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Posted
Jul 20 2009, 12:52 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The bulls finally trounced the bears last week -- ending a streak of four consecutive weekly losses.
It was a picture perfect scenario for the bulls. Emerging markets were up. Commodities soared. Prominent economists, such as the team at Merrill Lynch, are saying the recession is over. And even dour commentators like New York University economist Nouriel Roubini and banking analyst Meredith Whitney were said to have made positive comments (although they were misinterpreted and taken out of context) about the economy and the banks.
But now it's becoming increasingly clear that stocks have come too far, too fast on fundamentals that are still far too shaky. In fact, we could be seeing a replay of the 2002 "head fake" that resulted in a 34% slide to the 2003 bear market low. Here's why.
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Posted
Jul 17 2009, 04:12 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
What a week. Despite some apprehension among investors heading into the second-quarter earnings season, companies have reported some impressive numbers. This helped push the major indexes up some 7% since Monday.
So far, 55 of the S&P 500 companies have reported Q2 earnings. Among these, 71% have reported earnings above analyst expectations, 9% reported in-line results, and 20% fell short. Since 1994 a typical quarter sees 61% of companies beat estimates, 19% match, and 20% miss. Recession or no, corporations are clearing the hurdles of low expectations. The aggregate earnings "surprise" is 11.2% above estimates -- far above -11.3% surprise factor seen over the last eight quarters.
The overall impression is that executives are managing through this difficult economic period as they should: By hunkering down, cutting expenses, and waiting for a sales recovery. This is great in the short-term, as it limits the trickle-down effect of revenue compression on the bottom line. But it's not sustainable and it won't be enough to meet higher expectations in the third quarter.
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Posted
May 15 2009, 02:01 PM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The days of a blissful toucan crooning over a rainbow of fruit flavors appears to be gone: Advertising has entered the Age of Ire.
It's no secret Americans are seething over the seemingly endless parade of frauds, scams and blowups emanating from the narrow streets of lower Manhattan. Wall Street is under siege, both in headlines and in living rooms across the country. And in a trend that kicked off last summer with a Harley Davidson (HOG) ad campaign that decried corporate greed, advertising is becoming increasingly reflective of public outrage.
The New York Times chronicles a series of companies tapping into America's pervasive fear and outrage in order too woo customers.
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Posted
Feb 04 2009, 06:13 AM
by
Bernhard Warner and Matthew Yeomans
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner site The Big Money.
A half-million-dollar salary and no bonus beyond ordinary stock dividends. That's the limit to executive pay for bailed-out companies under a new plan expected to be announced today by President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the business pages trumpet today. "The new rules would be far tougher than any restrictions imposed during the Bush administration, and they could force executives to accept deep reductions in their current pay. They come amid rising public fury about huge pay packages for executives at financial companies being propped up by federal tax dollars," the New York Times writes. The good times, it appears, will be over. Bloomberg cites an Obama administration source, who informs that "the rules will force greater transparency on the use of corporate jets, office renovations and holiday parties as well as golden parachutes offered to executives when they leave companies."
The pressure on banks to show their austere side is growing. Yesterday, Wells Fargo hastily canceled a four-day convention in Las Vegas for its top mortgage bankers to quell a PR uproar, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bank, the recipient of a $25 billion government cash infusion, decided to cancel after word of the trip leaked out and "television networks and bloggers pummeled the bank," the newspaper reports. Another bank under fire, Citigroup, said it would not back out of its $400 million marketing deal with the New York Mets, but it may seek to renegotiate part of the deal, the WSJ writes in a separate story. The Mets brass must be relieved. They just spent $36 million to re-sign starting pitcher Oliver Perez.
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Posted
Nov 19 2008, 01:37 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 America has a strong -- and growing -- used motorcycle market. Add a plunging economy to that, and the road is getting a little rough for Harley-Davidson these days.
Harley shares have taken a beating lately, falling 41% in less than three weeks. Shares are down 70% year to date. Sure, the stock looks cheap, but analysts warn that the earnings potential for the company is unclear.
One reason is that core Harley buyers are simply getting older. Only 12% of buyers are under 35, and long-term demand will slow as baby boomers "exit their peak riding years," wrote a JPMorgan analyst in a recent client note. The analyst expects motorcycle registrations to drop 14.7% next year in the U.S. and 4.2% internationally.
Harley also made bad business decisions. It sold bikes to buyers who clearly couldn't afford it, handing out $20,000 motorcycles with no money down,
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Posted
Oct 18 2007, 11:17 AM
by
Robert Walberg
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
When someone mentions overnight delivery you think of FedEx; photocopying -- Xerox; search -- Google; and motorcycles -- Harley Davidson. I'm not a motorcycle guy, yet there's something mythical about the idea of hopping on a big Harley and hitting the open road. Maybe it's the sense of freedom, or simply a desire to be like Peter Fonda in Easy Rider, I don't know, but there's definitely something very American associated with owning and riding a HOG.
Yet despite its incredible brand strength and customer loyalty, the company is struggling to grow sales and earnings. Just last month management was forced to lower its earnings guidance due to sluggish U.S. demand. The company also slashed production for the rest of the year and announced that it would not predict its financials for fiscal year 2009. In response to the disappointing news investors slaughtered HOG, and the stock is now down 28% over the past year.
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