Archive for November, 2010
Disruptive Technologies And The Future Of Online Trading
Mary Meeker, the Morgan Stanley analyst who will soon be joining VC firm Kleiner Perkins, was recently recognized by Fortune magazine as the technology industry’s “smartest analyst.” So, I certainly paid close attention to what she had to say during her Web 2.0 Summit presentation. What really caught my eye was Mary’s analysis of the [...]
Will Wal-Mart’s Growth Strategy Work in South Africa? (WMT)
Despite some earlier setbacks in Europe and Asia, it seems that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) hasn’t lost its overseas growth ambitions. Wal-Mart announced that it was making a non-binding $4.6 billion offer to acquire South Africa’s Massmart Holdings Ltd. However, it seems that not every market is as desiring to have a Wal-Mart, even [...]
Coinstar Battles Netflix in Movie Rental Market
Netflix (NFLX) has just launched a service which allows each of its 19 million subscribers to get rental movies delivered over the internet only. The new offering eliminates the need to get DVDs delivered in the iconic red envelope through the mail. The new subscription costs $7.99 a month. Subscribers who still want DVDs by mail [...]
Two Sides of Steven Madden (SHOO, CROX, DECK, KCP)
Steven Madden, Limited (NASDAQ: SHOO) is one of the apparel stocks that has what many would consider a cult following. This is related to its niche of shoe offerings and its history as a company. Its trendy shoes are often compared to both Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ: DECK) and Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX), yet these comparisons [...]
What do Black Friday Results Mean?
This week, analysts will look at the retail sales results for Black Friday to see whether shoppers have returned to malls and stores in numbers significantly better than the especially bleak 2008 holiday season. One reason is that Black Friday has traditionally been a good economic indicator of how the balance of the season will [...]
Microcaps: Where Stock Picking May Make Sense
A comment by Bloominonion on my post about “slushy stocks” suggests that the recent negative press on ETFs is way overblown: I always wonder who is funding research that focuses negative attention on ETFs without mentioning the mutual funds that trade in the same space. ETFs with their low fees and better performance are very [...]
C2 Launch Already Claimed As Success By CBOE
Although the launch is only a couple of weeks old, CBOE Holdings (NASDAQ: CBOE) is already claiming success for its new electronic options trading venue C2. In a presentation this week at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Banking and Financial Services Conference, CBOE’s CEO Bill Brodsky was outlining how he saw the success of [...]
New Yield Levels To Watch When Intel Hikes Dividend
On Friday November 12, Intel (INTC) announced a 15% dividend increase – to 72 cents per share on an annualized basis, effective for the first quarter of 2011. The announcement could be why the stock was up 1.5% on a day that the NASDAQ 100 index was down by 1.62%. Here’s a look at the [...]
Korean Attacks Send Traders Back to the Dollar
The news that North Korean artillery rockets have been fired at a South Korean island, killing two South Korean soldiers, has sent currency traders scurrying for the safety of the US dollar. The euro has fallen below $1.34, pushed even more perhaps, by comments from German chancellor Angela Merkel. Speaking at a conference in Germany, [...]
Can Australia Hold the Line with China?
In 2009, China displaced Japan as Australia’s largest trading partner. Australia exported some AUS$42.4 billion worth of merchandise to China, about half of which, AUS$21.7 billion worth, was in iron ore shipments. As China has taken steps to cool of its economy in light of an unexpected inflation increase to 4.4%, the Australian Stock Exchange [...]
