High gasoline prices are putting the squeeze on companies and their workers. People are leaving their jobs due to the high commuting costs. The New York Times reports that a resume service received "14 calls last week and 9 of those named high gas prices as their No. 1 reason for leaving their job."
And by my count, the Times presents seven ways that companies are changing to relieve the pressure:
Encourage more telecommuting. The Times describes how "Citigate Cunningham, a public relations company, now encourages workers to stay home whenever possible, providing laptop computers and BlackBerrys to enable telecommuting, and reimbursing them $40 a month for high-speed Internet connections in their homes."
Give employees money to pay for gas. Since June, OperationsInc., a human resource consulting firm, gave employees up to $100 a month on an American Express (NYSE: AXP) card "to offset rising gas prices."
Rent offices closer to workers' homes. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) recently "leased three large office complexes far from its headquarters" to cut 7,000 employees' commutes.
Despite the fact that the markets were lower much of the day, they eventually managed to on the session higher. This was a win considering that profit takers and short sellers weren't able to hammer down the market after such large gains Tuesday. Oil fell again to levels under $119.00.
EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) shares were down under 1% right before the close today, although they had been down 5% after some rumors that Cisco was interested in the company were put to sleep.
Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) is continuing to see options speculation build in the stock. Shares were mostly flat today, but options volume was huge again and is up 10% in seven trading sessions.
10 Tech Giants to Buy Now Shares of companies such as IBM, Nokia and Microsoft have taken a hit along with the rest of the market, but they don't deserve to be this cheap. Other tech stocks to consider include Apple, Cisco, Google, HP, Intel, Oracle and Qualcomm. Ten Tech Giants to Buy Now - Kiplinger.com
New Life for Grocery Store Standbys Innovation is Pinnacle's lifeblood. The N.J.-based company -- which so far owns or licenses more than a dozen food brands -- specializes in acquiring venerable, but stagnant, brand names in need of TLC. It then works to breathe new life into them with updated formulations, new products, improved packaging, added convenience and smart marketing. Among the brands in Pinnacle's cub bard are Duncan Hines, Lender's Bagels, Log Cabin, Hungry Man, Mrs. Butterworth, Aunt Jemima, Swanson and more. Pinnacle gives new life to old standbys - USATODAY.com
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) has made a $60 a share offer for the part of ImClone (NASDAQ: IMCL) that it does not already own. ImClone chairman Carl Icahn does not think tha$60 is high enough, despite ImClone trading below $40 in June. The offer seems like a pretty good deal, and since BMY owns 17% of ImClone , there is not likely to be another bidder.
According toThe Wall Street Journal, ImClone's board appointed a committee to review last week's $60-a-share offer, but the biotechnology company said the board's "preliminary view is that offer substantially undervalues ImClone."
Icahn should take the money and run. Bristol-Myers clearly has the option to withdraw its bid and watch the stock drop back to $45. Holders of ImClone stock would likely get POed at Icahn, and is it any wonder?
It is not a perfect match, but the ImClone negotiations are starting to shape up the way Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) talks with Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) did. Microsoft needed Yahoo! for its internet strategy. No other company was going to pay a large premium for the portal's shares. When Microsoft walked away, Yahoo!'s share lost a third of their value.
Icahn has a history of pushing for a better deal. His batting average on recent investments is hardly perfect. He is not doing anyone, including himself, any favors by fighting with Bristol-Myers.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Nintendo already has the upper hand in the video game console market. Its Wii outsells the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Xbox 360 and Sony (NYSE: SNE) PS3. But with its market penetration so high, the hyper-growth has to start slowing.
According toThe Wall Street Journal, "After overseeing several years of rapid growth at Nintendo Co., President Satoru Iwata faces new challenges: how to keep players of the company's videogames interested, and how to cultivate a new wave of customers."
Nintendo's problems may be beyond its ability to solve. It can bring out new consoles and games for its current products, but the industry as a whole may be facing a slow period.
The newest game platforms are now a couple of years old. That means most of the ready buyers probably own one. Going after the market of people only modestly interest in the products will be harder, especially when compounded by a weak economy.
It may be easy to focus on Nintendo because it has such a large market share, but the entire industry may have problems until the next generation of consoles brings a large number of buyers into the market again.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
It was about 18 years ago that I attended my first shareholders' meeting (for a local utility). The company had recently eliminated the dividend and many several angry people were in the crowd. It was exciting stuff.
But it was also an exception -- at least based on many other shareholder meetings I've attended (which are mostly formalities).
Despite this, I thought things would be different with the Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) meeting, which happened last week.
Well, I was wrong. Apparently, the meeting was a snooze-fest. In fact, Yahoo!'s shareholders voted overwhelming to keep their board members. This was despite the fact that the company seemed to fumble a juicy $47.5 billion buyout offer from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT).
Interestingly enough, at the board meeting, the directors made it clear that they were thoughtful about the offer but also wanted to get the best deal for shareholders. Moreover, Yahoo! said that it was surprised that Microsoft withdrew its offer.
Of course, Yahoo! has also been the target of activist shareholder, Carl Icahn. Then again, he'll be on the board anyway (where I'm sure he'll make his views widely known).
U.S. stock futures were mixed Friday morning after General Motors reported a massive loss and sales decline and ahead of what could yet another worriesome jobs report. Unemployment rate is expected to inch higher to 5.6%, while economists expect nonfarm payroll to show a decline 75,000 jobs during July. Other economic reports as well as July car sales could impact the market throughout the session. Seem, though, that after digesting GM's results, futures turned negative, indicating a lower start on Wall Street.
General Motors (NYSE: GM) will likely see some action as the automaker swung to a second-quarter loss of $15.5 billion, or $27.33 a share, as revenue dropped 18% to $38.2 billion. If you think this number missed analyst estimates because of massive charges, you're right, but earnings excluding special items also missed them -- by a mile. Excluding items GM would have lost $6.3 billion, or $11.21 a share. Ouch! Analysts polled by FactSet Research expected a loss of $2.85 a share on revenue of $42.6 billion. GM has been the subject of rumors it is heading straight into bankruptcy, from a quick glance at the results, these will likely not alleviate any such fears. Even as Wagoner cuts costs by $9 billion this year by another 20% trim of payroll and stopping dividend payment, as he plans to boost cash by $17 billion, at this point, I wonder what GM can do to save itself, if it can do anything at all. GM shares are down 7% in premarket trading.
GM will not be alone in the spotlight as Ford (NYSE: F) and other automakers report their U.S. sales for July. Auto sales tracker Edmunds.com is forecasting a 3.3% drop in auto sales compared to a year ago. This comes a day after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services cut its ratings for all three of the U.S.-based automakers further into junk status. S&P expects further sales decline for the rest of the year, with car companies mounting cash losses.
4 Companies With Strong Cash Flow These four are in a good position to withstand the slowing economy. They include Boeing, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and VF Corp. Four Companies With Strong Cash Flow - SmartMoney.com
Securing Your Dream Retirement Planning for retirement takes as much time as planning a vacation. Plan the ultimate vacation. The key is making the right choices. Here is your guide to put you on the right path. Control your destiny - Bankrate.com
Airlines Sell Frequent-Flier Miles for Fast Cash, Travelers Be Wary Airlines searching for extra cash to survive their deepening financial crisis are finding out just how valuable their frequent-flier programs really are. Travelers, however, could see the value of their frequent-flier miles eroded by such deals, especially since all those extra miles will be hitting the market as airlines begin shrinking capacity dramatically. Airlines sell frequent-flier miles for fast cash - USATODAY.com In the News: Delta Redoes Mileage Plan for Its Fliers
Money manager and newsletter advisor Jim Stack, well-known for his safety-first strategy, recently added Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to his model portfolio, noting, "We had wanted to increase our allocation to technology which has typically been a leading sector in new bull markets."
In his InvesTech Market Analyst, he explains, "This stock exhibits all the qualities we look for in a new purchase and is currently selling at a very attractive valuation."
"From its founding in 1975, Microsoft has become the world's largest software company with offices in over 100 countries. Its Windows operating system –which runs on 90% of all PCs currently in use – and for the Windows Office applications utilized by over 400 million users.
"This firm is extremely profitable with company-wide operating margins in excess of 40%. The Windows operating system and Office productivity suite have operating margins averaging closer to 70%.
"The company is completely debt free and generates over $1 billion in free cash flow each month. Management has done an excellent job of utilizing shareholder capital with a return on equity of over 40% compared to an average of 15% for S&P 500 companies.
World's Largest Owner of Shopping Malls on Hot Seat A Senate report released last week alleges the owner's of Westfield malls; father (Frank Lowy) and son (Peter Lowy) used bank accounts in Liechtenstein to hide money from Uncle Sam as well as the Australian government. The Lowy family denies any wrongdoing and will have the chance to make its case in person this week, as Peter Lowy is scheduled to appear before a Senate investigations subcommittee today. Westfield Unhurt by Lowy Tax Woes - BusinessWeek
U.S. stock futures were lower Friday morning, a day after a selloff triggered by housing data. Today investors are bracing for more housing data at 10:00 a.m. EDT after already hearing that foreclosures soared 121% during the second quarter. Other point of interest will be durable goods data reported an hour before the opening bell. Meanwhile, oil continued the steady climb that started Thursday as the dollar weakens, trading above $126 a barrel. It's Friday, and no many earnings reports are due.
While there aren't many earnings reports today, there are a few including Fortune Brands (NYSE: FO), Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) among others.
Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) shares are tanking over 44% to $5 after after it cut its earnings outlook significantly on softer demand for its plastic shoes. With all those knockoffs around, is it any wonder? Robert W. Baird downgraded Crocs from Outperform to Neutral, slashing the target price from $21 to $5.
Meanwhile, Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR) surged 12% in premarket trading after the company not only beat estimates when reporting quarterly results Thursday, but also increased its sales forecast for the third-quarter much higher than analyst estimates. Friedman Billings and Citigroup both upgraded Juniper to Outperform and Buy respectively.
In deal news, Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU) shareholders on Thursday approved a $17.9 billion takeover by private equity funds Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital. This ends the 20-month long effort.
If you were getting used to the bulls running the show, the bears whispers of "Remember us?" turned much louder today. If you were looking for the day we finally got profit taking after a monster rise in financial stocks, it came. Weak housing data was said to be one of the key issues for the market, but the more than 400,000 weekly jobless claims filed was much worse than expected. Oil didn't skyrocket but it did at least catch a bid today and oil was back up to over $125.00 per barrel late in the day. If you want a big figure, PIMCO's Bill Gross said that total financial writedowns could see $1 Trillion.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) saw a mega-surge after the market decided that its above estimate earnings and somewhat conservative guidance was to match the environment rather than to be any red flag. Shares were up a sharp in today's final minutes.
Juniper (NASDAQ: JNPR) is recently up 15 cents to $23.04 in pre-open trading.
JNPR named Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) veteran Kevin Johnson CEO. JNPR is scheduled to report Q1 EPS after the market close tonight. RBC Capital Markets has a $30 price target on JNPR.
JNPR August option implied volatility of 51 is above its 26-week average of 47 according to Track Data, suggesting slightly larger price movement.
Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com
Perhaps no one should be surprised that the head of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s internet unit left the company. Its bid for Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) did not exactly work out well. Redmond will probably not have a big online empire to run without the buyout of the portal company.
According toThe Wall Street Journal, "Kevin Johnson, 47 years old, will take a job as chief executive of Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), a Silicon Valley maker of networking hardware." The new position sounds like a pretty large step down.
As part of the effect of the departure, Microsoft will separate its Windows group from its online operation.
At this point, who would want to run the Microsoft internet division? It now stands as a distant third in the search business. It competes with Yahoo! and AOL in the portal segment. Display advertising growth rates are slowing.
Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer may say otherwise, but his company has lost the online war. There is nothing left that he can do about that. Spending billions of dollars has yet to gain his company any ground. No executive with a brain is going to want the chance to run a fading business.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has to deal with improving sales for the Sony (NYSE: SNE) PS3. Sony has been able to get a greater number of attractive games for its console. It has also added better features to play live over the internet with friends connected by broadband.
Now the Xbox 360 will add a feature that Sony cannot match, at least for now.
According to the FT, Microsoft "has struck deals with five horror movie directors for a series of short films in a move aimed at boosting the original entertainment content available on its Xbox console." If the first part of the experiment works, Microsoft will probably go forward with more short content which cannot be seen by owners of rival consoles.
High gasoline prices are putting the squeeze on companies and their workers. People are leaving their jobs due to the high commuting costs. The New York Times reports that a resume service received "14 calls last week and 9 of those named high gas prices as their No. 1 reason for leaving their job." 
Despite the fact that the markets were lower much of the day, they eventually managed to on the session higher. This was a win considering that profit takers and short sellers weren't able to hammer down the market after such large gains Tuesday. Oil fell again to levels under $119.00. 
It was about 18 years ago that I attended my first shareholders' meeting (for a local utility). The company had recently eliminated the dividend and many several angry people were in the crowd. It was exciting stuff.
U.S. stock futures were mixed Friday morning after General Motors reported a massive loss and sales decline and ahead of what could yet another worriesome jobs report. Unemployment rate is expected to inch higher to 5.6%, while economists expect nonfarm payroll to show a decline 75,000 jobs during July. Other economic reports as well as July car sales could impact the market throughout the session. Seem, though, that after digesting GM's results, futures turned negative, indicating a lower start on Wall Street.
Juniper
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Cuomo gets Citi to buy back $7 billion worth of Auction Rate Securities
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