Posted Mar 13th 2009 1:00PM by Brian White
Filed under: Products and services, Competitive strategy, Wal-Mart (WMT), Marketing and advertising
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:
WMT) may be trying to become more shopper-friendly by having fresher produce available. That's right -- no more wilted lettuce and aged apples, my friends. One of the ways food retailers can really differentiate themselves is by having fresh food available that actually looks fresh. To that effect, Wal-Mart will be
marketing its produce sections soon to advertise that its stores really should be a choice for more American shoppers.
The funny thing is that Wal-Mart is already grabbing more and more shopper dollars as consumers tighten wallets and purses and trade down from more expensive retailers to Wal-Mart's shelves. It's one of the only retailers actually growing sales month to month and is surviving the recession pretty much intact so far. This latest effort will ensure that it doesn't lose any customers, and may even help recruit new ones.
Continue reading Wal-Mart (WMT) sprucing up stores . . . and produce aisles?
Posted Mar 13th 2009 12:30PM by Peter Cohan
Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Marketing and advertising, Technology
With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.
If you like playing games on your PC, then you should know Jagex -- or its popular RuneScape game. To learn more, I interviewed Adam Tuckwell, Jagex's head of public relations, who said, "Jagex is one of the world's leading developers of browser-based games. We specialize in the development of online games that can be played on almost any PC in the world. Our flagship title, RuneScape, is a massively multiplayer online role playing game that has been played by over 150 million people."
Continue reading Growth Matters: Jagex is Europe's PC fun maker
Posted Mar 13th 2009 12:00PM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: International markets, China, Financial Crisis
Earlier today, China's premier expressed concern about its sizable holdings of Treasuries and U.S. debt. Premier Wen Jiabao asked America to safeguard the value of Treasuries, noting that China is ready to expand its stimulus if the economy gets worse.
According to Wen, China is the biggest foreign creditor to the U.S. -- causing the Premier to ask the U.S. to make sure that its response to the current economic environment doesn't harm the value of the Chinese holdings.
Continue reading China gives U.S. Treasuries a vote of no-confidence?
Posted Mar 13th 2009 11:30AM by Steven Halpern
Filed under: Newsletters, Stocks to Buy, Housing, Financial Crisis
"With occupancy rates around 95%, apartment REITs appear to be the one bright spot in the REIT sector," says Asif Suria in The SINLetter; he looks at AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB).
"The company generates nearly half its net operating income from the NY/NJ metro area and New England. California represents an additional 32% of net operating income.
"With a management team that is well respected and leverage that is the lowest of any apartment REIT, AvalonBay has traded at a premium over the last few years and the stock was trading at nearly $150 when I first came across the company in early 2007.
"I continued watching the company over the last two years looking for an opportunity to start a position. With a decline of over 70% from its 2007 high and a yield of 8.1%, this apartment REIT is finally at a level that not only offers a fat yield but also the potential of price appreciation.
Continue reading AvalonBay (AVB): REIT rental returns
Posted Mar 13th 2009 11:00AM by Eric Buscemi
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Wal-Mart (WMT), Merck and Co (MRK), Alcatel-LucentADS (ALU), Palm Inc (PALM), Genentech Inc (DNA), Smithfield Foods (SFD), Analyst initiations, Teva Pharm Indus ADR (TEVA)
Analyst upgrades:
- Bernstein upgraded Merck (NYSE: MRK) to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its target to $30 from $27 citing valuation and its decision to buy Schering-Plough, at what appears to be a reasonable price.
- RBC Capital upgraded Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) to Outperform from Sector Perform and raised its target to $12 from $5 as it believes webOS has increased its chances for Smartphone leadership and will increase its attractiveness as an acquisition target.
- RW Baird upgraded Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) to Outperform from Neutral on valuation as it believes balance sheet risks are overly discounted in the stock, creating a buying opportunity. The firm has a $3 target on shares.
- Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) was raised to Buy from Hold at Argus.
- France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) was upgraded at Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight from Underweight.
- Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ: FWLT) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: MRK, PALM, DNA, WMT, TEVA ...
Posted Mar 13th 2009 10:30AM by Joseph Lazzaro
Filed under: Baxter Intl (BAX), Stocks to Buy
The Dow's difficult start in 2009, following on the heels of 2008's awful performance, has done little to attract new money into the market. And neither has the U.S. economy, which remains entrenched in a pronounced recession, with few signs that it's bottomed.
The economic conditions invalidate most sectors, but there are a few that offer promise. One is health care, which is why
Baxter International (NYSE:
BAX) is worth a review.
Continue reading Baxter is one company that's on the mend
Posted Mar 13th 2009 10:00AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: General Motors (GM), Market matters, Politics, Federal Reserve, Cramer on BloggingStocks, Recession, Financial Crisis
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says if they sense they're missing out on a big move, their panic could sustain a rally. The hedge funds don't want this rally to continue, so it may just have to continue. Sometimes it is like that.
We are going to keep the rally going because of the $193 billion in new drug money and because of the lack of equity issuance and the inability of the
ProShares UltraBear Financials (NYSE:
SKF) (
Cramer's Take) types to succeed right now, given the banks' newfound ability to defend themselves. Plus, despite the endless "purist" defenses of a broken system that destroys good banks as well as bad ones, I detect sensibility coming from Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, the FASB people and the SEC. The government is trying to take back the system, not the banks, and it shows in a better tone.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: The hedge funds can keep it going
Posted Mar 13th 2009 9:30AM by Sam Collins
Filed under: Technical Analysis, S and P 500, DJIA
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090313172307im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2009/03/1sams-chart.jpg)
On Thursday, the S&P 500 closed above the 20-day moving average at 745.10 for the first time since Feb. 9. And it closed above the resistance line drawn from the November low at 741.02 for the first time since Feb. 13.
Volume for each of the days of higher prices increased to more than 1.8 billion shares on the NYSE, and that is a higher-than-average volume for any month this year (1.6 billion average). But volume has been picking up since the breakdown on Feb. 27 at S&P 740 when more than 2 billion shares traded.
With a reflex rally now underway, the question is: "How far can it go?"
Continue reading Today's technical outlook: How far can this rally go?
Posted Mar 13th 2009 9:00AM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Walt Disney (DIS), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Activision Inc (ATVI), Technology
I own shares of Disney (NYSE: DIS). I haven't been too happy about the performance of the stock lately. So, as you can imagine, I want the company to allocate its capital very wisely.
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about Disney's video-gaming ambitions. The Mouse has invested heavily in this area. It doesn't want to just license titles out to other developers. It wants to make the games all by its corporate self. To that end, the company has purchased development studios.
But, after reading about its gaming plans, I continue to be indecisive in terms of exactly how deep I want Disney to be involved in developing entertainment software.
Continue reading Should Disney continue to invest in video games?
Posted Mar 13th 2009 8:30AM by Paul Foster
Filed under: AT and T (T), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Verizon Communications (VZ), Options
AT&T (NYSE: T) closed at $24.35. T April option implied volatility of 39 is below its 26-week average of 45, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ) closed at $28.14. VZ April option implied volatility of 38 is below its 26-week average of 46, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.
Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) closed at $12.92. April option implied volatility is at 64; July is at 62; near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.
Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com
Posted Mar 13th 2009 8:00AM by Brian White
Filed under: Bad news, Sprint Nextel Corp (S)
Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) was the worst telecom merger in recent memory. The $35 billion merger in 2005 was intended to keep Sprint from becoming a smaller player in the wireless market as competitors were combining and becoming wireless powerhouses.
The only problem was that Sprint and Nextel merged but appeared to keep everything separate. In effect, very little "merged" at all.
Continue reading Sprint (S) sees lawsuit over 2005 Nextel merger disaster
Posted Mar 13th 2009 7:34AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Law, General Electric (GE), General Motors (GM), Market matters, Scandals, Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America (BAC), Economic data, Wells Fargo (WFC)
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090313172307im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/08/bell-green.jpg)
If stocks continue in the direction indicated this morning by U.S. stock futures, then Wall Street may be in for a fourth day of gain, following three days that had the markets spike 11%. The question on most minds is whether it is yet another sucker rally or a
sustainable one, that is -- have we seen the bottom?
With confidence in the banking sector resuming somewhat after both
Citigroup (NYSE:
C) and
Bank of America (NYSE:
BAC) said they were
profitable so far this year, and with what might be an indication consumer spending has bottomed with Thursday's better-than-expected retail sales numbers, some think this rally is for real. Other signs investors point to are
GM (NYSE:
GM)'s announcement it wouldn't need the last of the government loans, or
GE (NYSE:
GE)'s jump despite a rating downgrade, as well as the recent Big Pharma mega-deals. Even the chip industry
may be rebounding.
Continue reading Before the bell: Ready for a fourth day of gains? Stock futures higher
Posted Mar 13th 2009 7:00AM by Connie Madon
Filed under: Economic data
There is a tipping point in every economic cycle. No one really knows when it occurs. We do know it occurs during periods of euphoria. People have money, credit is readily available and there is a buying spree of everything from TVs to cars to houses etc. To meet the demand, factories produce more and more goods.
Then a Black Swan event occurs. The term Black Swan comes from a book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb entitled: Black Swan. Black Swan refers to a once in a lifetime experience. We see white swans for our entire life and then one day, out of nowhere, we see a Black Swan.
The Black Swan this time was the financial crisis. Banks were leveraged 30 to 40 times their capital and the housing market started to implode.
Continue reading Why inventories point to a sluggish economy
Posted Mar 12th 2009 7:00PM by Amey Stone
Filed under: Google (GOOG), Time Warner (TWX)
Tim Armstrong is the new chief executive of AOL, a division of
Time Warner (NYSE:
TWX) and parent of BloggingStocks. Armstrong, a senior VP at Google (
you can read the press release here) replaces Randy Falco, who joined AOL in November, 2006. Also leaving AOL is President Ron Grant.
Time Warner shares
initially traded down in after hours trading following the announcement, but were leveling off by 6:30. The stock closed at $8.32 today, a gain of 5%, and at 7pm was at $8.31.
Posted Mar 12th 2009 6:00PM by Tobias Buckell
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