs' closing price on Tuesday. CVS shares are down 5.3%, LDG's up 29.5% in premarket trading.

Retail shares such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) could be affected by retail number today.

Best Buy Co. (NYSE: BBY), the largest U.S. electronics retailer, will become the first independent retailer to sell Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPhone 3G at its almost 1,000 U.S. stores beginning next month. The prices will be comparable to other places.
Also, a fire burned for more than three hours at Apple's headquarters before firefighters put it out.

Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) reported steep declines in revenues and contracts for the third quarter Wednesday. The homebuilder said its revenue fell 34% from the year-ago period.

Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) could appoint former Viacom chief Frank Biondi and John Chapple, the former head of Nextel Partners, to its board by Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported, as per its agreement with Icahn. The company also unveiled a platform for location-based services, Fire Eagle, for use with mobile phone applications.

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Napster misses expectations in Q1, should be avoided by investors

Steven Mallas — 2008-08-12T09:06:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN)

Napster (NASDAQ: NAPS), a digital-music-download entity that competes with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), cued up its Q1 numbers on Monday after the bell. The top line decreased 6% to $30.3 million. The bottom line showed a net loss of 10 cents per diluted share, same as last year's results. In fact, the company lost a dime per share in the previous quarter. Must be something special about that number. Anyway, according to Briefing.com, Napster missed Wall Street estimates by one penny.

Gross margin for the quarter was flat at 27% when comparing to year-over-year data, but it did represent an increase over the 26% gross margin from the previous quarter. That's got to count for something, right? No, it doesn't. Neither does the press release's promotion of the new MP3 initiative. I could care less. Napster is an equity trading at a very low price, it's racking up losses, and it'll never become a serious threat to Apple and the iPod/iTunes empire. A good investment this is not.

The stock was down 10% in yesterday's after-hours session. I'm not sure where it will close in the regular session today, but Napster isn't where I want to be. There are better ideas out there, Apple certainly being one of them. I know that the stock snapshot shows it has been strong in the last month or so, but I'm not inclined to read too much into that in this particular case. For me, it's about stock price (too low) and brand equity (not powerful enough). Apple and iTunes sing a much better song than Napster, in my opinion...

[Editor's note: At 8:12 a.m. NAPS shares traded 2.7% higher]

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

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Best ETFs, FICO score changes & next wave of mortgage defaults - Today in Money 8/12

Allan Halprin — 2008-08-12T08:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Yahoo! (YHOO), Money and Finance Today, Whole Foods Market (WFMI), Wachovia Corp (WB), Delta Air Lines (DAL)

In the News

-- UBS to Restructure as Losses Mount

-- Delta, Northwest Pilots Approve Merger

-- Numbers of Working Poor Increases

-- Wachovia Raises 2Q Loss, to Cut More Jobs

-- U.S. Trade Deficit Falls in June

-- Dollar Continues to Get Stronger vs. Euro, Pound & Yen

-- Beef Recall Leads Whole Foods to Make a Change

-- Yahoo: Not So Private After All

The Best ETFs
With 800 choices, you can't just throw darts. Kiplinger picks great ETFs in 13 categories.
Getting Past the ETF Clutter - Kiplinger.com

How the World Spends Its Money
Ever wondered how global consumers spend their hard-earned incomes? Data from the World Bank's most recent study breaks global individual consumption into 11 buckets--from food and clothing to health care and recreation. While just 6% of U.S. income goes to food China residents spend 24% and Ethopians a whooping 55%. At the other extreme, Americans spend 18% of its income on healthcare, which is much higher than most other countries.
How The World Spends Its Money - Forbes.com

Get Ready for FICO 2008
Designed to halt piggybacking, FICO 08 ignored authorized-user accounts in scoring. Not so, anymore. On July 31, Fair Isaac announced that its latest credit-scoring model, dubbed "FICO 08," will include authorized user accounts when calculating someone's FICO credit score. The company estimates that 50 million consumers are "legitimate" authorized users on someone else's credit card. Legitimate authorized users, such as spouses, parents and children, have relationships with the primary accountholders and reasons to share access to the accounts.
Authorized-user accounts OK again -Bankrate.com

The Next Wave of Mortgage Defaults
More borrowers with good credit are defaulting on their home loans, and that's going to make it even harder for the slumping housing market to recover.
A dead end on the road to housing recovery - CNNmoney

7 Nasty Airline Fees
For consumers, the best defense is to factor in the fees each airline charges when comparing fares. Here are seven instances when fees are assessed and how to avoid them.
7 Nasty Airline Fees and How to Avoid Them - SmartMoney

Top-Earning Celebrity Chefs
From foie gras to fried greens, these kitchen wizards carve, caramelize and cash in. Nobody cashes in more than Rachael Ray who has made $18 million over the past year. Wolfgang Puck is second with $16 million and 'Hell's Kitchen' chef Gordon Ramsay ranks third at $7.5 million.
Ten Top-Earning Celebrity Chefs - Forbes.com

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Google and Yahoo! hide contract details

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-08-09T11:10:00+00:00

Filed under: SEC filings, Deals, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO)

The SEC and regulators who have to look at the antitrust implications of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) using Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) search advertising system should make the companies disclose the financial details of the deal.

But, the two companies are being allowed to cover-up those details in regulatory filings. The partnership, meant to allow Google text ads to run on Yahoo! search pages, should increase the portal company's revenue. It will also create a near-monopoly in the industry because the two companies together have over 80% of the search market in the U.S.

According to Reuters, "Yahoo has said it expects to generate an additional $250 million to $450 million in additional cash flow in the first 12 months after the agreement goes into effect." But, those are estimates and are not based on the substance of the contract between the two companies that is currently being examined by the federal government.

The SEC has favored significant disclosure on almost all important corporate financial and operating information. It seems that Google and Yahoo! have dodged that.

Douglas A. McIntryre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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CEOs practice the old soft shoe

Tom Barlow — 2008-08-08T15:17:00+00:00

Filed under: Management, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO)

CEOs have been doing the old soft shoe at quarterly report time since the market first form, but dancing now seems to have become a favored pastime of CEOs include Steve Ballmer of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Jerry Yang of Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) and (surprise? hardly) Mark Cuban (also a yahoo).

Yang busted some moves recently dancing with the star of Where the Hell is Matt?, the outstanding internet feature following adventurer and dancer (I use the term loosely) Matt Harding. Don't miss the video at the end of this post, if you're not familiar with Matt. - it's perhaps the most charming, uplifting video I've seen in years.

Of course, who can forget Steve Ballmer's dance at the podium during a Microsoft presentation? And, of course, Mark, 'Gimme the Cubs" Cuban performing on Dancing with the Stars?

Come to think of it, many CEOs are already quite accomplished at performing the fan dance with their balance sheets. Ex-Gov. Spitzer has shown his fondness for the hustle and the shag, while Donald Rumsfeld is still waiting for the cakewalk to begin. Senator Craig seems to favor the swing, while President Bush appears dead-set on taking on the Persian Dance before he waltzes out of the White House.

And me? Having lived through the Vietnam Era, I'm doing the Time Warp again.

Thanks to Portfolio.com

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Before the bell: Futures lower; AIG, TM, WMT down, COST, DNA could gain

Melly Alazraki — 2008-08-07T08:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Deals, Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Market matters, Costco Wholesale (COST), Amer Intl Group (AIG), Genentech Inc (DNA), Economic data, Limited Brands (LTD), Oil, Nissan Motors (NSANY)

U.S. stock futures drifted lower Thursday morning on the heel of another big loss reported by AIG. With reports today that mortgages made in 2007 are going bad at a rapid pace, the blow to the financial system may be even deeper than Wall Street had estimated, and data on June pending home sales could give more information about the recent state of the housing market. Also in focus today will be July same-store sales announced by retailers, which could show a 2.2% gain due to stimulus checks and back-to-school shopping, as well as rate decisions by ECB and BOE. The latter already kept rates the same. Finally, rising oil prices could affect trading as well.

AIG (NYSE: AIG) posted its third straight quarterly loss Wednesday after the close. Analyst believe that this quarter's $5.56 billion recorded loss due to investments related to mortgages could continue in the next few quarters. AIG's results didn't just cause investors to dump the stock, but also caused overall jitters about financials. AIG shares are down over 9% in premarket trading. In Europe, Allianz, Axa, Aegon, three of the biggest insurers, also post lower earnings on asset writedowns.

Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) reported a 28% profit fall in the quarter, 39% drop in operating profit. The company said the strong yen and rising costs of materials for the decline in addition to soft conditions in the U.S. all contributed to these results. While it said it plans to offset the declines by launching new vehicle models and stepping up production of popular models, it's unclear how successful that would be in light of softening economic conditions worldwide.

Staying with the auto industry, The Wall Street Journal reported that Chrysler and Nissan Motors (NASDAQ: NSANY) are in talks tabout jointly producing midsize cars, where Nissan would produce midsize sedans that Chrysler would sell in the U.S. under its own name.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) on Thursday reported a 3% increase in July same-store sales, below Wall Street estimates of 3.4%. Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) reported a 10% jump in July same-store sales, beating the 7.8% gain projected by analysts. Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), the owner of the Victoria's Secret lingerie chain, reported a 5% decline. WMT shares in particular are being punished, down over 3% in early indications as investors were hoping Wal-Mart could provide some retail defense during the recession and were disappointed.

As agreed, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) appointed activist shareholder Carl Icahn to its board of directors. Following the fiasco of last week's re-election vote and Icahn's no show, even he could find himself with low approval ratings.

According to IndiaTimes, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have announced that they will launch the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone on August 22 in India.

Bloomberg reports that Roche Holding AG may have to boost its bid for Genentech Inc. (NYSE: DNA) by almost 50% once test results show the cancer drug Avastin, sold by both companies, works against 30 different malignancies, including early-stage colon cancer, the second-leading cause of U.S. cancer death. An analyst at Rodman & Renshaw said that may attract a higher bid and push Genentech's share price "well north of $100 -- maybe $120 or $130."

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Before the bell: Freddie, Sprint post losses, WFMI, PCLN swing lower

Melly Alazraki — 2008-08-06T08:03:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Major movement, Earnings reports, Yahoo! (YHOO), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Time Warner (TWX), Market matters, Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Whole Foods Market (WFMI), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Economic data, Oil

U.S. stock futures were mixed Wednesday morning after Tuesday's big rally. Bigger-than-expected losses at mortgage lender Freddie Mac, which caused it to cut dividends, as well as lower profit at Time Warner dampened mood on Wall Street. Meanwhile, oil held above $119 ahead of inventory report later today, but crude futures were slightly higher.

Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), the second-largest U.S. mortgage-finance company, posted a larger fourth-quarter loss of $821 million, or $1.63 a share, than analysts estimated as delinquencies rose and cut its dividend to shore up capital. The common-share dividend will be reduced to 5 cents from 25 cents. Bloomberg writes that CEO Syron is "seeking to bolster capital and restore confidence after U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was forced to step in with a rescue plan for Freddie and the larger Fannie Mae." So, first, I doubt investors have much confidence in Syron after reports surfaced he ignored warnings. Second, is Wall Street really surprised the mortgage buyer disappointed? That its credit-related expenses doubled from the previous quarter? Haven't we been there before? FRE shares are down 8.7% in premarket trading at last check.

Meanwhile, Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) also reported this morning, saying second-quarter earnings fell 26% to $792 million, or 22 cents per share (24 cents on adjusted basis), on declining subscriber fees at its AOL online unit and lower ad revenue at the Time publishing business. Revenue was 5% higher at $11.6 billion. Thomson Financial says analysts expected profit of 23 cents per share on revenue of $11.46 billion. TWX affirmed its full-year financial targets after revenue rose at its film, cable and networks segments.

Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) posted a second-quarter loss of $344 million, or 12 cents a share, as revenue fell to $9.06 billion. But the No. 3 U.S. mobile service lost fewer subscribers than expected. The results beat earnings estimates but missed on revenue. Sprint shares are trading over 6% lower in premarket action.

The real surprise were Tuesday's late results at Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO). Not only did Cisco beat estimates: it earned $2.01 billion, or 33 cents per share (or 40 cents on an adjusted basis), while sales grew 10% to $10.4 billion. Analysts had expected Cisco to report earnings of 39 cents per share on $10.3 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Financial poll. But it also projected an amazing 8% revenue growth in the current tough economic period and fiscal second-quarter growth of about 8.5%. And the company isn't changing its long-term forecast for growth in the range of 12% to 17%. Well, not only did the world's largest maker of computer networking gear manage to grow at a time most companies find it hard, it expects to continue. CSCO shares were up over 5% in premarket trading.

But from surprise to the upside to surprise to the downside. Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) also reported late Tuesday third quarter results that missed estimates as net income dropped more than 30% due largely to costs associated with its acquisition of Wild Oats and a tough economy that hurt consumer spending. None of this should have been a surprise, yet it was. The company also drastically lowered its outlook for 2009, suspended its dividend and said it would open fewer stores next year. WFMI shares were punished and trade nearly 18% lower in premarket action around $19, a stock that was over $50 less than a year ago. It's hard to see WFMI doing any better while the economic downturn continues and after that, who knows with the competition it faces from many grocers.

Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN) shares are also dropping over 15% after the online travel company reported that second-quarter earnings jumped 56%, driven by international bookings and business. But as the travel agency gets more than two-thirds of its revenue from the U.S., and after saying bookings may suffer as high gas prices force consumers to cut back on travel, shares were dumped.

And the saga at Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) continues. While Yahoo! released the corrected vote count for its re-elected board, the new count shows much more disapproval and questions also remain. According to another large shareholder, there were 200 million fewer votes this year than in the past two years. Had these votes been represented, would Yahoo! board had been elected in its entirety?

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Yahoo! releases correct board vote count; questions remain

Melly Alazraki — 2008-08-05T21:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Management, Yahoo! (YHOO), Scandals

Following the demand of one of Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO)'s largest shareholders, Capital Research Global Investors, to review the vote in last week's re-election of the Internet giant's board, Yahoo! has now released the corrected numbers this afternoon. To recount, Capital Research Global Investors couldn't understand how Jerry Yang received 85.4% supporting votes when the fund's 16% holding was withheld.

Yahoo! acknowledged the error, blaming it on a tabulation error by Broadbridge. The new count shows much more disdain for several members of the board. Specifically, CEO Yang went from 85.4% support to 66.3% in the new count, Roy J. Bostock and Ronald W. Burkle went from 79.5% and 81.2% respectively to 60.4% and 62.1% respectively.

While this doesn't change anything except to show the board doesn't have the same approval from shareholders, it seems there are still some open questions. Barron's Eric Savitz brings concerns from Mithras Capital, an investment firm that owns 1.7 million Yahoo shares, regarding 200 million fewer votes in this year's vote compared to votes in the past two years.

The possible explanation is that the ballots that voted the Icahn slate before his agreement with Yahoo's board were voided and therefore not all shareholders were represented. Mithras Capital then wonders whether some members of the board wouldn't have been re-elected had these votes been counted.

Regardless, after several delays of the meeting as well as a "tabulation error," more questions are left unanswered and this whole vote leaves a really bad taste and lowers -- even further -- shareholders' confidence in Yahoo's board and management.

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Icahn's push for better ImClone (IMCL) price may backfire

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-08-05T09:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Deals, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), ImClone Systems (IMCL)

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) has made a $60 a share offer for the part of ImClone (NASDAQ: IMCL) that it does not already own. ImClone chairman Carl Icahn does not think tha$60 is high enough, despite ImClone trading below $40 in June. The offer seems like a pretty good deal, and since BMY owns 17% of ImClone , there is not likely to be another bidder.

According to The Wall Street Journal, ImClone's board appointed a committee to review last week's $60-a-share offer, but the biotechnology company said the board's "preliminary view is that offer substantially undervalues ImClone."

Icahn should take the money and run. Bristol-Myers clearly has the option to withdraw its bid and watch the stock drop back to $45. Holders of ImClone stock would likely get POed at Icahn, and is it any wonder?

It is not a perfect match, but the ImClone negotiations are starting to shape up the way Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) talks with Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) did. Microsoft needed Yahoo! for its internet strategy. No other company was going to pay a large premium for the portal's shares. When Microsoft walked away, Yahoo!'s share lost a third of their value.

Icahn has a history of pushing for a better deal. His batting average on recent investments is hardly perfect. He is not doing anyone, including himself, any favors by fighting with Bristol-Myers.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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