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Posted
Jan 31 2008, 02:23 PM
by
Robert Walberg
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
There are some rumors that never die. Elvis is living on a beach in South America. There are bunch of alien life forms locked up in a government warehouse somewhere in the Nevada desert. The shot came from the grassy knoll. And Coca-Cola Co. is about to buy Hansen Natural.
Unfortunately, there's no more evidence behind the Hansen rumor than any of the others. Yes, the stock shot up over 4% yesterday on about 1.5 times normal volume, and, yes, word spread that a UBS analyst noted that Coke was interested in Hansen, but that doesn't add up to an offer, or even the hint of an offer.
First of all, Hansen fell by more than 10% the day before on roughly two times average volume. Consequently, the fact that the stock bounced a bit in Thursday's session should come as no surprise -- especially given the market tone and the comments from the UBS analyst about Coca-Cola. However it should be noted that a kid taking introduction to business in high school could tell you that Coke has an interest in Hansen. It's about as obvious as speculating that Paris Hilton has an interest in publicity, or that Senator Hillary Clinton has an interest in the primary outcomes on February 5th. In other words, this wasn't the stuff of genius. More like obvious speculation. Like saying the Chicago Bears have an interest in Tom Brady.
With Hansen Natural's stock down about 44% from its highs a few months back, the stock would appear to be cheap. So if you're the management team at Coke and you've been thinking about buying Hansen, now would seem like a good time to pull the trigger on a deal. Obvious... right?
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Posted
Apr 02 2008, 01:07 PM
by
Aaron Whallon
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A couple weeks ago about a dozen Nestle Crunch bars were sent to one of my colleagues. The box came with a note saying there was a candy bar for each member of our team. I didn't really think much of it at first. The Crunch bar sat on my desk for most of the day. Late in the afternoon I finally opened it up and broke off a piece. It was the first time I had eaten a Crunch bar in about 10 years. And I thought it was pretty good. As I expressed my satisfaction to some of my coworkers they kindly offered me their candy. And I kindly took it.
The two bars have just been sitting on my desk the past two weeks. I had pretty much forgotten about them until I came across a headline today that read "Hershey, Mars, Nestle Accused of Fixing Candy Prices."
According to a lawsuit, Giant Eagle, a Pittsburgh grocery store, is accusing the chocolate makers of fixing candy prices in the U.S.
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Posted
Jun 16 2008, 10:18 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
As you've no doubt heard by now, Anheuser-Busch, the business behind one of America's most iconic brands, is being pursued by foreigners. Late last week, Belgian-based brewer InBev launched an unsolicited all-cash buyout offer worth some $46 billion. Not surprisingly, given a dour U.S. populace, the deal is already generating serious backlash on rumors of job cuts and brewery closings. Jokes that the famous Clydesdales could be sent to a glue factory to help pay down post-merger debt aren't helping either.
Although the deal can't be classified as a matter of national security, as was the case with high-profile acquisition attempts by Dubai Ports World and CNOOC, I have a feeling this one will strike a chord with the average guy on the street. In the words of the Economist, "Could anything symbolize America's loss of economic supremacy more clearly than for its favorite beer to fall into foreign hands?" Politicians are drooling
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Posted
Jun 17 2008, 10:30 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
In a surprising move, Warren Buffett told the Belgian newspaper De Standard this morning that he supports InBev's $46 billion cash offer for Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch. His Berkshire Hathaway owns some 35 million shares, or a 5% stake in the iconic beer maker.
The endorsement comes as a bit of a slap in the face for Anheuser CEO August Busch IV, who was trying to buy some time as indicated in this formal response sent to InBev yesterday. In fact, the Oracle of Omaha was going to grace Mr. Busch with his presence later this week to talk the deal through.
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Posted
Jun 23 2008, 06:59 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
InBev's $46 billion cash offer for Anheuser-Busch is turning into a global economic nightmare for those proud of their Great American Lager. It's bad enough that a Belgian brewer run by a bunch of Brazilians is trying to buyout the last of the great U.S. beer makers -- this after Miller was made South African in 2002 and Coors became part-Canadian in 2004.
But now, fate has it that the best hope for keeping Anheuser free from the clutches of foreigners rests with the Fernandez family, controllers of Grupo Modelo, the Mexican brewery famous for Corona.
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Posted
Jun 27 2008, 07:37 AM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Since InBev launched its audacious $46 billion offer for Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch, investors, analysts, and proud American beer drinkers have all been awaiting word from the executive suite in St. Louis: What's it going to be, yay or nay to the Brazilian-led but Belgian-owned predator?
Yesterday, in a scathing rebuke, CEO August Busch IV didn’t just say no but made an impassioned call to arms. He called the unsolicited offer "financially inadequate" and not in the best interests of shareholders. He touted management's efforts to boost shareholder value through its Blue Ocean cost-reduction program. He stressed the brewer's global footprint. He flaunted Anheuser's renowned brand-building abilities and the power of the Budweiser and Bud Light brands. He even made it personal and told InBev CEO Carlos Brito to take his money and his big dreams elsewhere.
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Posted
Jul 01 2008, 10:31 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Finally, some good news from Starbucks: the coffee-shop behemoth is closing 600 stores and cutting 12,000 jobs, roughly 7% of its global workforce.
This is a gutsy move for founder Howard Schultz, who just recently retook the helm with broad pronouncements of returning to roots and reigniting the "emotional attachment with customers" that has been lost over time. After all, Starbucks now has 16,226 locations, up from just 1,886 over the last 10 years. With operations in such faraway lands as Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Argentina, and Romania, Starbucks' expansionist future once seemed boundless.
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Posted
Jul 14 2008, 01:28 PM
by
Anthony Mirhaydari
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Soft-drink companies are bracing for a slowdown in what has been a surefire moneymaker: Selling filtered tap water, straight up or with flavor and nutrients as "enhanced water" beverages. But the companies still offer opportunity for investors.
Not only are people shying away from water costing the equivalent of $12 a gallon when gasoline is over $4 a gallon, but environmental sensitivity to those ugly, non-biodegradable plastic bottles is on the rise as well.
A recent survey by venerable Morgan Stanley beverage analyst William Pecoriello found 16% of consumers are reducing bottled water consumption due to environmental concerns. This is up from just 5% last year. Of these, 34% are reusing their plastic water bottles more often while 23% are just going with tap water instead.
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Posted
Sep 12 2008, 08:34 AM
by
admin
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
This post is by MSN Money columnist Michael Brush:
Russian investors may be reaching for vodka more often these days as their stock market gets hammered. It has fallen 40% since May.
But that’s not the reason to consider buying shares of a leading vodka producer in the country called Central European Distribution. The company appears to have plenty of growth ahead, but it has sold off to $55 from above $75 last May in the weakness that has pummeled so many Russian stocks.
That makes it looks like a bargain:
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Posted
Sep 15 2008, 11:55 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Looks like Amazon is close to selling wine online. This has been in the works for a while (we wrote about the company's plans in March). Now, a wine trade group says the company could begin wine sales as early as the end of September. This won't be huge for Amazon, but the company could gain a devoted following of wine lovers.
The trade group, Napa Valley Vintners, is so excited about the possibilities that it's holding workshops to teach members how to sell wine through Amazon. Shares of the company are down less than 1% Monday to $78.02.
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