Filed under: Earnings reports, Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Stocks to Buy, Recession

My final all-American brand is Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL). The company is well-known for its toothpaste and toothbrushes. But Colgate-Palmolive also owns dozens of strong brand names, including Irish Spring, Speed Stick, Ajax, and many others.

Some investors may think of Colgate-Palmolive as a dull stock. That's fine by me.

The shares are far less volatile than most stocks on Wall Street. Even though the market overall is well below the highs it reached in the third quarter of 2007, shares of Colgate-Palmolive were never punished nearly as hard.

Continue reading All-American stock #3: Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

All-American stock #3: Colgate-Palmolive (CL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Earnings reports, Consumer experience, Amazon.com (AMZN), Stocks to Buy

The next all-American brand is the world's largest bookstore, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Actually, it's not quite correct to call Amazon just a bookstore anymore.

Relentless expansion has propelled Amazon in countless directions in the quest of bigger sales and profits. The company's main website now offers everything from books to auto parts to groceries!

Shoppers can also download digital content, such as games, MP3s, and movies to their computers or handheld devices -- including Amazon's innovative portable reader, the Kindle, which is on fire.

Continue reading All-American stock #2: Amazon (AMZN)

All-American stock #2: Amazon (AMZN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), News Corp'B' (NWS), Film

News Corp.'s (NASDAQ: NWS) new computer cartoon, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, had a strong domestic debut this past Wednesday. It opened with $13.8 million on that day, which represents a record-breaking performance for an animated feature released in the middle of the week. Now, just recently, I mentioned how I hate it when Hollywood promotes the breaking of a record. It tends to be very qualified. This situation is no different. Still, I'll give credit where credit is due. Dinosaurs is doing well so far.

We'll have to see how the weekend ultimately treats the new feature. The competition is stiff. It's the July 4th holiday, and Viacom (NYSE: VIA) is out there with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Thankfully, News Corp. won't have too much to worry about from Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Pixar cartoon Up. As can be seen by a Boxofficemojo chart, the excitement surrounding Up has faded. News Corp. was naturally counting on this to happen by this point in time.

Continue reading 'Ice Age' sequel off to good start -- what does this say about Disney and Pixar?

'Ice Age' sequel off to good start -- what does this say about Disney and Pixar? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Earnings reports, McDonald's (MCD), Stocks to Buy

Leading off is one of the very symbols of U.S. capitalism, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD). You can't get much more American than MickeyD's.

The irony is that McDonald's strength recently has been due to its expansion in foreign markets.

There are currently more than 30,000 restaurants in 120 countries. Less than half of the restaurants are located in the United States. McDonald's has been doing especially well lately, thanks to the recession.

Continue reading All-American stock #1: McDonald's (MCD)

All-American stock #1: McDonald's (MCD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America (BAC), Comfort Zone Investing

Bank failures are good. They get rid of banks that are mismanaged and have no business being in banking. Bad management at many banks made lots of bad loans and deserve to go under. The biggest example was Washington Mutual. And Countrywide belongs in there as well. Of course, there are a large number of smaller, community banks that also made bad loans that won't make it either.

That's OK. In fact, it makes the banking system stronger to have these marginally-managed or poorly-managed lenders gone. They artificially hike up the cost of deposits for all banks as they struggle to finance their bad loans, whether they're housing or commercial or business. Bad banks need more cash to keep them going, so they bring in more deposits. They bring in more deposits by raising rates.

Continue reading Comfort Zone Investing: Survival of the fittest -- letting some banks fail

Comfort Zone Investing: Survival of the fittest -- letting some banks fail originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Amazon.com (AMZN), McDonald's (MCD), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Stocks to Buy

Today is the 4th of July, and the nation is busy celebrating its 233rd birthday.

The past year has been pretty rough for the old Republic, with the economy going through its worst spat in 80 years.

Still, I'm an optimist, and I think we'll come through this stronger than ever. To honor America's birthday, I want to highlight three great all-American brands that deserve a place in your portfolio.

Continue reading Three All-American stocks for portfolio fireworks

Three All-American stocks for portfolio fireworks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Rants and raves, Competitive strategy, Workspace, Media World, Headline news

While Michael Jackson is referred to affectionately by fans as the "King of Pop," he could have just as easily carried the title "The hardest working man in show business" except for the fact that elder statesmen of the music world, the late James Brown earned that title first.

While recriminations are being thrown around about the specific cause of Jackson's death, the primary reason he passed away may really have been overwork. In truth, his sleep disorder, eating disorder, drug dependency, and seemingly bizarre behavior at times may have all stemmed from his obsessiveness. He truly gave his fans everything he had in him right to the very end.

Continue reading Michael Jackson fireworks, the workaholic

Michael Jackson fireworks, the workaholic originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Television, Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), News Corp'B' (NWS), Media World

Disney (NYSE: DIS) programmed a new movie recently on one of its prime media assets. The film, titled Princess Protection Program, debuted on the Disney Channel and stars a young actress named Selena Gomez. The casting choice was no accident. Because Disney tries to be as synergistic as possible (the company is generally good when it comes to the science of synergy, although there are certainly opportunities for it to be even better), the Mouse made sure to use Gomez since she is the popular star of another Disney Channel program called Wizards of Waverly Place, a project meant to capture at least a little of the Harry Potter magic.

Continue reading Disney Channel does it again with 'Princess' film, but it still has challenges

Disney Channel does it again with 'Princess' film, but it still has challenges originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Personal finance, Small business

This is bizarre at best but its true. In Latvia there lives a man named Viktor Mirosiichenko who heads a company called Kontora Loan Company. Who is this man and what is so unusual about him? He will make a loan to you if you sign an "agreement" and pledge "your immortal soul" as collateral.

Mr. Mirosiichenko's company employs no debt collectors for those who refuse to pay back the loan, nor will he employ violence against those who don't pay back. Signatures on the agreements show only the first name and do not show any documents.

Continue reading Would you pledge your soul as collateral for a loan?

Would you pledge your soul as collateral for a loan? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: NIKE, Inc'B' (NKE), Business of sports

So, we are approaching the final semifinal match to set the men's Wimbledon finals. Americans will be rooting for Andy Roddick while Britain will be rooting for Andy Murray (a native Scotsman). The last time a Brit won Wimbledon was in 1936, when Fred Perry accomplished the feat. What is interesting is that Fred Perry is a sponsor of Andy Murray, and the company stands to make a pretty penny should Murray win Wimbledon. That said, the article I linked to by Darren Rovell brings up an interesting point - how much money is Fred Perry losing because Andy Murray wears Nike (NYSE: NKE) shoes?

Continue reading JockStocks: Fred Perry knows its boundaries, lets Nike make Murray's footwear

JockStocks: Fred Perry knows its boundaries, lets Nike make Murray's footwear originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Bad news, Market matters, Recession

Unlike the stock market, the bond market thrives on "bad" news. Why is this? The main reason is the money trail. Investors are quick to move their money from stocks into bonds when something bad happens.

Yesterday we had plenty of bad news. The U.S. job market lost 467,000 jobs, a 26-year high. Now to add fuel to the fire, wages are dropping due to layoffs and shortened work weeks (WSJ subscription required). Fewer people are working, which means less money that consumers have to spend. That signals a slower economy.

Continue reading Bad news triggers a rally in the bond market

Bad news triggers a rally in the bond market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Private equity, Financial Crisis

Remember the heyday of the housing boom when investors would "flip" properties? Speculators would put a down payment on a property, usually a new construction, and sell it before it was completed with a fat profit. But the "flippers" got bagged when the price of real estate started dropping. Many just walked away from their deposits and left developers holding the bag.

Why is this idea of flipping real estate important now? Well, it seems that private equity investors buying troubled banks will be prohibited from "flipping" the bank for at least three years. In addition, regulators are requiring purchasers to maintain a capital ratio of 15%, three times the ratio required of other banks.

Continue reading No-flipping, increased-capital rules proposed for buying troubled banks

No-flipping, increased-capital rules proposed for buying troubled banks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), Market matters, General Mills (GIS), Yum Brands (YUM), Cramer on BloggingStocks, Recession

• Unemployment Rate Climbs to 9.5%
• Today's Outrage: Companies Lack Courage

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says there's good in this market -- remember that.

Does unemployment trump everything? Does it trump Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) (Cramer's Take) sales? Does it trump 3G and 4G? How about Chinese orders? How about General Mills' (NYSE: GIS) (Cramer's Take) numbers? Yum!'s (NYSE: YUM) (Cramer's Take) business? Does unemployment trump pending home sales? Or order pick-ups in autos and a subsequent bottom?

That's what you have to ask yourself when you sell. You have to ask yourself whether 40,000 or 60,000 jobs trumps everything good that has happened. You have to ask yourself if the government were to take 100,000 of those people and give them jobs taking care of federal lands and parks or working at the post office or having them go into a conservation corps, whether we would be up and not down.

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Don't paint everything with the jobs brush

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Don't paint everything with the jobs brush originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Sprint Nextel Corp (S)

When Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) released a $50/month "unlimited everything" plan with its Boost Mobile prepaid unit back at the start of the year, it never knew what firestorm it would eventually set off. Indeed, that move caused a huge spike in Q1 subscribers to Sprint, with a number north of 700,000 -- and it caused the prepaid wireless competition to start offering low monthly costs for unlimited talktime plans (often with unlimited use of other features).

Tracfone, the largest prepaid service in the U.S., has finally fallen into place. The prepaid reseller's "Straight Talk" pan will cost $45 per month for unlimited talktime, further making comparisons of prepaid and post-paid wireless easy for many cash-strapped consumers. With post-paid wireless plans costing $99 and up for unlimited talk, prepaid plans for half the cost are soaring during the recession.

Continue reading Sprint Nextel, Leap Wireless stand to lose some business

Sprint Nextel, Leap Wireless stand to lose some business originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Recession, Financial Crisis

What a way to go into the holiday weekend, eh? On Thursday, seven banks were shut down by authorities, which pushed the total of failed banks for 2009 to 52 -- which more than doubles the number of bank failures in 2008. Six of the seven banks seized were located in Illinois and the other was in Texas, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

According to the federal group, the Illinois failures are interlinked, as all six banks were controlled by one family and used a similar business model. The FDIC noted that this model "created concentrated exposure in each institution." This model left the banks heavily exposed to collateralized debt obligations and other loan losses. The six banks brings the total of failed banks in Illinois to 12.

As for the Texas bank failure, it was the first in the state this year.

Continue reading Seven banks go up in smoke ahead of the holiday weekend

Seven banks go up in smoke ahead of the holiday weekend originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Wal-Mart (WMT), Marketing and advertising, Target Corp. (TGT), Best Buy (BBY), Sears Holdings (SHLD)

Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD), a retailer whose competitive colleagues include Target (NYSE: TGT), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), wants to improve its brand equity and find a new path to growth. As such, it's willing to employ all kinds of initiatives, especially ones that will form a nice image with the consumer during this dreadful economic contraction.

According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Sears is trying out a program that offers protection against the risk of investing in an expensive appliance during a time when job security is not as secure as it used to be.

The program will run for a specified time period beginning next week, and the basic gist is this: buy an appliance priced $399 or higher on a Sears credit card and, and if you lose your job, Sears will credit one twelfth of the cost every month. Still no job after one year? Keep the appliance, your debt will be forgiven.

Continue reading Sears offering hedge for consumers who lose their job -- good idea?

Sears offering hedge for consumers who lose their job -- good idea? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Law, Scandals

On Monday, convicted con man Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in jail, and today federal authorities took possession of his $7 million Manhattan penthouse, forcing his wife to leave and look for somewhere else to live.

Ruth Madoff was told ahead of time that she would be forced to vacate her lush Manhattan penthouse, and reportedly she did leave the property this afternoon around 1 PM EST. The penthouse, on East 64th Street will be sold, with the proceeds being used to help reimburse the victims of the nations largest ever Ponzi scheme.

Continue reading Federal authorities take possession of Madoff's home

Federal authorities take possession of Madoff's home originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: Rants and raves, Competitive strategy, General Electric (GE), Diageo plc (DEO), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Chasing Value, Commodities, Anglo Amer ADR (AAUK), S and P 500, DJIA, Stocks to Buy, Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG), NASDAQ, Annaly Capital Management (NLY), Best Stocks for 2009, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), EZCORP (EZPW)

The second quarter is now behind us and for the most part it was a positive one in terms of the market pushing higher almost 40%. This is the second review of my 2009 stock picks through June 30 (see: Chasing Value: 9 picks for 2009 -- APC, GE, ISRG, WFC and more). There was a lot of talk about green shoots this past quarter as Wall Street was looking for any small bit of optimistic data to support the market.

The federal printing presses continued to run at full speed pushing the dollar lower and oil prices higher. While the feds were printing money to cover their deficits, the States do not have that same luxury and many of them are having trouble balancing their budgets to the tune of billions of dollars.

Continue reading Chasing Value: 2009 picks 731% better than S&P -- 2nd quarter review

Chasing Value: 2009 picks 731% better than S&P -- 2nd quarter review originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Filed under: General Motors (GM), Initial public offerings

General Motors is hoping to emerge from bankruptcy conduct an initial public offering sometime in 2010, according (subscription required) to The Wall Street Journal. The IPO could either raise additional capital for the company or allow the United States and Canadian governments to begin divesting their stakes in the company.

Washington has been mum on how and when it plans to begin recouping its "investment" in General Motors. Earlier this week on DailyFinance, Peter Cohan wrote that our investment in GM has mostly gone down the tubes:

Continue reading The hot new IPO of 2010: General Motors

The hot new IPO of 2010: General Motors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.