Continue reading Fuqi drops on weak Q3 revenue, in-line Q4 forecast

Fuqi drops on weak Q3 revenue, in-line Q4 forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Joining the ranks of Tickle-Me Elmo, Cabbage Patch Kids, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ... behold, the Zhu Zhu Pets. These robotic rodents are expected to be the most in-demand toy for the 2009 holiday shopping season.

The five battery-operated hamsters respond to touch with 40 different sounds, and can also run around when set in "explore" mode. It's all the fun of having a pet without the messy clean-up duty.

Parents, you have Cepia LLC, a small company in St. Louis, to thank for these critters. The firm is hoping to ship between 4 million and 5 million pets by the end of the year (banking $300 million to $400 million in sales), but admits they cannot keep up with the demand. Cepia has grand plans, however, for the next part of the Zhu Zhu universe, hoping to roll out hedgehogs, rabbits, and other furry robot friends in the next year or so.

Continue reading And the hottest toy for the holiday season is ...

And the hottest toy for the holiday season is ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Bank of America (BAC) travesty of corporate governance continues to grow increasingly tragicomic.

A quick recap: Bank of America's board of directors took way too long to kick CEO Ken Lewis to the curb and now it can't pick a successor because of infighting. Meanwhile, the board and the company's executives -- including those who are being considered for the CEO job -- have made such a mess of the whole thing that no one who isn't already part of the company will consider taking the job.

Charlie Gasparino of CNBC reports:

Continue reading Bank of America's board of directors fights over Lewis' successor

Bank of America's board of directors fights over Lewis' successor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I promised myself that I wasn't going to give Nike (NKE) the publicity that it wants with its new rivalry uniforms. You see, the company has decided that 10 colleges will wear specially designed uniforms for their big rivalry games this year, assigning the slogan "Prepare for Combat" to the program.

For example, The Ohio State University will wear "retro-inspired" uniforms when it takes the field against that team from up north (Michigan). I was worried when I heard that Nike was designing this uniform; Ohio State doesn't do alternate uniforms -- they never have. Honestly, it isn't all that bad; the jersey leaves a little to be desired, but perhaps that is just me.

Continue reading Nike's new marketing campaign may be a bit insensitive

Nike's new marketing campaign may be a bit insensitive originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst upgrades:

• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Blackstone Group (BX) to outperform from market perform following the company's Q3 results and maintains an $18.50 price target on shares.
• Baird upgraded Astec (ASTE) to outperform from neutral citing relative valuation and upside from new multi-year U.S. highway funding legislation. The firm raised its target to $33 from $27.
• Goldman upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to conviction buy from neutral citing "significant" long-term growth drivers that include international growth. The firm raised its target to $45 from $36.
• Ariad Pharmaceuticals (ARIA) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• Energizer (ENR) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• AstraZeneca (AZN) was upgraded to buy from hold at RBS.

Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANF, AZN, BX, GPS, PH, RAIL, VRSN ...

Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: ANF, AZN, BX, GPS, PH, RAIL, VRSN ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein pulls a Jeff Skilling in an interview

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein pulls a Jeff Skilling in an interview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For News Corp. (NWS), MySpace is the mistake that keeps on costing. It's bad enough that Murdoch's empire paid $500 million for the social networking platform shortly before Facebook knocked it from the premier spot in the social media beauty pageant, but now we also know that News Corp. has committed $350 million to office space for MySpace that will never be used.

News Corp is shelling out more than $1 million a month for 420,000 square feet in Playa Vista, near Los Angeles International Airport. The deal was signed in August 2008 by Peter Levinsohn, former president of the Fox Interactive Media Unit. At the time, he issued a chest-puffing memo claiming it was "the single biggest real-estate transaction in Los Angeles in the last 25 years." Fortunately, he didn't mix the word "genius" in there at all.

Continue reading News Corp's MySpace mistakes pile up

News Corp's MySpace mistakes pile up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Ariad Upgraded, Xenoport Drug Delayed: BioBuzz
• Holiday Deals Heat Up at Big Retailers

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Pelosi can't kill the health care sector

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Pelosi can't kill the health care sector originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Kraft launches hostile takeover of Cadbury

Kraft launches hostile takeover of Cadbury originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Disney (DIS) had high hopes for A Christmas Carol. It was supposed to be an unqualified blockbuster. Unfortunately, the film's first weekend at the box office was nothing short of a disaster.

Too strong? Hardly. According to early estimates at Box Office Mojo, Carol took in little more than $30 million at domestic screenings. It was wasn't supposed to be like this. Carol was supposed to be light-years ahead of the competition. Sony's (SNE) Michael Jackson's This Is It came in second. The Men Who Stare at Goats, distributed by Liberty Capital Group's (LCAPA) Overture Films, was third. And The Fourth Kind, from General Electric's (GE) Universal, is currently ranked, aptly enough, in fourth place. Each of the latter three pictures had a gross of somewhere between $12 million and $14 million. To me, Carol's take didn't seem as disproportionate as it should have been.

Continue reading Disney's 'A Christmas Carol': Investors not in a merry mood?

Disney's 'A Christmas Carol': Investors not in a merry mood? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Priceline.com Inc. (PCLN), which was recently added to the S&P 500, is scheduled to discuss its third-quarter 2009 financial results in a conference call Monday, November 9, at 4:30 PM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in September, Priceline announced a partnership with Ticketmaster (TKTM) and launched a rewards Visa card. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect this leading online travel services provider to report that earnings for that period jumped 18.2% from a year ago to $2.92 per share. And revenue for the quarter is expected to be 23.6% higher to $693.9 million.

Continue reading Priceline.com earnings preview: A sweet deal in Q3?

Priceline.com earnings preview: A sweet deal in Q3? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If Amazon (AMZN) was comfortable with its spot atop the e-reader market, it just got a wakeup call from Barnes & Noble (BKS). The brick-and-mortar book retailer's e-reader, the Nook, which hasn't even hit stores yet, is in pre-order nirvana right now. The first run for the Nook occurred at the end of October (the product was introduced on October 20). These buyers were told the reader would ship on November 30. High demand resulted in backorders, so the next wave of pre-orders was scheduled to ship on December 7. Now, a third group will have to wait until December 11.

This product is on fire, and it still isn't even on shelves yet.

Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble wouldn't reveal how many of these devices have been pre-ordered, but she did say, "Demand for the product in our stores and online has surpassed our expectations." She also noted, "We are working hard to meet demand for the holidays."

Continue reading Barnes & Noble's Nook already makes a splash

Barnes & Noble's Nook already makes a splash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading KKR guns for a military deal -- buys Northrop Grumman's TASC

KKR guns for a military deal -- buys Northrop Grumman's TASC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Amazon (AMZN) closed at $126.20. AMZN December option implied volatility is at 44, January is at 43; versus its 26-week average of 47, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing movement.

Market Vector Gold Miners (GDX) is recently up $1.13 to $48.75 in pre-open trading. Gold is recently up 1.11% to $1107.90. GDX November and December option implied volatility of 49 is below its 26-week average of 52, according to Track Data.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Amazon volatility low, shares at record high originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Before the bell: Futures climb as Wall Street eyes deals

Before the bell: Futures climb as Wall Street eyes deals originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In this week's (November 9) Preview Section of Barron's (subscription required) I was surprised to find that on Wednesday (11/9) it is noted that Computer Sciences (CSC), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Macy's (M) reported "profits." How do they know this?

On other days they refer to the "earnings" of various companies reporting. Perhaps I am splitting hairs, perhaps it is editorial haste (like you might find on our site), or perhaps there is no difference in some people's minds? From my perspective there is a difference between earnings and profits. Every quarter, public companies report their earnings. They do not always report a profit.

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Barron's predicting profits?

Sunday Funnies: Barron's predicting profits? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's never easy to acquire a customer. Yet, when it happens, it's tempting to become lax when it comes to the legal details. And it's true that many contracts do not necessarily need to be in writing.

However, this is no excuse. Having a prepared contract shows your professionalism and seriousness. It's also a way to gain leverage. Keep in mind that the drafter of a contract usually has an edge.

So, when putting together a sales contract, here are some things to keep in mind:

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Putting together a solid sales contract

Entrepreneur's Journal: Putting together a solid sales contract originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Santa hasn't even been tugged down Central Park West yet, and Wal-Mart (WMT) is already slashing its prices. The market among major retailers is intensifying, with many offering products as loss leaders in order to entice customers into the store (physical or otherwise) and boost their basket sizes. Along with Target (TGT) and Amazon (AMZN), Walmart is slashing DVD prices, the same tactic it's using with books.

Retailers are rushing to undercut each other this year, which is causing prices to spiral down quickly. When Walmart announced reduced prices on several titles to $10, Amazon followed at $9.99, with Walmart stepping back in at $9.98.

Continue reading Walmart, Amazon now slash DVD prices: What's next?

Walmart, Amazon now slash DVD prices: What's next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Vodafone Group Plc (VOD), which provides mobile communications services in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and the United States, is another household name that should attract investor attention.

The well-defined bull channel in which it is now trading has broken out from a double-top on huge volume.

The long-term target for VOD is $30.

Continue reading Trade #6: Vodafone (VOD)

Trade #6: Vodafone (VOD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The conventional wisdom is that consumer spending is what drives the U.S. economy. And consumer spending arises out of consumer confidence. Unfortunately, the signals along the road to economic recovery are mixed, what with the rising GDP growth and the dismal unemployment numbers. Its enough to leave investors scratching their heads. What barometers of consumer confidence will the coming week bring?

The TIPP Economic Optimism Index for November is scheduled for Tuesday, and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for November is due out Friday.

Continue reading The week in preview: Earnings from Walmart, Macy's, and other retailers

The week in preview: Earnings from Walmart, Macy's, and other retailers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.