The big story today is discussions between government officials and Citigroup executives about the government taking up to a 40% stake in Citi. According to a front page article in today’s Wall Street Journal, the government would convert some of…
On Thursday, Coinstar (CSTR), operator of Coinstar kiosks that convert your spare change into cash for a fee and located at many popular retail locations, reported what appears to be an excellent 4th quarter (CSTR Earnings Release). I wonder if people…
If you’d told me in 2000 that one day we’d own Cisco, I’d have said you were crazy. – Russell Croft , Co-Manager, Croft Value Fund, quoted in "Value Funds Awash In Deluge of Choices: Market Rout has Cut P/Es; Cisco?…
It’s a really disappointing quarter. The surprise is that the bigger disappointment came on the media networks side instead of the theme parks. They took a real hit at ESPN and in the broadcast business, which reflects the tough advertising…
Costco (COST) this morning announced -2% same store sales growth for January and that 2Q earnings for the period ending February 15, 2009 are expected to be "substantially below" consensus estimates of 70 cents a share (COST Press Release ). …
Our sales stayed pretty strong through October and well into November. We pretty much hit a wall in December. – Jim Owens (subscription required), CEO Caterpillar The depth and duration of economic decline throughout the world makes it very difficult to…
Google (GOOG) just now reported a solid 4th quarter (GOOG Earnings Release). Revenue after Traffic Acquisition Costs were $4.22 billion and EPS $5.10 – beating analysts consensus of $4.12 billion and $4.95. Shares are up a bit in the after…
It is also clear that we are not immune to the effects of the economy. Consumers and businesses have reined in spending, which is affecting PC shipments and IT expenditures. – Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, in a memo to employees…
U.S. officials are wary about taking the most extreme step — nationalizing banks altogether… But as the market value of many firms evaporates, they may be left with no other alternatives to raise cash. From a political standpoint, there’s not…
The approximately $120 billion aid package on Thursday for Bank of America — including injections of capital and absorbed losses — as well as a $300 billion package in November for Citigroup both represented displays of financial gymnastics aimed at…