deaverb

Consumer Confidence Index Holds Steady in July

Another good article. Crisp, clear, to the point. Nice work.

Hank Paulson: A Rare Keeper

Too much anger, as reflected in the above comments. Why would anyone want to go to Washington to face all that?

Yes, times are tough. But primarily for the financial sector. Others are doing well, especially consumer, tech.

The biggest challenge is productivity sweeping away middlemen jobs, now middle people jobs. In our company, we can do so much more due to technology improvements from pdfs, downloads, to on line ordering, paperless transactions, transparency, that we can grow quickly without adding staff. Paulson. Obama. McCain. None of them can help those issues.

We went through this from 1865 to 1900 and it had a lot of tough consequences. We haven't seen nearly that disruption.

Home Prices in 20 Major Cities: You're OK If...

An interesting perspective. Especially as you look at markets other than your own. Pee Dee's comments are true if you look at this as a "whole" presentation of the facts. But the author is not purporting to do that. Just presenting an interesting look at things, make of it what we will as a reader. Nice work on that basis.

Time for Another Amazon Share Repurchase

Logical.

Q2 Sector EPS Growth

10 up; 2 down. That's bad? Financials have certainly taken a hit, but look at the rest of the economy. Main Street is fine, as is Tech Street.

Economic Recession, Consumer Depression

The largest problem, though, is the instability in companies for managers and employees alike. In our 24/7 world, even the best of companies are moving here there and everywhere (and I speak as an entrepreneur). Employees are tense. Result: contractors. Fewer and fewer employees are in stable positions--I think that accounts for a ton of the nervousness. Being a free agent is not what most people are good at--but many more must do.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Eli does it again, as always. I feel like Johnny One Note, but fear someone will get Eli to do something different. A wonderful way to start the day being put in the picture, especially the short stories and EPS reports (well, that's about everything; so I guess I like everything).

Homebuilders: Scant Good News [Housing Tracker]

Wonderful source material data. Alpha strikes again! And a fast read to boot. With no pretense. Love this kind of raw data presentation with no pretense.

Memo to Symantec: Time for a PR Strategy Change

Good concrete advice. Deluxe did the same with check partners and lost a good number--and had them make relationships with others. Short term gain; long term loss. A partner council is a great idea. Direct has its place, and a growing place, but don't forget the partners. Good article.

Proctor & Gamble: Consistency Is Crucial to Success

P & G, and the former General Foods where I worked many moons ago, placed too much emphasis on "controlled growth" to satisfy writers such as this one. Letting the chips fall where they may would have led to more aggressive "ups" with less bounce down. P & G would have been able to hold on to lesser brands, many of whom make outsized "real" profits (virtually no mgt attention; they absorb overhead to please the accountants, but they really "overabsorb"... A little more leeway could really make the P & G's bounce--especially if their CEOs leveled with the street. If the street "knew," that would be over 50% of the battle. But, part of the problem, is the boards usually hire "steady eddies" versus go get 'em Steve Jobs types.

The Bright Side of Google’s News

Up 35% is bad? For Google. We need some reality on these postings. For a good market it is darn good; for a down market it is fantastic.

Come on guys. Yes, one can "reprice" the stock based on some of the air coming out, but 35% is a wonderful number....

VCs: Exits? We Don't Need No Stinking Exits!

In the bad old days, VCs drying up meant their investments went to zero--and they liquidated all over the place. Down less than 20% is pretty good; and up in media and energy, the two right places to be?

How bad is that. Again, for an up market it would be bad; but for a supposedly bad market, darn good. Certainly compared to VCs heading for the exits in the past. Also, the tendency to support "old" and "current" deals shows good horse sense--rather than looking for the new unsullied, but untried, thing.

Economic Report Summary: Disappointing Retail Sales

Undue focus on the negative. For a "bad" economy we are doing awfully well, largely insulated by the growth of retail, consumer, and IP worldwide by companies such as GM (yes, in US trouble, but booming offshore, even in Europe), McDonalds, Walmart (23% to 37% of their profits come from nonUS in just 4 years, 2003 to 2007, headed to over 50% in another 4 years).

Housing is one of the last rollercoaster rides. With mfg less important, and more just in time, none of the big swings anymore (whew).

24/7 reporting makes this clear. If that had happened in 1974 or 1982 or 1990, we would have been in far more of a panic. Most people I know are doing more work, speculating less, and that can't help but be a good thing.

For a good situation this is bad; but for a bad one it is very tame.

Historic Financial Collapse Underway?

In a 24/7 news world everything seems better or worse, faster, and more perilous than before this data flew around the world in a nanosecond. 51 great comments--already. Note: 90% plus weren't on the Internet just 10 years ago; 90% couldn't type very well. What does this mean? Enormous productivity rolling through the "system" and disrupting...everythin...

GM is in "trouble" in the US because of legacy costs, to quote the CEO. They are roaring in India & China. Wal-Mart has gone from 23% to 37% profits overseas in just 4 years (how do I know these two things--first on Alpha Alerts, then back to the original sources). McDonald's and a host of other top companies now do over 50% of their profits overseas. Wal-Mart was #1 US retailer in 1990; in 2008 their balance sheet (staggering strong) doesn't look like the same company. Housing had been one of the last rollercoasters in this economy. IP, Consumer, Retail have become increasingly solid, diverse, and profitable. We just "know" more so it seems worse. And YES because of this kind of dialogue, emulated by Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe, is focusing on how govt is messing around with economics, without understanding it. That's all good. Things aren't worse than they've been; there is just more light on it, such as with this author, Jacoby, and the other 51 writers. Keep after 'em. Keep it going.

My little company, Simply Software (simplymagazine.net, simplysoftwarecds.com, simplymedia.com and 20 others to the same site), just went to 24/7 downloads at $3.99 each of our 142 audiobook/software products we own outright (no royalties; no tails; ergo, no litigation). Over 50% of the sales are coming from off shore (not North America); 1% when we shipped physical products. Productivity is at 100% (all autopilot; not touched by human hands). So a $10 product is now $3.99, and we do better. That's happening everywhere, as the GMs cut back head count (aren't they making about the same number of cars with 20% of the people?). Cheer up. Why? Our fastest growing download AND physical sales are in India and China--yes, they are paying the IP!

Ten Back to School Stocks

Nice article. We sell schools, libraries, parents and even students audiobooks and software such as Musical Instruments. High prices are really annoying these buyers so many are looking for lower prices such as ours. Dollar Tree, for example, has a whole "Teachers" area--that parents, students, and libraries shop, in addition to teachers. The textbook people need a new paradigm or will wither away. Certainly poor investments--trying to catch a falling knife.