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  • Finance 0

    Company Updates: KORS, GOOGL, SYK, ABT, GILD

    Michael Kors- KORS reported third fiscal quarter revenues rose 6% (10% on a constant currency basis) to $1.3 billion with net income down 3% to $294.5 million and EPS up 7% to $1.59 on lower shares outstanding. Revenue, comparable store sales and earnings growth came in ahead of management’s expectations thanks to an excellent holiday season. Solid performance was driven by strong consumer response to the company’s luxury fashion products, especially in accessories and footwear, the continue momentum of the digital flagship business and strong growth in international markets. Retail net sales increased 11.1% to $766.2 million driven prim...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    E Crash Testing The Tesla

    The Tesla Model S1 (TSLA) has been rated by Consumer Reports magazine as the best car ever built, grabbing a coveted 100 score out of 100. They called the vehicle “perfect.” It has been ranked by the US government Department of Transportation as the safest car ever built. Even competitors love the car. So I decided to see if these vaunted claims were true and crash test my own $110,000 high performance Model S1 on public streets. Actually, it wasn’t I who made the decision. It was the harried housewife with four screaming kids in the back seat speaking on a cell phone while driving who made that call. She drove her GMC Silverado quad ca...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Early Selling Rebuffed

    Healthy action in today’s markets as early selling was outdone by afternoon buying. The respectable close will help build confidence of buyers, at least until the November-December trading range is challenged. For the S&P. 2,000 looms overhead, but until this is challenged there is little to add. The Nasdaq closed near today’s highs as it sits on the verge of  a new On-Balance-Volume ‘buy’ trigger. The Russell 2000 had only a small gain, but it has the most work to do to rebuild confidence.  On the positive front, it’s close to a ‘buy’ trigger in On-Balance-Volume. Another index doing well is th...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Alphabet Inc. Beats Earnings, Revenue Estimates

    Google parent company Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) released its fourth quarter earnings report after closing bell tonight, posting the very first results in the new reporting structure. The Internet giant reported adjusted earnings of $8.67 per share and $21.33 billion in revenue, an 18% year over year increase (or 24% in constant currencies). Analysts had been expecting earnings of $8.10 per share and $20.8 billion in revenue for the quarter. In the previous year’s fourth quarter, Google’s parent reported earnings of $6.76 per share and $18.1 billion in revenue. Google finally breaks down results by segment GAAP earnings were $7.06 per s...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Google Soars After Hours, Surpasses Apple As World’s Most Valuable Stock, After Big Q4 Beat

    If there were any concerns that retailers and other vendors of goods and services are hunkering down on their ad spending, those fears can be safely swept under the rug because just days after Facebook’s dramatic beat, moments ago GOOG likewise slammed expectations by beating massively both on the top and bottom line. Here are the key results: Q4 EPS of $8.67 beat expectations of $8.08, up $2.00 from the $6.76 reported a year ago. Revenues of $21.33 billion soared 18% compared to the year ago period; Traffic Acquisition Costs were $2.9 billion for the fourth quarter; net of TAC’s revenues of $17.3 billion beat expectations of $16...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    DreamWorks Falls After Piper Says ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Missed Expectations

    Shares of DreamWorks Animation (DWA) dropped in midday trading after an analyst from Piper Jaffray said that the studio’s new film “Kung Fu Panda 3” slightly underperformed his expectations, despite having topped the U.S. box office in its opening weekend. What’s new: DreamWorks’ newest picture “Kung Fu Panda 3,” starring Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie, topped the U.S. box office this past weekend after its release Friday, grossing $41M domestically. The film was produced by DreamWorks and distributed by 21st Century Fox (FOX), which also distributed the weekend runner-up “The Rev...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    The Cocoa Market

    The cocoa market has a soft spot in my heart. It was the first commodity I ever concentrated on, and I have continued to follow it all these years. My first real job in commodities was as cocoa analyst for MARS Inc., the privately help candy company. BTW, MARS was a truly excellent company and probably still is. The big reason for this was (is?) guidance from a really smart family that takes a multi-generational outlook. I doubt if they will ever IPO, but if they do, I’m in. Anyway, there are a few structural issues in cocoa that make it somewhat unique: Cocoa is a tree and it takes 6 -8 years from the time prices provide incentive for ...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    Still Searching For Those Dollars

    There is a great danger to negative interest rates, one that is denied by economists and central bankers because they deny the essence of wholesale finance. Stuck in the 1950’s, their solutions were arguable even then but hold little if nothing of value now. Markets are being reacquainted once more with the possibility (finally). As discussed last week, the Bank of Japan did not unleash more “stimulus” but rather confirmed the ineffectiveness and general impotence of all that came before (which was considerable). Confusion over terminology is very much understandable in this area on the grounds of complexity alone. However, even in ba...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    First NFP Hint Looks Bad

    The U.S. economy gained jobs at a rapid pace in the past three months, with a superb 292K in December. However, the first NFP publication for 2016 could be negative, at least according to one sector: manufacturing. While it was no surprise to see the headline ISM Manufacturing PMI miss expectations with 48.2 points, within contraction territory, the employment component is already flashing red with only 45.9 points, a figure showing not-so-insignificant job cuts. Any score under 50 implies contraction while scores above 50 imply growth. The silver lining came from a bounce in new orders: these advanced from under 50 points to 51.5, showing ...
    On February 1, 2016 / By
  • Finance 0

    The Empty Burrito

    I made the round trip between the Bay Area and the Los Angeles area over the weekend. On the way back, the family and I stopped at Chipotle (not a typical choice, but it was the only decent thing to eat). We were used to waiting in a long line, particularly on a Sunday evening when there was a lot of traffic. Allow me to show you the line we faced: Actually, this one guy showed up later. There was NO line when we got there. Oh, and as for the dining area……….. I guess people aren’t as fond of e. coli as others might have assumed....
    On February 1, 2016 / By