AIG’s (AIG) fourth quarter earnings report after the close yesterday, in which they announced $11 billion in writedowns on exposure to credit default swaps it wrote and $2.6 billion in writedowns on mortgage backed securities it holds, brought back some…
I wrote about Walmart (WMT) positively last Tuesday and an interesting way to play the stock, and yesterday Dan Gross put up an article on Slate that makes the same point: a tough economy is Walmart’s sweet spot. He gives…
Google (GOOG) is down big again today on data from comScore saying that paid click growth in January was flat compared to last year. The selloff is way overdone at this point and the stock will bounce. Consider: At its low point…
A little before 11am EST IBM (IBM) announced that its board had authorized a $15 billion share buyback and that it plans buy back about $12 billion in stock in 2008. The announcement led to a jump in IBM stock…
Home Depot (HD) reported this morning that same store sales decreased 8.3% and net income 28% for its recently completed fiscal 4th quarter. Their guidance for 2008 was for negative comps in the mid to high single digits and a…
This is how it works peeps: At 2:22:27pm EST, Standard & Poors, the ratings agency, issued new ratings actions on the bond insurers, including taking leading player MBIA (MBI) off of CreditWatch (“S&P Takes Additional Bond Insurer Rating Actions” (subscription…
Just a pretty slow Monday. Here are some stocks making news today: Lowe’s (LOW) reported fiscal year 4th quarter earnings before the open this morning. Same stores sales were down 7.6% from a year ago, revenue was essentially flat and…
The Sharper Image (SHRP), the specialty electronics and gadgets boutique, announced this morning that it has filed for bankruptcy (SHRP Press Release). After reaching a closing high around $40 on February 6, 2004, shares have been mercilessly crushed over the…
This morning before the open, retailing behemoth Walmart (WMT) reported the first $100 billion in sales quarter ever by a retailer. To put that number in context, the personal consumption part of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2007 was $9.7…
“The macro environment grew more challenging after the holidays. Our post holiday results are not going to be what we originally expected.” – Jim Muehlbauer, Best Buy Enterprise CFO (interim) The stock that probably colored the market action today the…