Archive for April, 2010
Economic Announcement Calendar - Look Back, Look Ahead
It was a fairly light week on the economic front, and what little news we got was neither impactful, nor surprising.
Home prices finally rose on a year over year basis, but comparing February 2010’s prices to February 2009’s prices isn’t that big of a deal - we’re still well in the red on a multi-year [...]
Online Brokerage Firms Hit a Headwind
Schwab set the tone, and other online trading brokerage houses followed suit with pretty tepid first quarter results. Were it just one aspect of revenue-bearing business or another, it may be forgivable. Not much went right for these brokers last quarter though, and the foreseeable future (i.e. growth) doesn’t look [...]
Airlines See Ray of Light, Even Through the Ash Cloud
If the first quarter’s fiscal results along with March’s traffic reports are any indication, airlines may finally be investment-worthy again.
Delta kicked things off this week with a by reporting a quarterly loss of $256 million (or -$0.23 per share) – the smallest one in while. Revenue was up 2% as [...]
Ahead of Themselves
While it’s true you own a stock for where it’s going rather than where it’s been, there’s an important footnote to the axiom….. the stock’s price still has to make sense, whether you’re looking forward or looking backward. That reality seems to have forgotten in a few cases during this earnings [...]
The New Shipping & Transportation ‘Make or Break’ Detail
The New Shipping & Transportation ‘Make or Break’ Detail
While total shipping volumes year-to-date are not yet back up to 2008’s (and prior) levels, they are well above 2009’s volumes at this point in the year. That’s true of trucking, rail, marine, and air fright - it’s all on the mend. [...]
Earnings Season’s Biggest ‘Beats’ So Far
While about 60% of companies that have reported last quarter’s results so far in this young earnings season have topped estimates, a few of them are really important standout. Why’s that? Either their numbers bode well for the broad market, or for their industry (or both).
I’m no certain order, here [...]
Earnings Season’s Biggest Disappointments So Far
Though there have been more ‘beats’ than ‘shortfalls’ to kick off this earnings season, some of the downside surprises were not only disappointing, but may be red flags investors will want to keep in mind with related stocks this quarter, and the same stocks next quarter.
In no particular order, these [...]
Why Fertilizer Stocks Are the Market’s Biggest Habitual Losers
It’s hard to believe that any sector or industry could actually be in the red for the last twelve months, given the catapult-like action the market used to send stocks upward back in mid-March of last year. Yet, the fertilizer/agricultural chemical industry’s stocks are indeed in the hole for that time frame. [...]
Retail Reality Check – Comparing March to What Number?
On the surface, the retail sales numbers unveiled last week looked at least promising for all merchants, and downright amazing for a few of these names. Take Saks Inc. (NYSE:SKS) and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN), for instance. Saks saw a 12.7% increase in same-store sales last month, while Nordstrom fostered a 16.8% [...]
Move Over eBay, & Look Out Amazon
Move over eBay, and take notice Amazon.com - you’re not the only internet-retailing game in town anymore. Oh, your dominance in the online-auction and e-tailing spaces (respectively) are still intact - for now. If you think you’re impervious though, you should know that Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK) just posted its first full-year [...]
