Monday, July 12, 2010
Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: May 22, 2006
It's Monday May 22, 2006, and it looks like the NYSE Group (NYSE: NYX) has taken the first steps to becoming a truly global market place as they have submitted a $10 billion offer to merge with Euronext. Such a merger would create the first trans-Atlantic stock market, valued at $21 billion. While the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) has increased their stake in the London Stock Exchange to over 25% which may put them in a position to force a merger with the LSE. The world is getting smaller and the financial markets are right in the middle of it.
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Political Front
Vietnam is making headway as they are seeking to become part of the World Trade Organization. Their first step is the preparation to sign a trade agreement with the United States in June, this would be a first step in them reaching their goal of joining the World Trade Organization.
Even though Germany and China both agree that a diplomatic resolution must be attained in the Iran uranium enrichment situation, Iran is not open to suggestions. They have adamantly stated that they are not only going to continue the enrichment but they intend to increase it on an industrial level. This just makes a tense situation worse.
The U.S. Attorney General Gonzales has commented that he believes that any journalist that publishes classified information could be prosecuted. What ever happened the First Amendment, if the government begins to dictate what can or cannot be reported on then how can journalist actually be credible?, that's a question that the people should bring to capital hill.
President Bush is pushing for congress to pass the immigration bill, but many think that the plan may do little or nothing to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexican border. I guess if there is a will there is a way but it should reduce the attempts.
Movers and Shakers
Some major movers in Fridays trading session included Titanium Metals (NYSE: TIE) which traded up $4.06 to close at $35.05, Western Digital (NYSE: WDC) which traded up $2.43 to close at $21.70, Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) a stock that we have featured on "Wall Street to Main Street" as a stock on the move, it traded up $3.60 to close at $34.95 after a Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) deal was struck, Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) traded up $2.44 to close at $24.58, British Airways (NYSE: BAB) flew upward as it traded up $5.61 to close at $66.16, First Avenue Networks (NASDAQ: FRNS) traded up $2.93 to close at $15.44, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) another stock that we featured on "Wall Street to Main Street" traded up $6.51 to close at $56.22, Focus Media (NASDAQ: FMCN) which we mentioned may be looking to have a presence in the Untied States and one suitor may be Impart Media Group (OTCBB: IMMG) the stock traded up $7.46 to close at $69.18, Supertex (NASDAQ: SUPX) traded up $3.30 to close at $39.91 and Darwin (AMEX: DR) traded up $2.76 to close at $18.76.
Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades
Recent Analyst upgrades include Microchip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP) which was upgraded to a Buy from a Neutral by UBS, Mattel (NYSE: MAT) was upgraded to an Outperform from a Market Perform by Ryan Beck & Co, United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) was upgraded to a Buy from a Hold by Stifel Nicolaus, Cypress Semiconductor (NYSE: CY) was upgraded to a Buy from a Neutral by UBS and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) was upgraded to an Outperform by Piper Jaffray.
Recent Analyst downgrades include Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) which was downgraded to an Equal Weight from an Overweight by Lehman Brothers, St Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) was downgraded to a Hold from a Buy by Deutsche Bank Securities, American tower (NYSE: AIV) was downgraded to an Outperform from a Buy to a Neutral by Merrill Lynch and Midwest Express (AMEX: MEH) was downgraded to a Market Perform from an Outperform by Raymond James.
Analyst Coverage Initiations include Allegheny Energy (NYSE:AYE) which was initiated with a Hold rating by AG Edwards, Alexandria Real Estate (NYSE: ARE) was initiated with an Under Perform rating by RBC Capital, Embarq (NYSE: EQ) was initiated with a Hold rating by AG Edwards and an Equal Weight rating by Merrill Lynch and Formfactor (NASDAQ: FORM) was initiated with a Buy rating and a $47 price target by Citigroup Investment Research.
Tid Bits
Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is exiting stage left from the competitive South Korean market as they have agreed to sell its 16 stores to South Korea's largest discount store chain Shinsegae Co. for 825 billion won, or $882 million. Wal-Mart said the decision to withdraw was part of its global growth strategy.
Barron's ran a feature on Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) over the weekend and stated that Yahoo has a massive audience online at a time when advertisers are shifting to online marketing or increasing their online marketing efforts. They also made mention of the fact that Yahoo has been overshadowed by Googles (NASDAQ: GOOG) success and this has led Yahoo to its 52 week low. There is no doubt that Yahoo is cheap at this point, it is definitely a $45 stock disguised as a $29 or $30 stock, but that may not be realized until they show their current efforts adding to their bottom line.
Last Week Home Depot (NYSE: HD) announced that they were looking to acquire a small bank called EnerBank USA from CMS Energy Corp. (NYSE: CMS). This acquisition would allow Home Depot to issue uncollateralized loans to contractors to keep the revenues flowing. This is something similar to what Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is trying to do but on a different scale, you can expect Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) to follow suit in the near future.
And the beat goes on...., more companies are being investigated in the ever growing stock options probe that we continue to hear about. The latest to join the party is KLA-Tencor Corp (NASDAQ: KLAC), they are citing that back in 2001, that's right they are going back in time on all of these companies, but back in 2001 the cite that KLA-Tencor issued stock options to their top executives twice during the year both at the stocks low point for the first and second half of the year. They also add that the Chairman of KLA, Ken Levy received 10 stock optin grants from 1994-2001 and all preceded recent rises in the stock price. So I think that Levy has a slight problem now. Another added to the list was Boston Communications Group (NASDAQ: BCGI), as they join the likes of Comverse Tech (NASDAQ: CMVT), UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) and others.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is tying in with Lenovo Group to offer pay as you go computer service to those people living in developing countries. They are beta testing "FlexGo", which is a pay per hour computer use service. They plan on launching this service in Brazil shortly and in the coming months expanding into Mexico, China, Russia and India. This is an effort on Microsoft's part to get a strong footing in the up and coming nations that would eventually be users of their products. They are nurturing a market that they will try to dominate in the years to come.
Since satellite radio was introduced, with Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) leading the pack, you needed to be plugged in to your home or car stereo system to use it. But XM has changed all that recently as they introduced the world's first portable XM Radio/MP3 Player portable device, it's called "XM2go", no computer is required You will now be able to take your XM radio with you to the gym, on your jog or on the bus or train ride to work. Pioneer is the technology company behind the unit, and the unit is set to work with Napster (NASDAQ: NAPS) and not the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPod. So companies that should be looked at are flash memory makers, as this is what drives the unit and not a hard drive. I wonder if Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) will be supplying the chips.
FURIOUS FIVE
This is the Firstof our "Furious Five" companies that we see excelling in their industry in 2006. The company to kick off this weeks "Furious Five" is Gymboree Corp (NASDAQ: GYMB) it trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol GYMB.
For our outlook, and other vital information on the companies that we feature as the "FURIOUS FIVE" on Wall Street to Main Street just subscribe for FREE at http://www.namcnewswire.com
We cannot stress enough that investors need to do their due diligence, call the companies, get the information, consult with your investment advisor and if you do not have one consider getting one. Put the same time into investigating these companies as you do when you go to purchase a new television, it's only for your protection. When it comes to thinly traded securities stagger your orders or put a limit order in to avoid a run up.
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Louis Victor is the host of the syndicated radio show and financial newsletter "Wall Street to Main Street" which is featured on the NAMC Newswire Radio. He has been involved in the financial industry for over two decades, on the retail and investment banking ends. He is also well versed in the advertising and marketing industries, which has given him insight into market trends and unqiue companies that may be under the radar.
Improving Brain Functioning for Healthy Aging: Interview With Scientist Jerri Edwards
Philanthropists, business leaders, and educational advocates across the region have lost confidence in the St. Louis schools board's ability to correct the ongoing problems in its district, according to a September 2, 2006, article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The recent forced departure of Superintendent Creg Williams signaled to philanthropic groups and business leaders that problems were escalating within the St. Louis schools. Many believed Williams had a good plan and goals in place; yet the St. Louis schools board replaced Williams after only 16 months in the position, leaving many current donors to re-evaluate their commitments of money and services to the St. Louis schools.
Though many are willing to give the new superintendent, Diana Bourisaw, the opportunity to correct the St. Louis schools' problems, their confidence in the St. Louis schools board has been eroded.
President and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, Dick Fleming, said there is no sense of real progress being made by the St. Louis schools board in terms of direction and improvement. Williams had brought prominence and a reputation of success to the position of superintendent. Just when a sense of momentum was being seen within the St. Louis schools, it was abruptly changed with Williams' departure. It makes philanthropists and business leaders stop and re-access the situation.
Bourisaw is the sixth superintendent for the St. Louis schools in the last three years. She was hired without a formal interview process by the St. Louis schools board majority, another event that makes outsiders pause and re-evaluate. The St. Louis schools appear to be perpetually unstable, with years of dismal test scores and constant financial upheaval.
Though many community and regional groups wish to continue supporting the St. Louis schools students, they are wary of the St. Louis schools board's ability to do the job. They have experienced a lack of cooperation from elected and hired St. Louis schools officials, who "often border on hostile". With such instability and the lack of goodwill from the administrators and board responsible for the district, it is difficult to maintain any sort of successes.
Here are just a few of the groups re-evaluating their support of the St. Louis schools:
o Vashon Compact -- An advocacy group dedicated to improving student achievement in a block of St. Louis schools. Executive Director Bill Carson stated they will not be renewing their five-year contract, which ends at the end of September 2006.
o Metropolitan Association for Philanthropy -- They provide guidance to 75 leading foundations in the area, including Anheuser-Busch, Boeing, A.G. Edwards, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car's charitable foundations. They recently established a group to study the current situation of the St. Louis schools.
o Pettus Foundation -- Managing Trustee James Finch announced in July that in 2007 the foundation will stop funding organizations that work with the St. Louis schools. They cited the pity politics of the St. Louis schools board, the many factions within the board, the conduct of its members at meetings, and their lack of progress and successes.
o St. Louis Black Leadership Roundtable -- They cautioned the St. Louis schools board that they may support a state takeover of the district, if the board fails to address problems, such as low achievement among African-American students.
These are not isolated sentiments. Many philanthropic groups, advocates and business leaders have been public with similar comments. Bill Carson of Vashon Compact believes a state takeover may be the only solution that will entice the philanthropic groups to continue their relationships with the St. Louis schools.
Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Patricia has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on St. Louis schools visit St. Louis Schools.
Places to Visit While Dating in Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island has several places that you can go snowmobiling in during the winter. Get you and your date of the snowmobiles and slide your way around the Prince Edward Island. This place has got a lot of trails that are used for snowmobiling. They have approximately a thousand kilometers of good trails. It is a pretty interesting activity to do while in Prince Edward Island. You can go to one of the Kayak and Canoe tours that are offered in one of the rivers in Prince Edward Island rivers that are great for first timers too. Have fun going a river with the waves pushing you further down the river. It is a fun way of spending time and also seeing the many sites that you will pass on your way down the river.
If you love horse riding or you have never had a horse ride before you should go to The Lakeside Circle T Trail Rides. Get onto one of the horses and ride it along the coastline and enjoy having a back ride. It is also a romantic thing to do with your date. You can also check in in Harness Racing Camp for six days to learn about how to take care of a hors and on your final day in this camp, get to ride one of the horses in one of the races. Who knows, you could even win one of the races. Do not worry if you do not win, you should do it for fun and if you take it too seriously you are sure not to have fun in this camp while dating in Prince Edward Island.
Visit the Burlington Amusement Parks and see wonderful formations of dunes. There is a nice beach hear that you and your date can enjoy catch a little sun and having a great tan to go boast about it back at home when you finally get out of here. You can also go to Greenwich Prince Edward Island National Park which has a rare system of parabolic sand dunes. This place also has a beach that you can go to once you get tired of walking through the park and you want to relax by the water and feel the sand beneath your legs.
