Filed under: Politics

True, placing the words 'Congress' and 'productivity' next to one another can seem like a contradiction in terms.

Well, scholar Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute think tank, and as good as it gets regarding the workings of Congress and the public policy process, has an idea that just may make Congress more productive: a five-day work week.

Continue reading Is It Time for Congress to Work Monday-thru-Friday?

Is It Time for Congress to Work Monday-thru-Friday? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Earnings Reports, General Electric (GE), Walt Disney (DIS), Viacom (VIA), News Corp'B' (NWS)

The Walt Disney Company's (DIS) Alice in Wonderland was number one at the domestic box office for the second weekend in a row. Excellent, especially for shareholders. Disney needs Alice to do some massive numbers to prove to Hollywood, as well as Wall Street, that changes in its film division are here: changes for the better, ones that will increase economic value.

According to Box Office Mojo, Alice grossed over $60 million. Coming in second was Green Zone, from General Electric Corporation's (GE) Universal. Make that a distant second. Zone pulled in approximately $14 million. As some have said, this was a very weak opening for a Matt Damon project.

Continue reading Disney's 'Alice' Successfully Defends Top Spot

Disney's 'Alice' Successfully Defends Top Spot originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stocks gained ground Monday as investors shrugged off concerns about a Fed meeting on interest rates and declining oil prices.

Continue reading Stocks In The News: Boston Scientifc, Pepsi and Walmart

Stocks In The News: Boston Scientifc, Pepsi and Walmart originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:00:00.

Filed Under: Investing

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Filed under: Industry, Competitive Strategy, Amer Intl Group (AIG)

Catastrophe modelers, insurers and reinsurers are still sorting out the damage from Windstorm Xynthia in Europe and the earthquake in Chile. Taking only the highest of high-end estimates, the damage from these two catastrophes could exceed $12 billion, resulting in fairly steep property-catastrophe losses long before hurricane season begins. With three more major property reinsurance renewals remaining for the year -- at April 1, June 1 (Florida) and July 1 -- there is plenty of time for the impact of these events to be absorbed into reinsurance pricing.

Continue reading Assessing the Tab for Q1 Catastrophes

Assessing the Tab for Q1 Catastrophes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: International Markets

Monday's key developments in "As The Euro-Zone Turns":

In a surprise, both European Union and Greek officials are starting to sing a similar restructuring tune, as Greece's budget deficit crisis extended into its second month. The EU said it is ready to propose a "framework" to help Greece overcome its debt crisis, Bloomberg News reported Monday. However, an initial package is not likely to include cash assistance.

Meanwhile, a Greek official said, "We are not looking for money, but for some support so that the spreads on our bonds become more logical," The Wall Street Journal reported Monday (subscription required).

Continue reading EU, Greece Beginning to Sing the Same Tune on Restructuring Plan

EU, Greece Beginning to Sing the Same Tune on Restructuring Plan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Pfizer (PFE), Wal-Mart (WMT), PepsiCo (PEP)

Today was a negative trading session almost the entire day. But then a last hour recovery took stocks above the flat line despite what felt like a very mixed ticker tape. The FOMC meeting is tomorrow and we just saw a homebuilder sentiment index drop today. Senator Dodd's financial regulation package was also deemed to be not quite as damning as some had feared.

Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,634.82 +10.13 (0.10%)
S&P 500 1,149.81 -0.18 (-0.02%)
Nasdaq 2,361.02 -6.64 (-0.28%)

Top Analyst Calls
Top Day Trader Stocks
Top Stock Rumors

Continue reading Closing Bell: Escaping the Hangman, Mostly (AMLN, WMT, PVH, PFE, GOOG, BIDU, PEP)

Closing Bell: Escaping the Hangman, Mostly (AMLN, WMT, PVH, PFE, GOOG, BIDU, PEP) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Competitive Strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Dell (DELL), Amazon.com (AMZN)

Dell's (DELL) is about to start thinking that it's newer Mini 5 hybrid device will be an Apple (AAPL) iPad competitor. Each device has not even been released yet, and there are competitive stirrings already afoot. The Dell unit, which looks like a large smartphone but not quite as large as a tablet computer, will bring a ton of Amazon (AMZN) services to bear in order to try and compete with the Apple content ecosystem that will surely blow all others away once the iPad starts shipping next month. Can an Amazon Kindle e-reader application pre-loaded on Dell's device really give an iPad a run for its money?

Continue reading Dell's New Mini 5 Tablet Will Include Amazon Kindle Reader. Will Apple Care?

Dell's New Mini 5 Tablet Will Include Amazon Kindle Reader. Will Apple Care? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: AMR Corp (AMR), Stocks to Buy

Imagine how selected, better-performing airlines would be doing if the price of oil was $40, instead of roughly $80, as it is now? They'd be soaring, pun intended.

AMR Corp. (AMR), parent of American Airlines, first discussed here on June 22, 2009 at a price of $4.28, is poised to take advantage of a scaled-down U.S. airline sector.

Note of caution: American Airlines is a high-risk stock, not suitable for moderate-risk/low-risk investors. Don't buy AMR if you can't tolerate losing 50% of your position's value: it could happen.

Continue reading American Airlines: Airline Sector Survivor

American Airlines: Airline Sector Survivor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: China

Over the years, Warren Buffett has focused his investments on mature categories, like railroads and utilities. While the returns are not high, the risk levels are much lower and it is easier to put large amounts of money to work.

But this does not mean Buffett has given up on growth plays. Just look at his investment in BYD, which is a Chinese company that builds cars and batteries. And yes, the company is growing like a weed.

Continue reading Buffett's BYD in the Fast Lane

Buffett's BYD in the Fast Lane originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Connecticut Democrat's "Restoring American Financial Stability Act" is the most sweeping redo of financial regulations since the Depression. Among its many changes, it would establish a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and prevent institutions from becoming "too big to fail."

Continue reading Dodd Unveils a Massive Financial System Overhaul

Dodd Unveils a Massive Financial System Overhaul originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:00:00.

Filed Under: Economy, People, Investing

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"We have decided to go long in one sector that is in the midst of a rebirth -- the nuclear power industry where we have been bullish now for the last two years," says Steve Christ.

The editor of The Wealth Advisory explains, "While some think the nuclear revival is something new, this is one bandwagon we have been on for years. In recent years, the industry has been slowly rebuilding itself providing investors with a future growth opportunity."

Continue reading McDermott (MDT): A nuclear option

McDermott (MDT): A nuclear option originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Ford Motor (F), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

Ford's (F) Alan Mulally believes that the U.S. automaker stands to gain more market share in the U.S. at the expense of Japan's Toyota, which is in the midst of a huge product recall and public relations nightmare. Mulally's statement sounds pretty obvious, but it's true. It's already happening.

Continue reading Ford to Gain More U.S. Market Share as Toyota's Mishaps Continue, Says CEO

Ford to Gain More U.S. Market Share as Toyota's Mishaps Continue, Says CEO originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: CVS Corp (CVS), Stocks to Buy

You can count on spring following winter, and you can count on drug store chain extraordinaire CVS Caremark Corporation (CVS) growing sales.

Look for CVS, first written about here on February 16, 2009 at a price of $27.30 to post same store sales growth of 4-6% in 2010.

Continue reading CVS Is Poised to Move Higher

CVS Is Poised to Move Higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Management, Amer Intl Group (AIG), Politics, Financial Crisis

Can you imagine this? You work for a company, AIG, and are responsible for billions of dollars of losing derivatives trades that ends up in a $180 billion government bail out and now you are getting $46 million dollars in pay and bonuses, even if you have left the company.

It was American International Group's (AIG) division AIGFP that was responsible for the bad trades. It is the former and current employees who worked in AIGFP who are receiving the $46 million.

This $46 million is taxpayer money, coming out the government bail out of AIG.

Continue reading AIG to Pay Out $46 Million to Those Responsible for Its Demise

AIG to Pay Out $46 Million to Those Responsible for Its Demise originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Calif Pizza Kitchen (CPKI), Stocks to Buy

California Pizza Kitchen (CPKI), first written about here on May 15, 2009 at a price of $13.53, remains a close-call, from an investment standpoint, but the bias is to retain the play.

Note: I consider California Pizza Kitchen to be a high-risk stock not suitable for low-risk/moderate-risk investors.

The company reported another in-line earnings quarter in December, but revenue rose for the first time in five quarters, giving investors hope that the tide has finally started to turn in the 250-restaurant chain's favor.

Continue reading California Pizza: For High-Risk Investors Only

California Pizza: For High-Risk Investors Only originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Major Movement, International Markets, Good news, Google (GOOG), China, Options, Technical Analysis

Baidu.com (BIDU - option chain) shares are rising today on reports that Google (GOOG) advertisers in China have been advised to switch to its rivals, including Baidu and Sohu.com (SOHU). This is on the heels of this weekend's report that Google will shut down its Chinese search engine rather than bow to the countries strict censorship rules. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on Baidu.

BIDU opened this morning at $570.48. So far today the stock has hit a low of $563.20 and a high of $628.50. As of 12:35, BIDU is trading at $581.05 up $30.81 (5.6%). The chart for BIDU looks neutral and S&P gives BIDU a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Continue reading Baidu to Gain from Google's China Search Exit

Baidu to Gain from Google's China Search Exit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, China, ETF Investing, Stocks to Buy

Things are heating up quite nicely in the Chinese economy, and if news sources can be believed, the Chinese financial wizards seem to have things fairly well in hand. By face-value reckoning, it appears to be a good time to shift some investment capital towards China. But be warned, things can change on a moment's notice.

Industrial output is picking up in China. The government there reports better-than-expected export numbers. Banks are being pressured to cut back on lending because things have gotten so hot that inflation is now an approaching issue. The monetary mood of the general population is quickly shifting from a liquidity stance to an equity mode.

Continue reading Is It Time to Invest in China?

Is It Time to Invest in China? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Walgreen Co (WAG), Stocks to Buy

This is still a selective market: select the wrong stock, and there's a 30-40% haircut up ahead; select the correct stock, and you're positioned for the recovery with modest downside exposure.

Drug store chain Walgreen (WAG), which I first discussed here on February 17, 2009 at a price of $25.46, is a stock worth considering, despite a recent pull-back. Here's why:

Continue reading Walgreen: A Superior Defensive Play

Walgreen: A Superior Defensive Play originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Options, Technical Analysis

Late Friday, Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) expanded the size of its planned senior notes offering from $550 million to $800 million. The sale of senior notes due 2015 was conducted via private placement, with the notes bearing an annual interest rate of 8.75%. Stakeholder Liberty Media (LCAPA) was slated to buy $150 million of the notes.

The offering is intended to provide Sirius the ability to prepay, in full, all of its borrowings under a senior secured term loan that matures in 2012. The satellite radio company will also redeem notes due 2013, and finance the fees and expenses related to the notes offering.

Continue reading Sirius XM Radio Selling $800M in Notes to Pay Down Debt

Sirius XM Radio Selling $800M in Notes to Pay Down Debt originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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