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Posted
Apr 14 2008, 06:07 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Most companies on Nasdaq did fairly well with the shorts in the two-week period which ended on March 31. The two tremendous exceptions were Level 3, where short interest moved up 20.3 million shares to 243.9 million, and Sirius, where shares sold short jumped 40.4 million to 137.8 million.
In a tough stock market and credit environment, it is not hard to see why investors would place bets against both companies. Each stock trades near its 52-week low. Level 3 recently pushed out its president. Although it is in an attractive business, bandwidth infrastructure, it is a patch-work of M&A work with a large amount of debt and almost no cash-flow. In other words, a liquidation candidate in a deep recession.
Sirius is also hurt by a high debt-load -- over $1.2 billion -- and negative operating income. If the company's merger with XM Satellite does not go through, it may not be able to survive as a standalone company either.
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Posted
Mar 20 2008, 12:05 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
I've been thinking about CEO apologies today after reading the Jeff Bezos note plastered on Amazon's front page. Bezos' contrition stems from the fact that the company sold out of the new Kindle electronic book reader in 5.5 hours, and it has been scrambling to increase production ever since. Some customers have waited six weeks to get one. Soon, Bezos said, Amazon will start shipping Kindles to people the same day they order them. "We had high hopes for Kindle before its launch," Bezos wrote, "but we didn't expect the demand that actually materialized." This wasn't exactly an apology -- Bezos never said he was sorry -- but it did have a "we screwed up" tone. And yet it smacked of product promotion -- it was another opportunity to advertise the Kindle to everyone who visits Amazon today. Amazon shares rose more than 4% today to $73.25.
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Posted
Jan 07 2008, 12:38 PM
by
Robert Walberg
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
In response to a public relations nightmare last February, JetBlue's management team enacted a customer bill of rights to help restore confidence in the airline. It was a bit gimmicky, but the effort seemed to work as the company just announced a 15% year-over-year jump in revenue passengers for 2007.
Hopefully, management has another gimmick or two up its sleeve to address the nightmarish performance of its stock. Despite the operational improvement, JetBlue's stock is now trading at about $5 per share -- down a whopping 64% over the past 52 weeks. Being trapped on a grounded plane for 10 hours seems painless by comparison.
Of course, JetBlue isn't the only airline to see its stock crash and burn over the past year. AMR Corp, Continental Airlines and Alaska Air Group have tumbled by 60%, 55% and 43%, respectively. High fuel prices, an uncertain economy and changes in regulations have contributed to a very turbulent year. Yet JetBlue was supposed to be different. With leather seats, expanded leg room and free satellite TV/radio for all passengers, this company was supposed to revolutionize the airline industry. So why has JetBlue been more revolting than revolutionary?
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Posted
Dec 10 2007, 03:46 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 Boeing shut down its ambitious onboard WiFi project last year, saying that after six years of work it couldn't find enough airlines who would offer the service to its customers. The service, called Connexion, provided e-mail, Web and TV during flights, with costs that ranged from $15 for less than three hours to $30 for a full day. It was mainly offered on non-U.S. airlines, and people who used it raved. But analysts said the service, which cost $150 million a year to run, was only used by 1,000 people a day across 125 commercial planes.
Boeing was too hasty in killing Connexion. U.S. airlines are slowly embracing free WiFi service, hoping to lure customers who want to send e-mails and instant messages from 30,000 feet. JetBlue is launching its WiFi trial tomorrow on just one plane, becoming the first U.S. carrier to do so. American, Virgin and Alaska plan to roll out service next year.
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