BloggingStocks

Stock picks under $10, 10 worst managed companies & historic site foreclosures

Allan Halprin — 2008-06-18T09:29:00+00:00

Filed under: Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), Starbucks (SBUX), Ford Motor (F), Motorola (MOT), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Sprint Nextel Corp (S), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Money and Finance Today, Boston Scientific (BSX), Circuit City Stores (CC), CIT Group (CIT), Kellogg Co (K), Sears Holdings (SHLD), FedEx Corp (FDX), Morgan Stanley (MS), Amer Intl Group (AIG), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Liz Claiborne (LIZ)

In the News:

· Morgan Stanley 2Q Profit Plunges 57%

· FedEx Profit Wrecked By High Fuel Costs, Company Warns

· Generic Versions of Lipitor Expected in 2011

· Apple's iPhone Sales May Double in 2009

· Northwest Airlines to Cut Flights, Offer Early Buyouts

· Kellogg Shrinks Size of Fruit Loops, Apple Jacks and Other Cereals

· Unhappy 1-Year Anniversary for Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang

· LinkedIn Valued at $1 Billion; Big Plans Afoot

· Tomatoes Back at Fast Food Restaurants

· Red Cross and Johnson & Johnson Dispute Over Red Cross Symbol Settled

Stock Picks for Under $10
There are a lot of once-highflying stocks that have fallen below $10 and look like bargains ripe for the picking. See if CIT Group, Ford, Motorola, Tenet Healthcare, Dynegy and Interpublic.
Stock Picks for Under $10 - CNBC

10 Worst Managed Companies in America
With the trading year almost half over and results from the first quarter out, 24/7 Wall St. presents its latest installment of its Ten Worst Managed Companies In America list. They include Sun Microsystems, Sears, Boston Scientific, Starbucks, Sprint, Circuit City, Motorola, AMD, AIG and Pfizer.
24/7 Wall St.: The 24/7 Wall St. Ten Worst Managed Companies In America

Historic Sites in Danger of Foreclosure
Mark Twain, Edith Wharton and other boldfaced names among the dead have something in common with living Americans in these hard financial times.
Foreclosure Looms Over Historic Sites - AOL Money & Finance

The Credit Trap
How rising home values and easy credit put your finances at risk.
How rising home values, easy credit put your finances at risk - USATODAY.com

Wal-Mart: The New Green Giant
From solar panels to less packaging, the retailer continues to unveil Earth-friendly initiatives.
In Pictures: Green Giant - BusinessWeek

Coffee Drinkers Live Longer?
For women, especially, the brew could boost heart health, study finds.
Coffee Drinkers Might Live Longer

Prepare Now, Save Come Winter
Taking these steps to lower your heating bills now will pay off when winter hits.
Prepare Now for a Pricey Winter Heating Season - SmartMoney.com

Tap Water Making a Comeback
With a day's worth of bottled water -- the recommended 64 ounces -- costing hundreds to thousands of dollars a year depending on the brand, more people are opting to drink water that comes straight from the sink.
Feeling thrifty, the thirsty reach for tap, not bottle - USATODAY.com

Can Mizrahi Revive Liz Claiborne?
January, Liz Claiborne hired Mizrahi away from Target to become the new creative director for women's apparel, accessories, and licensing. Claiborne C.E.O. Bill McComb hopes Mizrahi's touch will awaken Liz from the extended slumber of dowdy, forgettable styles and make the brand back into a wardrobe essential for fashion-conscious working women. Can he do it?
Liz Claiborne's Mizrahi Moment - Portfolio.com

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Answers I Really Wanna Know: Apple's Handheld Computer

Todd Harrison — 2008-06-10T14:39:00+00:00

Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), Gannett Co (GCI), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Lehman Br Holdings (LEH)

Minyanville's top dog, Todd Harrison, dares to ask in public what Wall Street types quietly consider in private. For more insight and ideas, visit www.Minyanville.com.

If the next generation Apple (AAPL) iPhone is effectively a handheld computer, is the personal computer space a place to poke on the short side?

What's the franchise value for Sun Microsystems (SUNW, er, JAVA)?
Maybe that's the problem. In this ADD, immediate gratification world, perhaps folks don't remember that JAVA used to be SUNW?

Woah. Nelly?

Given that funky looking Gold Fields (GFI) chart, should I stress that I'm playing name through defined risk calls?

In addition to the note that when I unwind my short crude I'm goning to sneak out of my long metal play, too?
While I grabbed some tertiary financial exposure this morning, why is "Good traders know how to make money while great traders know how to take a loss" repeating in my keppe as I watch the action and overhang in Lehman (LEH)?
Speaking of ticker symbols with G's in the front and I's behind, when do I revisit Gannett (GCI), which I pared nicely above $30 and kept some for the thesis?

Speaking of pairs, how do I get long Jo, short Blair?

R.P.

Positions in LEH, GFI, GCI

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HP steals key Sun Microsystems sales exec

Brian White — 2008-06-04T15:57:00+00:00

Filed under: Management, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Sun Microsystems (JAVA)

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) has just stolen a key global sales head from competitor Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA). Don Grantham has joined HP as chief sales officer after resigning recently from Sun. Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz indicated that Grantham went to HP to help that company secure a Sun Solaris license before HP's acquisition of EDS Corp. (NYSE: EDS) was completed. Schwartz was seen grinding his teeth shortly thereafter as well.

Sun, which continues to sell its servers and software quite well, but is also not growing like many of its competitors (mainly HP) is undergoing a shakeup in its DNA. The company is forming a new "Emerging Markets" sales territory to take advantage of the huge growth occurring in China, India and related countries. It's 2008 though -- this is something that should have happened a few years ago. Even Dell Inc.'s (NASDAQ: DELL) efforts last year to eke out more sales from that region have proved successful recently. Sun is just now figuring this out?

Meanwhile, Sun saw a loss in its most recent quarter, but did see growth in those regions where it is now forming a sales territory to concentrate on that area. Grantham will have ultimate responsibility for this, and if his lieutenants can implement Sun's free software model (running on Sun's servers with Sun's support) in India and China, then Sun may have some bright quarters soon. HP and Dell won't be sitting idly by though, both companies are already heavily invested in the region. Sun will have some catching up to do.

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Trade idea on Sun Microsystems (JAVA) downgrade

Brent Archer — 2008-05-23T13:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Major movement, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Bad news, Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Options, Technical Analysis

Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) shares are falling after a Morgan Stanley analyst downgraded the stock to "Underweight" from "Equal-weight." The broker believes the company is at risk as demand shifts downstream and pricing pressure intensifies. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on JAVA.

After hitting a one-year high of $25.04 in November, the stock has fallen and is trading near its year low today. This morning, JAVA opened at $12.63. So far today the stock has hit a low of $12.50 and a high of $12.85. As of 12:20, JAVA is trading at $12.66, down 48 cents(-3.6%). The chart for JAVA looks bearish and steady while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an October bear-call credit spread above the $15 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 15.6% return in five months as long as JAVA is below $15 at October expiration. Sun would have to rise by more than 15% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

JAVA hasn't been above $15 since it fell sharply in early May and has shown resistance around $12.50 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out in late July) are a positive surprise, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance JAVA might find at its 50 day moving average, which is currently around $15 and falling.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in JAVA.

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Before the bell: GM, AAPL, SIX, DELL, UAUA, CCL, RCL ...

Melly Alazraki — 2008-05-23T08:20:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Deals, Apple Inc (AAPL), Dell (DELL), General Motors (GM), Carnival Corp (CCL), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), US Airways Group (LCC), UAL Corp (UAUA)

Before the bell: As oil resumes rally, stocks set to decline

Workers at U.S. auto parts maker American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings (NYSE: AXL) are set to return to work next week after approving a new four-year contract that contains steep pay cuts and other concessions. The three-months strike crippled crippled production at a General Motors (NYSE: GM) plant.

Six Flags Inc. (NYSE: SIX) said it will cut ticket prices by $10 at its St. Louis park as customers are cash strapped these days due to the tightening economic conditions and rising prices for everyday commodities. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings downgraded some of Six Flags Inc.'s ratings and put them on Ratings Watch Negative due to a proposed notes exchange.

UAL Corp. (NYSE: UAUA) unit United Airlines and US Airlines Group (NYSE: LCC) are postponing the launch of new China routes because of high fuel costs after gaining approval for this coveted route only a few months ago.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) to Equal-Weight from Overweight but kept rival Carnival Cruise Line (NYSE: CCL) at Overweight saying RCL's risks are greater given lower margins and higher leverage.

Merrill Lynch raised its price target on Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) from $186 to $215. AAPL shares are responding, trading up over 2.7% in premarket trading.

Also, Morgan Stanley downgraded Sun Microsystems Inc (NASDAQ: JAVA) to Underweight and upgraded Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) to Overweight, saying "the server market is entering a new cycle that will drive the market to lower-priced systems." Dell will benefit from the shift in trend. DELL shares are up 2.7% while JAVA's down 1.7% in premarket trading.

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Will Facebook IPO this fall?

Peter Cohan — 2008-05-22T08:56:00+00:00

Filed under: Sun Microsystems (JAVA)

Gawker reports that Ben Mezrich, a Harvard graduate and author of a 'non-fiction' account of MIT students making it big in Las Vegas, has received a million dollar contract to write a book about Facebook. Mezrich's book proposal claims that his source co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, anticipated a Fall 2008 IPO for Facebook. But Facebook denies the claim. To go public this fall, Facebook would have had to register by now.

Here are some other story elements from Gawker:

Founder Mark Zuckerberg and Severin started Facebook to help get into an exclusive Harvard Final club
They also thought Facebook would boost their social life
In high school, Zuckerberg got on an FBI list for accidentally hacking into a government site
Zuckerberg and Severin "ate koala on the yacht of the CEO of Sun Microsystems" (NASDAQ: JAVA)

Meanwhile Zuckerberg has sued Saverin, claiming "Saverin tried to hijack the company by freezing its bank account when Facebook desperately needed cash in its formative months." And Saverin countersued for a return on his initial investment.

I don't know how much of this is true. But it does sound like a good story.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

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Analyst upgrades: Staples, Evergreen Solar, Genzyme

Eric Buscemi — 2008-05-14T12:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Staples Inc (SPLS), Sun Microsystems (JAVA)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Staples, Evergreen Solar and Genzyme were today's noteworthy upgrades:

Jefferies upgraded shares of Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) to Buy from Hold following the company's raised bid for Corporate Express based on the increased chance the deal gets deal done and SPLS achieves meaningful EPS accretion.
Jefferies also raised Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe concerns regarding capital needs are now priced into the stock and that the company continues to take risk out of its growth story through execution.
Bernstein upgraded Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) to Outperform from Market Perform citing increased confidence in GENZ's product portfolio, geographic and therapeutic diversification, improved outlook, and valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) was raised to Outperform from Market Perform at Wachovia.
BearingPoint (NYSE: BE) was upgraded at Goldman to Neutral from Sell.
Lehman upgraded Nexen (NYSE: NXY) to Overweight from Equal Weight.

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Early analyst calls: EDS, JAVA ...

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-05-14T07:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Staples Inc (SPLS), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Electronic Data Systems (EDS)

Oppenheimer & Co reiterated its "outperform" rating on STEC (NASDAQ: STEC) saying that "We remain bullish on STEC's unfolding solid state drive (SSD) story and see further room for shares to run," according to the AP.

Wachovia upgraded Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) from "market perform" to "outperform," according to Briefing.com The news service also writes that Bernstein has downgraded EDS (NYSE: EDS) to "market perform" to "outperform."

Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS) raised to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies according to Briefing.com.

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Cisco (CSCO) falls on Barron's warning ahead of earnings

Brent Archer — 2008-05-05T14:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst reports, Bad news, Industry, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Options, Technical Analysis

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) shares are falling after an analyst at Barron's expressed concern over CSCO's Q3 earnings (subscription required). In a column in Barron's, the analyst said that after considering disappointing earnings from competitor Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA), he is worried that CSCO will not meet revenue growth expectations. CSCO reports Tuesday after market close. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on CSCO.

After hitting a one-year high of $34.24 in November, the stock hit a one-year low of $21.77 in February. This morning, CSCO opened at $26.46. So far today the stock has hit a low of $26.15 and a high of $26.71. As of 12:35, CSCO is trading at $26.32, down $0.43 (-1.6%). The chart for CSCO looks bullish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bear-call credit spread above the $30 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 4.6% return in eleven weeks as long as CSCO is below $30 at July expiration. Cisco would have to rise by more than 14% before we would start to lose money.

CSCO hasn't been above $30 since November and has shown resistance around $27 recently. This trade could be risky if the company's earnings (due out tomorrow after the close) are a positive surprise, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance CSCO might find at its 200 day moving average, which is currently around $28 and falling.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in CSCO or JAVA.

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Earnings highlights: Verizon, Comcast, CBS, DreamWorks, IAC, Kodak and others

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-05-04T13:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Time Warner (TWX), Viacom (VIA), IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Procter and Gamble (PG), Verizon Communications (VZ), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Eastman Kodak (EK), Alcatel-LucentADS (ALU), RadioShack Corp (RSH)

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported its fifth straight quarterly loss and lowered its outlook.
Anadigics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAD) beat Q1 expectations and raised its Q2 guidance.
AuthenTec Inc. (NASDAQ: AUTH) Q1 revenues jumped 67% on new product offerings.
CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) posted better-than-expected Q1 results and raised its dividend.
Cognex Corp. (NASDAQ: CGNX) beat Q1 expectations and lifted its outlook.
Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) posted soild Q1 results on high-speed internet/digital phone strength.
DreamWorks Animation Inc. (NYSE: DWA) earnings and revenues soared in the first quarter.
Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) narrowed its Q1 loss but missed earnings estimates.
IAC/InterActivCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) Q1 profits fell but met analsts' expectations.
LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) beat Q1 expectations and raised its guidance for the next quarter.
NetSuite Inc. (NASDAQ: N) narrowed its loss on a surge in Q1 revenue.
Omniture Inc. (NASDAQ: OMTR) Q1 revenue jumped 136% on acquisitions.
RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) just beat low Q1 expectations on lower demand and narrower margins.
SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) earnings for the first quarter fell short of analysts' expectations.

Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) Q1 profits rose 156%, easily beating analysts' estimates.
Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) reported a Q3 loss and announced layoffs.
Teledyne Technologies Inc. (NYSE: TDY) posted its 25th consecutive quarterly earnings growth.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) posted solid Q1 profits in line with expectations.
Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) posted solid Q1 profits despite weakness in movie business.
Virtual Radiologic Corp. (NASDAQ: VRAD) solid Q1 results failed to impress investors.

Also, Jim Cramer lauds Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) for its success in these tough times and Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) for bouncing back after taking a hit. And Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) investors may have been looking for more than they got in the quarterly report.

Upcoming results to watch for include Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP), Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), and American International Group (NYSE: AIG).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Closing Bell: The way the market churns...

Jon Ogg — 2008-05-02T16:16:00+00:00

Filed under: Viacom (VIA), Automatic Data Proc (ADP), Sun Microsystems (JAVA)

Today started out as one of those positive days again as the investment climate appeared to be getting better. Then the unemployment data came out, and frankly it wasn't really as bad as one would expect. But shortly after 10:00 AM, we saw profit takers come into the market. In fact, even oil traders ran oil up after shorts covered after a good week of selling Texas Tea; oil closed up $3.82 at $116.34.

Below are the unofficial closing levels for major US index levels:

DJIA 13,051.36 (+41.36; +0.32%)
S&P500 1,413.96 (+4.62; +0.33%)
NASDAQ 2,476.14 (-4.57; -0.18%)
10YR-TBond 3.845% (+0.096)

Agrium Inc. (NYSE: AGU) was a winner with shares up almost 5% at $82.25 in the last minutes of the day. The agricultural nutrients supplier beat earnings, and this gave some pause to the selling in the potash and fertilizer stock selling that had been seen this week.

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE: ADP) saw shares fall by 5% to $42.94 in the last minutes of the day. The processing giant saw a 6% earnings gain, which was interpreted as stagnant economy growth at many of its payroll clients.

Churchill Downs Inc. (NASDAQ: CHDN) saw shares down by more than 7% at $48.17 in the last minutes of the day. It operates the Churchill Downs, which is where tomorrow's Kentucky Derby is located. Analysts downgraded the company after labor woes may affect earnings more than originally concerned.

Investools (NASDAQ: SWIM) saw its share of problems after missing earnings estimates, but more importantly it disclosed an informal SEC inquiry over some of its claims. Shares were shelled by 29% at $8.83 in the last minutes of the day.

Shares of Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) were down almost 23% at $12.60 at the end of the day after a very disappointing earnings report.

Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) saw shares down 3.4% at $82.50 in the last minutes of the day. The company beat earnings, but guidance was deemed as tepid when compared to the estimates.

Jon Ogg is a producer and editor for the weekly "10 Stocks Under $10" newsletter from 247WallSt.com.

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Analyst downgrades: BOOM, AGN and JAVA

Eric Buscemi — 2008-05-02T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Allergan (AGN), Sun Microsystems (JAVA)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Dynamic Materials, Allergan and Sun Micro were among today's noteworthy downgrades:

Dynamic Materials (NASDAQ: BOOM) was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at J.P. Morgan following the Q1 report based on margin risk from steel costs and availability.
Allergan (NYSE: AGN) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies ahead of the Q1 report on May 7 based on potential deceleration in Botox and breast implants, which could result in multiple contractions.
Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) was downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Bear, citing the disappointing earnings report for the downgrade.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

ManTech (NASDAQ: MANT) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Cowen based on valuation and expectations for decelerating growth in 2H08.
Silver State Bancorp (NASDAQ: SSBX) was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Sandler O'Neil.

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Sun (JAVA) posts loss, adds to lay-offs

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-05-02T09:05:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Bad news, Management, Employees, International Business Machines (IBM), Sun Microsystems (JAVA)

Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:JAVA) has not done much right in the last few years. The company replaced founder Scott McNealy as CEO with Jonathan Schwartz who wears a ponytail and writes a blog.

The promised turnaround at Sun fell apart as the company announced lower sales and a loss. At the server firm, revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 was $3.266 billion, a decrease of 0.5% as compared with $3.283 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Sun posted a net loss for the quarter of $34 million, or 4 cents per share, as compared with net income of $67 million, or 7 cents per share, last year.

Sun's plans to compete with the likes of IBM (NYSE:IBM) and other larger rivals have fallen apart. According to the company, the economy has not helped.

Sun may blame the economy, but it has run out of excuses. It will fire another 2,000 or so employees. Schwartz should be among them. The company's board should have difficulty viewing him as a viable leader, but it has made the great mistake of doing nothing.

Sun's shares traded below $14 after hours yesterday, which would put them under their 52-week low. The company's performance is humiliating and it is a sad fact that so many people have to pay for the inability of Schwartz to keep his promise of making the company a viable competitor.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 letter.

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7 stocks for 7 years, peek inside the world's first billion-dollar home & not all credit scores created equal - Today in Money 5/2

Allan Halprin — 2008-05-02T08:54:00+00:00

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Pfizer (PFE), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Viacom (VIA), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Money and Finance Today, Boeing Co (BA), CVS Corp (CVS), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Genentech Inc (DNA)

In the News:

· U.S. Loses Fewer Jobs Than Expected in April; Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.0%

· Microsoft May Go Hostile in Bid for Yahoo as Soon as Today

· Yahoo May Announce Google Ad Deal Soon

· Sun Microsystems Reports Quarterly Loss; Will Cut Up to 2,500 Jobs

· Warren Buffett's Disciples Descend on Omaha for Annual Shareholder Meeting

· Viacom Reports 33% Profit Rise

· Linens 'n Things Files for Bankruptcy Protection

· Man Arrested in Texas for Trying to Cash $360 Billion Check

7 Stocks for 7 Years
Undervalued, these shares should deliver outstanding returns according to Gene Marcial. They include Apple, Boeing, CVS Caremark, Genentech, JP Morgan Chase, Petroleo Brasileiro and Pfizer.
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/05/0501_7_stocks/index_01.htm?technology+slideshows

Regulators Zero in on Credit Card Reform
Federal regulators are pushing ahead to stop abuses by credit card issuers at a time when the $2 trillion industry has come under increasing scrutiny.
Regulators zero in on credit card reform - CNNmoney

Not All Credit Scores Are Created Equal
These days, hardly anyone questions the power of the almighty credit score. Lenders use it to determine who qualifies for a loan and what interest rate they get, insurers calculate premiums based on it, and even employers make hiring decisions with it in mind. As a result, consumers are flocking to the credit bureaus to buy their scores. But, credit scores are not created equal. The one you buy isn't the same one a lender sees.
Not All Credit Scores Created Equal - SmartMoney.com

Lose Weight - and Save Gas!
Fuel economy demands have car companies scrambling for creative ways to get rid of excess pounds.
Lose weight - and save gas! - CNNMoney.com

A Look Inside the World's First Billion Dollar Home
The world's fourth richest person, Mukesh Ambani is worth $43 billion and like many families with the means to do so, the Mukesh and his wife wanted to build a custom home. Plans have been drawn up for what will be the world's largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing $2 billion. The architects and designers are creating as they go, altering floor plans, design elements and concepts as the building is constructed.
Inside The World's First Billion-Dollar Home - Forbes.com In Pictures: Images of Billion-Dollar Home

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Before the bell: Futures higher after Fed move and ahead of data, Exxon

Melly Alazraki — 2008-05-01T07:39:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Forecasts, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Market matters, Chevron Corp (CVX), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Economic data, Housing, Federal Reserve

The market hasn't seemed to have fully made up its mind yet regarding Wednesday's Federal Reserve announcement about its policy. While stocks shot up immediately after the announcement, markets finished the Wednesday in the red. Still, this morning stocks futures edged higher as investors not only continued to digest the news, but awaited several more economic reports. The Bank of England saying the worst of the credit crisis may be over, definitely helps boost sentiment this morning.

Indeed, stocks ended Wednesday's session lower despite the Dow topping 13,000 briefly after the Fed's statement. It seemed also investors were divided, some preferring the Fed to signal clearly a pause in rate cuts so the dollar would gain strength and halt the rise in commodity prices and hence inflationary pressures. Meanwhile others were more concerned about the economy and perhaps preferred either a more positive language regarding the economy or indications of further measure. Regardless, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.81 points, or 0.09%, and the S&P 500 index shed 5.35 points, or 0.38%. The Nasdaq dropped 13 points, or 0.55%.

On the economic calendar for Thursday are the March figures for personal income and spending, which includes a key inflation measure. The ISM index for manufacturing activity also is on tap as well as construction spending. The weekly jobless claims is due before the opening bell, but April jobs report is due tomorrow, and that will likely affect markets the most.

Naturally, the Fed rate cut had an impact on the dollar, which rose to the highest level in five weeks against the euro and climbed versus the yen as investors, who have already priced in the cut, took into account the possible pause in the easing monetary stance. Of course, the BoE signaling it believes the worst of the credit crunch may be over, helped strengthen the currency as well, as it said "risk appetite and confidence were likely to gradually return to the financial system." Also, the Bank projects total credit losses could eventually reach approximately $170 billion, lower than current market estimates.

Automakers will also report April car and truck sales throughout the day. Both Ford (NYSE: F) and GM (NYSE: GM) reported better-than-expected earning for the first quarter, with Ford even swinging to profit, but sales are still forecast to drop 6.7% and 8.5% respectively.

Earnings on tap today include oil giant Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) which may very well set a new record for corporate profits, with analysts expecting earnings of $2.12 per share. Chevron (NYSE: CVX) will also report first quarter results today. Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) is expected to report earnings of 18 cents a share and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) earnings of 19 cents a share.

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Analyst initiations: AAPL, DELL, IBM, XOM, GRMN ...

Eric Buscemi — 2008-04-22T11:33:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst reports, Apple Inc (AAPL), Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Exxon Mobil (XOM), International Business Machines (IBM), Chevron Corp (CVX), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Analyst initiations, Garmin Ltd (GRMN)

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Garmin, Thomson Reuters and Heritage-Crystal Clean were today's noteworthy initiations:

Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) was initiated with a Neutral rating at JP Morgan. The firm sees risk to 2008 Street estimates given the consumer slowdown in the U.S. and potential ASP and margin pressure as channel inventory is worked down.
Morgan Stanley assumed Thomson Reuters (NASDAQ: TRIN) with an Underweight rating and expects revenue growth in the company's financial business to slow sharply into 2009.
William Blair believes Heritage-Crystal Clean (NASDAQ: HCCI) has the opportunity to gain market share over the next several years as a result of its differentiated parts-cleaning programs, strong sales organization, and experienced management team. Shares were assumed with an Outperform rating.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

Lehman initiated Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) with Equal Weight ratings and targets of $20 and $17 and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), IBM Corp (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) with Overweight ratings and targets of $195, $144 and $59, respectively.
Pacific Growth started Spectranetics (NASDAQ: SPNC) with a Neutral rating.
Merrill reinstated Chevron (NYSE: CVX), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and Hess Corp (NYSE: HES) with Buy ratings and price targets of $110, $105 and $125, respectively.

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EnterpriseDB: Wants some of Oracle's lunch

Tom Taulli — 2008-03-26T15:43:00+00:00

Filed under: International Business Machines (IBM), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Oracle Corp (ORCL)

Back in the 1980s, Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) won the mega fight for the database market. And the firm's dominance has been fairly steady since.

But might things be changing? Perhaps so. After all, there are a variety of robust open source alternatives such as MySQL AB. In fact, Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) recently spent $1 billion for the company.

There is also another sturdy player: EnterpriseDB. In fact, this week the company snagged $10 million in venture capital. The investors include Charles River Ventures, Fidelity Ventures, Valhalla Partners and even IBM (NYSE: IBM). Keep in mind that IBM rarely invests in venture deals. Although, it's been a big supporter of open source, such as with Linux, Apache, and Eclipse.

EnterpriseDB's solutions are based on PostgreSQL, which is a top-notch open source database (under development for more than 15 years). "MySQL is good for quick and dirty databases," said Andy Astor, the CEO of EnterpriseDB, in an interview with me. "But EnterpriseDB goes beyond this and offers intensive transaction processing, scalability and other important capabilities." Interestingly enough, EnterpriseDB has a powerful feature to provide compatibility with Oracle databases.

Astor admits it's not easy getting customers (especially in light of the intense competition). But so far, EnterpriseDB has about 225 paying customers. "Open source is an unstoppable force," said Astor.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Sun Microsystems (JAVA) falls on economic concerns

Brent Archer — 2008-03-13T13:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Options, Technical Analysis, Economic data, Recession

Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) stock is declining with the rest of the tech sector as economic indicators today have investors worried once again that the economy is headed for a recession. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales dipped by 0.6% in February, below economists' predictions of a 0.2% gain. California research firm RealtyTrac Inc. also reported that home foreclosures in February rose 59.8% over the year-ago period. Plus, some pretty bad news came from the Carlyle Group, too. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on JAVA.

After hitting a one-year high of $26.04 last March, the stock hit a one-year low of $14.20 in January. This morning, JAVA opened at $16.54. So far today the stock has hit a low of $16.35 and a high of $16.74. As of 12:35, JAVA is trading at $16.61, down %0.35 (-2.1%). The chart for JAVA looks neutral and improving, while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a July bear-call credit spread above the $20 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. This particular trade will make a 14.1% return in four months as long as JAVA is below $20 at July expiration. Sun would have to rise by more than 20% before we would start to lose money.

JAVA hasn't been above $20 since December and has shown resistance around $17.50 recently. This trade could be risky if the economy bounces back, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by resistance JAVA might find around $18, where it has topped out over the past month.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in JAVA.

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Short interest in many tech shares falls: MSFT, YHOO, DELL, JAVA

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-03-12T04:14:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Dell (DELL), Intel (INTC), Short stories, Sun Microsystems (JAVA)

According to NASDAQ figures on short selling on February 29, shares sold short in tech companies dropped sharply, an indication that investors are not willing to bet that stocks in the companies will go lower. The numbers compare to figures on February 14.

Shares sold short in Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) dropped 5.8 million to 64.1 million. Shares short in Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) fell 5.3 million to 47.1 million. Share short in PMC-Sierra (NASDAQ: PMCS) dropped 3.7 million to 29 million. Yahoo!'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) short interest fell 2.5 million to 52.8 million. Shares short in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) dropped 2.2 million to 22.8 million. Shares short in Sun (NASDAQ: JAVA) dropped 2.1 million to 17.8 million.

Some of the largest techs did not escape larger bets that they would drop. Shares short in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) rose 3.4 million to 115.7 million, perhaps because of concerns about the Yahoo! deal. Shares short in Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) increased 3.3 million to 48.6 million.

More on short interest from AOL.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Earnings highlights: Apple, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Southwest, Caterpillar, and others

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-01-26T08:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Coach Inc (COH), ConocoPhillips (COP), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Sun Microsystems (JAVA), Nucor Corp (NUE), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM), Amgen Inc (AMGN), Texas Instruments (TXN), Eaton Corp (ETN)

The earnings crunch is in full swing, and here are a few of the highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) swung to a profit on the strength of drug sales.
AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS) swung to a fourth-quarter profit and easily beat estimates.
Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: ALDN) posted solid results and raised its forecast.
Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX) reported a record quarter and reaffirmed its guidance.
Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) beat exectations, but concerns remain about FDA scrutiny.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) easily beat expectations and offered revised guidance (see live blog, transcript).
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) posted a solid quarter on strong international growth.
Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) beat estimates on strong direct-to-customer and same-store sales.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) posted a strong fourth quarter due to rising oil prices.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) beat expectations as increased productivity offset increased fuel costs.
Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN) posted solid fourth quarter results due to growth overseas.
Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc. (NYSE: ELS) beat expectations in the fourth quarter and offered guidance.
Franklin Resources Inc. (NYSE: BEN) reported solid results and increased its quarterly dividend.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) posted a solid fourth quarter and affirmed its 2008 guidance.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted strong results due in part to demand for Vista.
Nintendo Co. (OTC: NTDOY) profit soared on demand for the Wii, and the company raised is sales outlook.
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) reported a strong fourth quarter and increased market share in handset sales.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) easily beat analysts' expectations for the fourth quarter.
PetMed Express Inc. (NASDAQ: PETS) profits soared as more people buy pet meds online.
Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) reported a solid first quarter on strong demand for its chips.
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: SWKS) beat expectations and offered revised guidance.
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) profit nearly doubled despite weather and operational challenges.
Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) net income soared despite stiff competition.
Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) beat fourth quarter earnings estimates (see transcript).
Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX) profit soared on strong sales and it announced a share buyback plan.
Xilinx Inc. (NASDAQ: XLNX) beat expectations due to strong demand for its new products.

See additional earnings highlights.

Also, Jim Cramer's advice for what earnings should mean in your buy or sell decision. Both Peter Cohan and Georges Yared look at the part earnings have played in this week's volatility. And Aaron Katsman is bullish on tech stocks.

Upcoming results to watch for include Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), American Express (NYSE: AXP), McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), Altria (NYSE: MO), Boeing (NYSE: BA), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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