One thing was abundantly clear in the most recent earnings season: Quarterly results were often terrific as analysts had apparently underestimated the earnings strength of a wide range of companies in a wide swath of industries. And in… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Thursday’s early trading are Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS). Top Percentage Gainers — Thursday, June 24, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS) $14.35 +2.4% $17.36 $9.00 Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) $42.06 +2.3% $43.39 $22.79 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Thursday’s early trading are Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) and Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS). Top Percentage Gainers — Thursday, June 24, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS) $14.35 +2.4% $17.36 $9.00 Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) $42.06 +2.3% $43.39 $22.79 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:40AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Hasbro’s Cash Flow Appeal A leading private equity (PE) firm apparently asked to look under the hood at toy and game maker Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), according to The Wall Street Journal. Shares were up nearly +10% in pre-market trading. But right after the market opened, Hasbro issued a statement that it’s not for sale. So shares are settling for a modest +2% gain in Thursday trading in an otherwise down market. Read More

Among the biggest losers in Thursday’s early trading are Bed, Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY), Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID). Top Percentage Losers — Thursday, June 24, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID) $25.90 -8.3% $46.52 $11.14 Nike (NYSE: NKE) $69.68 -3.9% $78.55 $50.16 Bed, Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY) $39.87 -3.8% $48.52 $26.50 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Thursday’s early trading are Bed, Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY), Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID). Top Percentage Losers — Thursday, June 24, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID) $25.90 -8.3% $46.52 $11.14 Nike (NYSE: NKE) $69.68 -3.9% $78.55 $50.16 Bed, Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY) $39.87 -3.8% $48.52 $26.50 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:01AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. A Bar too High Shares of Bed, Bath & Beyond (Nasdaq: BBBY) are off nearly -3% on Thursday, thanks to unrealistically high investor expectations. The company reported very impressive fiscal first quarter results last night, and although management took a conservative stance with respect to the second-quarter outlook, investors had set a very high bar, hoping to see a very bullish forecast after rivals such as… Read More

Stock market volatility has caused many investors to question their commitment to buying individual stocks. This combined with a decade of flat to slightly negative stock market returns has stoked a debate over whether buy-and-hold investing makes any sense going forward. Defensive-minded investors looking to lower equity… Read More

In a bid to steal some thunder in the burgeoning market for handheld electronic readers, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) announced this week that it will cut prices on its Nook e-reader. Bad move. Rival Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) was waiting for such a development, and quickly offered up its own price cuts for its Kindle 2. Falling prices and rising market share are part of Amazon’s long-term playbook, and many past rivals have been bloodied by trying to compete with Amazon’s global scale. At first blush, this is a real win… Read More

In a bid to steal some thunder in the burgeoning market for handheld electronic readers, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) announced this week that it will cut prices on its Nook e-reader. Bad move. Rival Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) was waiting for such a development, and quickly offered up its own price cuts for its Kindle 2. Falling prices and rising market share are part of Amazon’s long-term playbook, and many past rivals have been bloodied by trying to compete with Amazon’s global scale. At first blush, this is a real win for consumers. For those who don’t want to pay the $500 to $700 for Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad, the new $200 price point for the Nook and the Kindle 2 should prove enticing. These firms know that they won’t make much money on these devices, but they do offer the chance to build a loyal customer base for many years to come. That’s just what Apple did with iTunes nearly a decade ago. Of course, both Barnes & Noble and Amazon should see sales of their readers rise at a solid clip this year, though it’s safe… Read More

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Facing a gargantuan budget deficit, New York Governor David Paterson has announced plans to add another $1.60 in taxes to every pack of cigarettes sold in his state. That will push the average retail price above the… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Wednesday’s early trading are Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL), CarMax (NYSE: KMX), and ZymoGenetics (Nasdaq: ZGEN). Top Percentage Gainers — Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) $14.91 +9.7% $18.49 $6.59 CarMax (NYSE: KMX) $21.74 +8.7% $26.50 $13.06 ZymoGenetics (Nasdaq: ZGEN) $4.58 +7.7% $7.31 $4.05 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns… Read More

Among the biggest winners in Wednesday’s early trading are Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL), CarMax (NYSE: KMX), and ZymoGenetics (Nasdaq: ZGEN). Top Percentage Gainers — Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Gain 52-Week High 52-Week Low Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) $14.91 +9.7% $18.49 $6.59 CarMax (NYSE: KMX) $21.74 +8.7% $26.50 $13.06 ZymoGenetics (Nasdaq: ZGEN) $4.58 +7.7% $7.31 $4.05 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 11:30AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Jabil’s Bright Outlook Good news for investors of Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL), and for investors everywhere that are looking for signs that the global economy is getting stronger. Jabil, which provides outsourced manufacturing services to a wide range of technology firms, delivered another impressive quarter Tuesday night, pushing shares up +9% in Wednesday trading. You can see the company’s momentum build quarter by… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Wednesday’s early trading are Apogee Enterprises (Nasdaq: APOG), Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) and Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS). Top Percentage Losers –Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Apogee Enterprises (Nasdaq: APOG) $11.75 –7.8% $16.89 $11.13 Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) $12.00 -7.6% $20.23 $9.75 Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS) $30.47 –3.3% $34.94 $20.05 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000… Read More

Among the biggest losers in Wednesday’s early trading are Apogee Enterprises (Nasdaq: APOG), Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) and Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS). Top Percentage Losers –Wednesday, June 23, 2010 Company Name (Ticker) Intra-Day Price Intra-Day % Loss 52-Week High 52-Week Low Apogee Enterprises (Nasdaq: APOG) $11.75 –7.8% $16.89 $11.13 Wilmington Trust (NYSE: WL) $12.00 -7.6% $20.23 $9.75 Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS) $30.47 –3.3% $34.94 $20.05 *Table includes companies with minimum market capitalizations of $200 million and three month trading volumes of at least 100,000 shares. All percentage returns are listed as of 10:30AM Eastern Standard Time. Click on ticker symbols for up-to-the-minute price quotes and percentage gain data. Paying up for Delaying an Integration Over the past decade, Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS), which offers various applications to enhance communication between various computer programs and networks, pursued a growth-through-acquisition strategy. The deal-making frenzy paid off in the form of steadily-rising earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), at… Read More

In the late 1960’s, the central bank of Mexico was looking for ways to bring more American tourists — and their U.S. dollars — into the country. Acapulco, on the Pacific side of the country, had already become a tourist mecca… Read More

BP’s (NYSE: BP) web site is filled with a wide range of Gulf-spill related updates. The energy giant is overwhelming visitors with frequent updates in a bid to show that it is taking matters quite seriously. Lost in all those updates, investors may have missed a fairly… Read More