Browse by Tags
-
Posted
Oct 13 2009, 06:06 PM
by
InvestorPlace
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This article is by InvestorPlace's Jim Woods.
Chipmaker Intel (INTC) did it again. The tech bellwether handily beat consensus earnings forecasts for both its bottom line and the top line, reporting a third-quarter profit of 33 cents a share on revenue of $9.39 billion. Analysts who cover the stock were expecting a bottom line number of just 28 cents a share on revenue of $9.037 billion. Of course, with a company like Intel, the forecast for the quarter ahead is of supreme significance -- not just for Intel but for many companies in PC and related sectors. And here we have what could be the real reason to smile, for not only Intel, but for many other companies that use Intel chips in their products.
Read More...
-
Posted
Oct 06 2009, 07:49 AM
by
Minyanville
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 This article is written by Minyanville's Josh Lipton
This week marks the start of the third-quarter-earnings season, as Alcoa (AA) reports earnings on October 7.
The Street is expecting corporate earnings to decline 24.8%, which would mark the first time the S&P 500 has recorded nine straight quarters of negative growth since Thomson Reuters began tracking the data in 1998.
However, that 24.8% drop is still slightly better than the 27.3% fall in the second quarter. In fact, analysts say earnings should show signs of improvement over for the short term, due to cost control, inventory restocking, and easy comparisons against a terrible 2008 -- particularly among the financials.
“Things get less bad this quarter, with smaller year-over-year losses than in the first quarter and second quarter,” S&P equity analyst Alec Young tells us. See also What to Expect for Stocks in October. Looking further ahead, for 2010, the crystal ball of professional forecasters becomes much cloudier and, frankly, your guess is as good as that of any bow-tied CFA working on Wall Street: Nobody really knows how this struggling economy will perform once it’s weaned off Uncle Sam’s massive federal subsidies.
Read More...
-
Posted
Sep 02 2009, 03:50 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Sony (SNE), which has failed at most of its new initiatives over the last two years, needs something to work. Its PS3 has sold poorly. Prices for its digital cameras and television screens are under pressure from firms in Korea and China. Its new e-reader is competing in a market which includes Amazon’s (AMZN) Kindle which is a well-marketed leader, endorsed by Oprah.
Sony has decided that its next best chance to recover its financial performance and reputation for inventiveness is 3D TV. The question is whether anyone wants it.
The 3D products operates that way that older 3D cinema does, giving the viewer the illusion of watching content as if it were in the same room. The technology has several drawbacks, none of which can be easily overcome.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jul 24 2009, 05:39 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Dow 9,000!
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 9,000 for the first time since January. It marks a rally of over 2,500 points, or almost 39%, in a span of a little more than four months, according to The New York Times.
The underlying belief behind Thursday’s nearly 200-point performance is that companies are reporting better-than-expected profits, with companies like Intel (INTC), 3M (MMM) and even Ford (F) beating expectations.
But just as the Dow reached that psychological level, earnings results from Microsoft (MSFT) and American Express (AXP) disappointed investors. Strategists are calling for a correction in the markets, with some economists warning that a failed economic recovery could even lead to a double-dip recession wiping out stock market gains.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jun 23 2009, 10:50 AM
by
Minyanville
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Intel Deal with Nokia Intel Corp (INTC) is making another big push into the mobile phone industry. According to Bloomberg, the world’s largest chipmaker will host a conference call today announcing its plans to provide processors to Nokia (NOK) for its production of mobile devices. Details are still unavailable, but some analysts are still excited over the news because Nokia is the world’s largest maker of mobile phones. Just last February, Intel said it landed a contract with LG Electronics, the third largest phone-maker in the world. CEO Paul Otellini scrapped his predecessor’s $5 billion investment into the field in 2006 after he felt the company was late to the market. Now, he’s attempting to make the push back into phones to lessen Intel’s dependence on computers, which account for approximately 90% of sales.
Read More...
-
Posted
May 28 2009, 09:44 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
In this morning’s New York Times, I read with great interest about the success of the local teams’ young, unheralded backup catchers. Their achievements led columnist George Vecsey to ask “why general managers have traditionally spent millions and millions on mediocre players past their prime rather than for eager and cheaper young players.”
What does this have to do with Minyans?
A couple of things.
First, it gets to the heart of the thesis of my upcoming book, The Undoing of Cowardice. I argue that while it makes good, cheap theater to haul bank CEOs in front of Congress, it has surprisingly little to do with our real problems. Our markets are sick, I contend, because we've encouraged investment managers to behave like one another. We've encouraged supposedly independent thinkers to act like index funds. And index funds only work properly when independent thinkers are setting the prices.
Read More...
-
Posted
Apr 28 2009, 03:48 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
By the middle of the year, the federal government will own large, and in some cases, controlling interests, in two car companies and several major banks. There is a chance the the extent of rescue efforts and government ownership could move to auto parts suppliers and insurance companies. If the Treasury can pick up stock in Cisco (CSCO) and Intel (INTC), it can control most of the important sectors of the economy. That raises the issue of how the federal government gets all of that taxpayer money back.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) have done poorly on their “stress tests”. Each bank may be encouraged to raise more capital. As a number of analysts have pointed out, private equity has no interest in stakes in troubled banks, even at a steep discount to current market values.
Read More...
-
Posted
Apr 01 2009, 10:25 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
It started out with flimsy-framed glasses, one lens in blue, the other in red. And just like that, the Creature from the Black Lagoon looked like he was coming right off the screen.
3-D technology, which had its heyday in the 1950s, has intermittently reappeared, with varying degrees of success -- 1983’s "Jaws 3-D" arguably being the nadir. But one of 2009’s biggest weekend openings may have us poised for a 3-D renaissance.
In anticipation of the Dreamworks film "Monsters vs. Aliens," theaters around the country rushed to upgrade projectors to provide 3-D functionality, at a cost of roughly $100,000 per theater. Theaters expected the film’s box-office receipts would help recoup their upgrade costs, and the film didn’t disappoint, generating $59.3 million in box office over its opening weekend.
But the real box-office record of note was the movie's place as the largest digital 3-D opening in history. With more than 2,000 screens outfitted for 3-D, the 3-D theaters accounted for $32.6 million of the $59.3 million opening weekend. Despite the big weekend, the number of screens compatible with 3-D was below initial estimates from Dreamworks Animation (DWA) chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has been championing the new format.
Read More...
-
Posted
Mar 04 2009, 03:13 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Using the U.S. government’s count, about 2.4 million people lost their jobs in America last year. That does not include people who have been jobless for an extended period and are no longer looking for jobs. In January, another 598,000 people were put onto the streets by their employers, moving the unemployment rate up to 7.6%.
According to MarketWatch, the average forecaster thinks the economy shed 640,000 jobs last month. Some of the estimates are well over 700,000. The impression that the employment situation is getting worse was confirmed by Ben Bernanke’s comments testimony to the Senate yesterday.
Analysts may admit to a frightening February unemployment rate, but most either believe that the economy is going to get better or don’t want to say in public what they think. While it is comforting to claim that the February numbers will be a bottom for employment erosion, that may not be the case. The joblessness rate could thunder higher between now and year-end.
Read More...
-
Posted
Feb 25 2009, 10:00 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A rather gloomy report is out about the prospects for semiconductor stocks. Chip sales won't return to last year's levels until 2013, according to a Gartner report covered by MarketWatch. The biggest factor keeping those levels depressed is a global drop in demand as electronics sales have sputtered. Semiconductor sales are expected to fall nearly 25% this year, to about $195 billion, Gartner said. Back in December, the firm was expecting only a 16% drop. The industry has been through this before. After the 2001 recession, chip sales fell by a third and revenue didn't return to previous levels for four years. This time around, the rebound could be similar, experts say. How is this playing out with stocks?
Read More...
More Posts Next page »
|
