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Posted
Aug 27 2008, 11:29 AM
by
Todd Harrison
The casual dining space is an extremely difficult place to trade these days. Just ask Darden Restaurants. On Tuesday the Florida based chain, known for its Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse locations provided what could probably best be described as a very lackluster outlook for its first quarter.
More specifically, the chain said that excluding certain adjustments and costs it expects to earn 60 to 62 cents a share in its Q1.The trouble with that is that per Yahoo Finance the company had been expected to turn in 75 cents a share.
What happened?
Reuters quoted a Darden spokesman as saying, “people were not in the restaurants in the volume we were anticipating."
Geez, I could have told you that.
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Posted
Aug 26 2008, 10:57 AM
by
Todd Harrison
The slumping housing market continues to take a bite out of home improvement - and there’s no immediate relief in sight.
Consumers are pressed by high gasoline and food prices, leaving less cash to upgrade the kitchen or bathroom.
Home Depot and Lowe’s have already taken a hit.
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Posted
Aug 25 2008, 01:48 PM
by
Todd Harrison
Rating:
Toyota says it will hike the price of its Prius and Harrier hybrids in Japan to cover the increased cost of steel and other materials.
The price increases are the first in Japan since 1992 without an accompanying new model with improved features. The company raised prices 10% in 1974 after the first oil shock.
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Posted
Aug 22 2008, 10:30 AM
by
Todd Harrison
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The sour U.S. economy is unlikely to rebound before 2009, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Friday.
He said the credit crunch will continue to worsen, and noted that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke doesn’t have a “magic wand” to strengthen the economy and tame inflation.
“You always find out who’s been swimming naked when the tide goes out,” Buffett told CNBC. “We found out that Wall Street has been kind of a nudist beach.”
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Posted
Aug 21 2008, 12:46 PM
by
Todd Harrison
Heinz, the world’s largest ketchup maker, says first-quarter profits climbed 12% to $229 million, or $0.72 per share. Analysts forecast earnings of $0.66 per share; the company earned $205.3 million, or $0.63 per share, in the same period last year. Sales increased 15%, to $2.58 billion.
The company also sells Ore-Ida French fries and Lea & Perrins sauces.
A lot has been written about how salsa now outsells ketchup, but most of it can be filed under what Mark Twain called “lies, damned lies and statistics.”
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Posted
Aug 20 2008, 06:15 AM
by
Todd Harrison
Rating:
On Tuesday, office supply retailer Staples offered its second-quarter outlook, which unsurprisingly reflected the sluggish economic environment. Excluding the company’s recent Corporate Express acquisition, among other items, earnings per share decreased approximately 15% compared to 2007’s second quarter.
Sales increased 3%, while North American comp-store sales dropped some 7%. A quick look at last year’s second quarter results reveals that North American comps were down 2% in 2007. I think the comparison shows how much the company is indeed struggling.
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Posted
Aug 18 2008, 11:22 AM
by
Todd Harrison
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This is the worst of all possible worlds: Satisfying your chocolate addiction is about to cost you more -- and Hershey says the price increase will slow future growth.
The subprime mortgage mess and oil prices are just the way of the world. But chocolate?
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Posted
Aug 15 2008, 08:32 AM
by
Todd Harrison
Rating:
A stronger dollar and slowing worldwide growth continue to drive oil prices down.
A barrel of oil recently fetched $113.46 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, about 23% below the peak of $147.27 reached on July 11th.
The US Energy Information Administration says gasoline supplies have dropped more than expected, but demand for fuel continues to fall.
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Posted
Aug 12 2008, 03:48 PM
by
Todd Harrison
Rating:
After analysts expressed high hopes for the company's future, shares for Amazon jumped over 9%, to $88.09, on Monday. While Amazon is widely expected to maintain their industry lead in e-commerce, many believe they'll see an extra boost from sales of the Kindle, Amazon's new electronic book reader which is gaining intense buzz.
It marks the first time in years that something in the literary world has attracted this much attention - without involving a school of witchcraft and wizardry.
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Posted
Aug 11 2008, 11:59 AM
by
Todd Harrison
Small natural gas play Mainland Resources could be a giant in the space in a short period of time. The stock has been coming on as more investors learn about the company’s potential in the super exciting Haynesville shale region (see sidebar).
Discovered in March of this year, Haynesville is said to be one of the largest domestic on shore natural gas fields - ever. According to Energy and Capital the field could conservatively hold 168 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Chesapeake Energy has declared Haynesville the most important find in its 19 years history.
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