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Posted
Jul 29 2009, 11:31 AM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Imagine kicking back in the shade on a hot day and popping open an ice-cold box of beer.
Yes, you read that right: box.
The Wall Street Journal reports to that MillerCoors is testing beer in a box in several cities.
Now, like many people during this economic crisis, my wife and I are doing some personal belt-tightening of our own in order to save money. But there are some things I just won't do, including buying wine in a box.
Now, with beer, the box might be less objectionable since, in my opinion, the quality issue is not really in play. Despite what the microbrewers will tell you, all beer is pretty much the same. Consumers who pay a premium do so more for the experience than the taste.
But for me, the issue is the bottle. I like drinking my suds from a cold bottle. Period.
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Posted
Apr 07 2009, 02:42 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner site InvestorPlace.com.
Will Capital One (COF) receive the death penalty for past transgressions?
Given the fallout in the financial sector, such an outcome should be expected by investors. Like Countrywide in the mortgage market, Capital One was a leader in aggressive consumer credit lending.
We all know the outcome for that aggressiveness at Countrywide. Now it seems that many are predicting credit debt to be the next shoe to drop in this financial crisis. If so, the future of Capital One may be in jeopardy.
At the end of last year, I put Capital One on my list of Top 10 Stocks to Avoid in 2009 for just that reason. Considering shares started the year at $31.89 and now sit at $12.81, I would say that was a rather astute move.
Where does Capital One go from here?
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Posted
Jun 04 2009, 01:19 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Will someone in the executive suite at Costco (COST) get a clue, please? With one of the greatest opportunities in decades to separate yourself from the competition, you are puking all over the place.
Today, we learned that same-store sales at Costco have fallen by a whopping 7%. To be fair, that sensational headline is mostly due to lower gasoline prices and a weak dollar, but even so the discount retailer saw sales drop by 1%.
This economy is separating the men from the boys, and it should be obvious to anyone paying attention that Costco is being operated by boys. At a time when discounts rule the day, Costco should be increasing its business. Instead, it is are losing the game, and the sad part is management is clearly playing the blame game.
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Posted
Apr 29 2009, 01:12 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 As bullish as I am on Sirius XM stock, I despise Starbucks (SBUX). I advise avoiding the king of expensive coffee for multiple reasons.
And if you already own Starbucks, you'd be smart to sell before it's too late. You would have good reason, as you'd be locking in profits. The stock has rocketed up some 65% since early March.
On Wednesday, the company announced results that should give any investor pause. Earnings for the quarter beat estimates by the proverbial penny but were down by 77% from a year ago, Revenues missed expectations. Same store sales were down 8%, and the average ticket order was down 3%.
Customers are fewer, and the ones that do make it into the store are spending less. That is a continuation of a negative trend that will likely continue.
Here are three reasons why investors should sell SBUX.
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Posted
May 22 2009, 05:16 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Boy, these guys are good. Last December when Sears (SHLD) announced earnings, the company tried to sugarcoat significantly worse-than-expected results with an announcement of a stock buyback.
They've gotten clever again.
On Thursday, after the market closed, Sears announced earnings ahead of schedule. The news was positive, and management knew it would be received by the market. Reporting a profit excluding items of 38 cents per share was too good to wait to report.
More importantly, Sears had secured a line of credit for $2.4 billion that would immediately put to rest concerns about credit.
Sears indeed jumped way up at the open, ending Friday's trading up 10%. Can you say short squeeze?
But not so fast, buster. Before you celebrate the rise of a grand old name, recognize that Sears still has major problems.
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Posted
Jun 23 2009, 09:50 AM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A funny thing happened on the way to Boeing's dominance of the aircraft-manufacturing industry…
Its new jet won't fly.
Tuesday, the airline maker announced that the maiden voyage of its 787 Dreamliner would be pushed back due to concerns about stress on its wings.
That doesn't sound good. Boeing (BA) needs more time to reinforce the wings to address the concern. Perhaps they are being overly cautious, but would you want to fly on this oft-delayed aircraft?
More critically for Boeing shareholders, would you want to buy one?
Seriously, at this late date, one would think that the designers and builders would have all factors accounted for. But Boeing's strategy with this plane of contracting out parts to suppliers and shipping them to Everett, Wash., for assembly seems to have created a planeload of problems.
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Posted
Aug 06 2009, 12:49 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 How many months of lackluster performance at Costco ( COST) do we need to see before investors start dumping shares?
Once again, the discount retailer reported disappointing results. Same-store sales in July fell by 7% including a stunning drop of 8% in the United States. Excluding gas deflation, the drop was 2%. Analysts were expecting same-store sales to fall by 6.7% or 1.9% excluding gas sales.
Bing: Costco Wholesale
I'm losing count -- how many months of weakness do we have now? I think pretty much the entire year with no end in sight.
At least this time around we've been spared the typical excuse about a weak economy, but apparently it doesn't really matter. The market and the Costco apologists that love this company are buying the stock supporting share price at a time of great difficulty.
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Posted
May 11 2009, 02:42 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
I'm in Las Vegas for the Money Show this week.
Las Vegas is a great barometer of the economy. I've been coming to this town since 1983, and every visit provides me with insight into the consumer and the future direction of the market. While the so-called "sin stocks" (gambling, liquor and adult entertainment) have suffered in this recession due to tight budgets, limited travel and minimal excess cash flow for consumers, the city is showing signs of a full recovery.
Unfortunately, the same is not true with adult entertainment company Playboy Enterprises Inc. (PLA). This venerable name in publishing lost its luster long ago. And this recession is the last thing the company needed in its efforts to recover from a long, slow decline in its business.
Click here to see 7 Sin Stocks That Are Worth Buying Now
Monday, Playboy announced a loss of 41 cents a share in the first quarter on weak revenues. The company had sales in the period of $61.6 million, well below the analyst expectation of $71.65 million. Though the whole entertainment magazine segment has been hurt, Playboy's woes have been worse.
Will this famous magazine publisher recover? Not at this rate. Here are 3 reasons to avoid the stock
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Posted
Aug 04 2009, 02:14 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
How is it that we can spend trillions of dollars rescuing the banking industry, including some of the biggest names on Wall Street, and yet have so much trouble funding the itty bitty “cash for clunkers” program?
According to the Wall Street Journal, the government plan to remove gas guzzlers from the road while supporting the auto industry amounts -- with just a billion dollars initially, and maybe a couple billion more -- to crackpot economics.
Where was this indignation when the government was bailing out the very Wall Street for that the Journal serves diligently? Why is $4,500 for a Main Street car buyer outrageous, yet multimillion-dollar bonuses for Wall Street bankers just capitalism at work?
After all, it's all taxpayer money
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Posted
Jun 15 2009, 04:44 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This weekend marked the last day of business for the Virgin Megastore chain in the United States. Like many retailers, the company has struggled during the current recession, and Sunday it shuttered its last two stores, in Manhattan and Hollywood.
Its fate, and that of most of the big chain record shops, was sealed in 2001 when Apple (AAPL) unleashed its game-changing iPod.
Why go to a store to buy an outdated CD? Digital music platforms give us the ability to download music at the click of a button. And you buy only the songs you want; online you can make your mix.
Forget about vinyl, of course. Those old LPs are the refuge of audiophiles and independent record stores, who might now carry more CDs as well. These independents are putting up a brave fight, but they're ultimately no match for technology.
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