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RIMM vs. Apple: Video Roundup
Tweet Share on Facebook April 30, 2008 CommentTechTicker and WallStrip parse the latest in the battle for smartphone supremacy.
TechTicker's Aaron Task and Henry Blodget key off a Fortune report that the 3G iPhone will come priced at just $200.
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Is the U.S. Slump Spreading? Part 1
Tweet Share on Facebook April 30, 2008 Comment (1)Immigrants' families back in their home countries are feeling the pinch of weaker U.S. growth.
A new survey by the Inter-American Development Bank shows America's faltering economy, plus renewed enforcement of immigration policy, means less cash is being sent back to Latin American countries in the form of remittances.
Just 50 percent of Latino immigrants are sending money home regularly, compared with 73 percent a year ago, according to the survey.
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Is the U.S. Slump Spreading? Part 2
Tweet Share on Facebook April 30, 2008 Comment (1)American automakers are all still having big problems selling cars in the United States, but their international sales growth is staggering.
A quick look at first-quarter international sales shows General Motors posting a 20 percent jump, with notable strength in Russia, China, and Brazil. Some 64 percent of GM sales came from overseas. In Ford's first quarter reported last week, it earned a profit everywhere except in North America. European and South American demand boosted its profits to a surprise $100 million gain in the quarter.
Also, newcomers like India's Tata Motors are gaining clout. Most recently, Tata bought the Land Rover and Jaguar lines from Ford in a $1.7 billion deal approved last week by the European Union.
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Credit Cards Charged
Tweet Share on Facebook April 29, 2008 CommentThere's simply no stopping MasterCard and Visa. Both credit card giants are well on their way to becoming two of the Street's best performers for the first half, especially after this week's earnings reports. MasterCard shares rose almost 15 percent today after first-quarter profits more than doubled. Since Visa's May 19 initial public offering, its shares have surged more than 70 percent.
International growth is a big part of both stories, with half MasterCard's quarterly revenue coming from outside the United States. Foreign payments are adding to profits as the U.S. dollar remains weak.
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Worth Noting
Tweet Share on Facebook April 29, 2008 CommentOver at BusinessWeek, Ben Steverman rounds up the latest bullish money manager sentiment and points out some recovery in financials.
Among the riskiest equities these days are financial stocks, and they've been on a tear lately. One index of financial stocks, the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund, is up almost 16% since the Bear Stearns debacle.
Meanwhile, MarketWatch technicians say a breakout after the conclusion of the Fed meeting tomorrow is possible as markets press three-month highs.
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All Eyes on Grand Theft Auto IV
Tweet Share on Facebook April 29, 2008 Comment (8)The release of any new Grand Theft Auto title, the hyperviolent bestseller from Take-Two Interactive, always makes waves in gaming circles. Wall Street is watching, too.
That's because Take-Two is currently trying to fend off a takeover by rival Electronic Arts in a tense $1.9 billion buyout offer that's become the gaming industry's equivalent of Microsoft's bid for Yahoo.
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A Nice Start for the Market Week
Tweet Share on Facebook April 28, 2008 CommentMarkets looked almost respectable this morning, with investing giants Warren Buffett and Kirk Kerkorian stepping back into the fray.
Buffett is teaming up with Mars to buy chewing gum legend Wrigley in a $23 billion deal for a company he's long admired. Chicago's Wrigley is a standard Buffett investment (though he rarely takes a partner) in a sector with long-term growth potential. His other food holdings include Kraft.
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Tipping Point Alert!
Tweet Share on Facebook April 25, 2008 CommentOh, how my nerdy Fed-watching heart fluttered during this exchange on last night's always genius "30 Rock."
On picking a successor:
Don Geiss: "A word of advice: Whoever you chose has got to be someone you trust."
Jack Donaghy: "I guess that rules out the Federal Reserve."
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A Bottom for Chinese Stocks
Tweet Share on Facebook April 24, 2008 CommentDonald Straszheim, a long-time China watcher at Roth Capital Partners, calls the bottom for Chinese shares. He cites a recently announced lowering of taxes on stock trading, known as the stamp duty tax, that comes as a long bout of fiscal tightening is finally starting to slow.
Interest rate hikes, tighter reserve requirements, rising inflation, worldwide market turmoil, and questions over global growth have all played a part in sending shares slumping mightily this year. The Shanghai Composite Index jumped almost 10 percent on the news after slumping to near 3000—barely half its value just six month ago. At its peak on Oct. 17, 2007, the index topped out at 6124.
"With equities down 38% year-to-date, and down 47% from the October peak, China equities have become much more attractive," Straszheim writes.
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A Slow Land Rush in Texas
Tweet Share on Facebook April 24, 2008 Comment (1)Craig Hodges, a Dallas fund manager who runs the Hodges and Hodges Small Cap Funds, stopped by the office this week to talk stocks. I grew up in nearby Grapevine, which is Spanish for "by the airport," so we wound up discussing a few of his favorite local names in addition to the usual market talk.
An extended Q&A is on the way next week, but he picked out one interesting Loan Star State name worth checking out if you're looking for a safe, long-lived investment.
