BloggingStocks

Brocade and Foundry switch on a $2.9 billion deal

Tom Taulli — 2008-07-22T10:56:00+00:00

Filed under: Deals, Cisco Systems (CSCO)

Foundry Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FDRY), which builds networking technologies, went public in 1999. With the Internet surge, the stock price went over $200.

Of course, that was a temporary thing. Since then, Foundry's shareholders have suffered.

However, this week they got some cheery news. Foundry agreed to sell out to Brocade (NASDAQ: BRCD). The deal comes to about $2.91 billion in a combination of cash and stock.

Essentially, the deal blends some key technologies. While Brocade has a strong footprint in fiber channel systems, Foundry is a top player in switches and 10-gigabit Ethernet offerings.

If anything, it's a necessary step to deal with the intensely competitive environment, especially against the mighty Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO).

No doubt, Brocade has demonstrated success with M&A, such as with its acquisition of McData. However, networking deals can be tricky. After all, Brocade operates primarily on an OEM basis whereas Foundry has a large direct sales force.

There is some financial risk too as Brocade needs to borrow about $1.4 billion.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

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Dimdim drums up $6.4 million

Tom Taulli — 2008-07-16T16:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Next big thing, Adobe Systems (ADBE), Small business

A group of tech veterans -- DD Ganguly, Jayant Pandit, Saurav Mohapatra, Sundar Subramanian and Rohit Shankar - have worked on various projects, despite being in far-flung places across the globe. They did so by leveraging free technologies such as Skype to help manage things.

However, they also wanted to share screens, but couldn't find anything for it as the conferencing software was either too expensive or complicated. So, they started a new company: Dimdim.

That was in 2006 and, as of now, Dimdim is getting lots of traction. In fact, the firm has raised $6.4 million in venture capital. The investors include: Index Ventures, Nexus India Capital and Draper Richards.

Dimdim is available as downloadable open source software. There is also an on-demand version.

For the most part, Dimdim is gunning for a large market opportunity. For example, Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) purchased WebEx for a whopping $3.2 billion. Other major players in the space include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS) and Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE).

So, if Dimdim can develop an enterprise-ready version and can provide it on a low-cost basis, the impact could be highly disruptive. And now, the company has some capital to give it a try.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

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Cramer on BloggingStocks: Eventually, balance sheets will matter again

Jim Cramer — 2008-07-16T09:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Intel (INTC), Market matters, Caterpillar (CAT), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Black and Decker (BDK), Boeing Co (BA), Wachovia Corp (WB), Texas Instruments (TXN), Deere and Co (DE), United Technologies (UTX), Eaton Corp (ETN), Stocks to Buy, Cramer on BloggingStocks

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says when the dust settles, we'll notice the reduced equity here, and stocks will rise to reflect it.

Do corporate balance sheets matter? One of the things that you will see in the next few weeks is everyday industrial companies brimming with cash. You are going to see buybacks of huge proportions. Companies like Deere (NYSE: DE) (Cramer's Take) and Parker-Hannifin (NYSE: PH) (Cramer's Take) and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) (Cramer's Take) are swimming in cash. United Technologies (NYSE: UTX) (Cramer's Take), Emerson (NYSE: EMR) (Cramer's Take), huge. Every drug company, big. Almost every major tech company from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) (Cramer's Take) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) (Cramer's Take) to Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) (Cramer's Take) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) (Cramer's Take). Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) (Cramer's Take), which just reported, has a monster amount of cash. (Eaton (NYSE: ETN) (Cramer's Take) will soon, after the smoke clears.)

I know it doesn't matter at all. Right now we are so stuck on the banking problems and on the companies bleeding from higher energy prices that nobody cares about all of this cash, which will be used to shrink equity. They won't care because the banks, brokers and homebuilders, and the hobbled companies that use oil, have to issue so much equity that you can't see the effect of the equity shrinkage. But it will eventually matter. It has to matter that Deere has taken out 10% of its stock in the last four years. It does matter that Black & Decker (NYSE: BDK) (Cramer's Take) has eliminated almost 20% of its equity. Emerson's taken out 5%, same with Boeing (NYSE: BA) (Cramer's Take). There's just a huge amount of equity being shrunk.

It is not too soon to begin thinking of the post-banking world, where much of the banks' equity is wiped out. To me it will go to these stocks after the money that's headed to oil and gas, a segment that I think will only be expanding as oil and gas gets added to the S&P to replace all of the banks that are coming out of it.

Don't focus on these amounts of cash yet. But when we blow through the banks, they will be worth looking at for certain.

Random musings: Opco's "sell" call on Wachovia (NYSE: WB) (Cramer's Take) yesterday seemed too glib. As Bob Steel, the new CEO, tries to figure out what to do, it isn't worth downgrading here. Steel's splitting WB into a good and bad bank, and it may actually restore some value rather quickly. I have hopes that it will work, but events are overcoming the situation so fast that it will be hard to split WB into a good and bad bank. This one's too big to fail, by the way, if you are caring. Nonperformers for this Pick-a-Pay portfolio bought from Golden West are at 3.8%. That's just catastrophic. But the actual total portfolio is still not bad at 1.18% of total, and it isn't until 2% that I really worry -- that's not included in the report. ... JNJ's quarter is magnificent. This is the group to own besides oil and gas, and the latter is in for some very rough days. ...

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RELATED LINKS:
Cramer: Pick a Pharma Now
J&J Beats Profit Expectations
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Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. At the time of publication, Cramer was long Deere and Black & Decker.

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Early analyst calls (CSCO) (CBS)

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-07-16T07:44:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Cisco Systems (CSCO), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS)

Credit Suisse downgraded Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) to "neutral" from "outperform", according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Caris initiated CBS (NYSE:CBS) with a "below average", and set an $18 price target.

Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) Started at Outperform at RBC Capital, according to 24/7 Wall St. The financial website also claims that CSX (NYSE:CSX) was raised to Buy from Neutral at Merrill Lynch

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Analyst initiations: OXPS, CPSL, WMS, MOT, CSCO, SONS

Eric Buscemi — 2008-07-15T12:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Motorola (MOT), Analyst initiations

MOST NOTEWORTHY: OptionXpress, China Precision Steel and WMS Industries were today's noteworthy initiations:

JMP Securities expects OptionXpress (NASDAQ: OXPS) to continue to benefit from continued retail adoption of options and futures trading and expansion of its platform outside the U.S. Shares were assumed with an Outperform rating and $29 target.
Merriman believes China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL) should be able to gain market share as it mainly competes against foreign imports and currently has a lower cost to manufacture. The firm started shares with a Buy rating.
Soleil expects WMS Industries (NYSE: WMS) to do well as it benefits from market share gains and continues to boost operating efficiencies. The firm initiated shares with a Buy rating and $34 target.

OTHER INITIATIONS:

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was initiated at Societe Generale with a Sell rating.
Pacific Growth initiated Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) with a Neutral rating.
Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS) was started at JP Morgan with a Neutral rating.

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Most overvalued & undervalued tech stocks, best places to live 2008 & banks at risk - Today in Money 7/14

Allan Halprin — 2008-07-14T08:36:00+00:00

Filed under: Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), eBay (EBAY), Starbucks (SBUX), Amazon.com (AMZN), Intel (INTC), Money and Finance Today, Anheuser-Busch Cos (BUD), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Harley-Davidson (HOG), EMC Corp (EMC), IndyMac Bancorp (IMB)

In the News:

· U.S. Rescues Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac

· Another American Icon Falls as Belfium's InBev Buys Anheuser-Busch for $52 Billion

· Yahoo Rejects Microsoft's Latest Offer

· Golden Era of the Small Seller on eBay Comes to an End

· Microsoft Cuts Xbox Price by $50

· Steve & Barry's Collapse Hits Mall Owners

· Starbucks Turns to Smoothies

· The Harley Museum Goes the Whole Hog

Most Overvalued & Undervalued Tech Stocks
Foreign revenues and other factors that once offered safety are now threats, and investors are doubting the growth prospects of Internet giants. See if Amazon, Cisco, Dell, eBay, EMC, Google, HP, Microsoft, Intel, Yahoo are undervalued, fairly valued or overvalued.
What's Hurting Tech Stocks Overvalued or Undervalued? - BusinessWeek

Best Places to Live 2008
Topnotch schools, good jobs, affordable housing, low crime, an active outdoor culture help Plymouth, Minnesota to replace Middleton, Wisconsin on top of Money Magazine's annual list of the Best Places to Live in America. Other places in the top 10 include Ft. Collins, Colorado, Naperville, Illinois, Irvine, California, Franklin Township, NJ, Norman, Oklahoma, Round Rock, Texas, Columbia/Ellicott City, Maryland, Overland Park, Kansas and Fishers, Indiana.
Best places to live 2008 - from MONEY Magazine
Also: Texas is Home to Most Cities on Best Places List

Banks at Risk of Failing Almost Double Since 2006; Is Your Money Safe?
Rising losses from bad mortgages and low capital levels are threatening the viability of a small, but growing, number of U.S. banks. On Friday, IndyMac, a mortgage lender with $32 billion in assets, became the fourth-largest financial institution to be taken over by regulators. IndyMac is the fifth institution to fail this year and likely won't be the last victim of the credit crisis. See how bank failures happen and what it means to you.
Banks at risk of failing almost double since 2006 - USATODAY.com
Q&A: How bank failures happen and what they mean - USATODAY.com
From MainStreet - Are Your Banks FDIC Insured?

Buying Private Insurance Can Be Tricky
Think shopping home and auto policies is fun? Try buying your own health insurance. Like "Operation," private health insurance is a game where the smallest error can cause a huge (financial) shock.
Buying private health insurance -Bankrate.com

Unusual Ways Airports Are Making Money
Airports around the country are trying out surprising sources of income. Anyone want to buy some hay? Traditionally, airports have generated most of their money from airlines-in the form of landing fees and fees for the use of terminal facilities-and from non-aeronautical sources such as parking lots, concessions, and advertising. But while the costs to run an airport have risen significantly over the years, airlines, pinched by high fuel prices, have balked at paying increased fees. In the scramble for dollars, some airports, especially smaller and midsize ones more vulnerable to losing airlines because of higher fees, have turned to selling everything from branded products to natural-gas drilling rights.
Unusual Airport Income - Business Travel - Feature Articles - Portfolio.com

How to Cash in on Your Baby if You Aren't Angelina Jolie
Don't let the stars outshine you. You may not be able to command seven figures for your baby's photos, but there are tons of freebies waiting to be plucked by new parents. And MainStreet has a list.
How to Cash in on Your Baby If You Are Not Angelina Jolie | MainStreet

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QLogic Corporation (QLGC): Price defines bullish 'pennant' formation

Larry Schutts — 2008-07-11T13:49:00+00:00

Filed under: Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Good news, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), International Business Machines (IBM), Technical Analysis, Stocks to Buy

QLogic Corporation (NASDAQ: QLGC) provides the controller chips, host adapters, fabric switches and management software used by storage area networks. Products include fiber channel and iSCSI host bus adapters, InfiniBand host channel adapters, fiber channel switches, InfiniBand switches, and storage routers for bridging fiber channel and iSCSI networks. Customers include Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and IBM (NYSE: IBM).

The firm pleased investors earlier in the week, when it boosted its fiscal Q1 EPS guidance from 26-28 cents to 30-31 cents and its Q1 revenue view from $154-$158 million to $166-$168 million. The new ranges topped consensus Street estimates of 27 cents and $156.40 million. Caris & Company subsequently improved its rating on the issue to "above average" and raised its price target to $18.

QLGC shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Altogether, brokers now recommend the stock with two "strong buys", three "buys", nine "holds" and one "underperform". The QLGC Price to Book ratio (2.83), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (10.34), Sales Growth rate (47.37%), Operating Margin (22.36%), Net Profit Margin (16.09%), Return on Assets (10.80%) and Return on Investment (12.00%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 91% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $11.46 and $17.97. A stop-loss of $13.40 looks good here. Note that QLogic is expected to report Q1 results on July 21st, after the close.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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Before the bell: Futures higher after Dow deal, ahead of retail sales

Melly Alazraki — 2008-07-10T07:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Before the bell, Deals, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Wal-Mart (WMT), Market matters, Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Costco Wholesale (COST), Dow Chemical (DOW), Economic data, Housing, Federal Reserve

Stock futures were mixed early Thursday morning, ahead of retailers reporting their June sales and testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. Although June retail sales may benefit from the government checks and the warmer weather, it may not be enough to give stocks the lift they need as investors all but anticipated a possibly good month for retailers. Update, following Dow Chemical announced deal, futures have turned much higher.

On Wednesday, stocks tanked, retreating further in to bear market territory as concerns over financials increased. Specifically, the solvency of mortgage companies Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE). Worries about techs and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) in particular also weighed on the market. The Dow industrials dropped 236 points, or 2.08%, the S&P 500 lost 29 points, or 2.28%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 59 points, 2.60%.

On the economic front, weekly jobless claims data will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT. No recovery is expected in the labor market yet and the data will likely show increased claims.
Also, throughout the day, chain-stores will report June retail sales. Overall, June sales are expected to rise 2.4%, according to research firm Retail Metrics. That's a better rate than the 1.6% gain the companies registered for the first five months of this year, but lower than the average monthly gain of 2.6% last year and an average gain of 3.7% in 2006. A big chunk of this increase, though, is attributed to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Already warehouse club operator Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) said same-store sales, including gasoline sales, grew 9% in June. That beat estimates of an 8.5% increase.

Also in focus this morning is the staggering number of foreclosed homes reported for June. The number jumped last month by more than 50% compared with June a year ago, with 252,363 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in June nationwide, up 53% from the same month last year, but down 3% from May.

Meanwhile, oil prices rose Thursday as further unrest in the Middle East and Nigeria compounded worries of diminished U.S. crude stocks.

And across the pond, the Bank of England on Thursday left its key interest rate unchanged at 5% as it tries to balance a slowing economic growth coupled with inflation.

In corporate news, a big deal was announced this morning. Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) says it has agreed to buy specialty chemicals maker Rohm and Haas (NYSE: ROH) for $78 per share, or more than $15 billion. The per-share price represents a 74% over Rohm and Haas's closing share price of $44.83 on Thursday. Naturally, ROH shares are soaring 69% in premarket trading. DOW shares are declining some 8%.

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Closing Bell: Looking gloomy out there...

Jon Ogg — 2008-07-09T16:14:00+00:00

Filed under: After the bell, Rumors, Yahoo! (YHOO), Cisco Systems (CSCO)

Hopefully we are either getting toward the beginning of the end in this bear trend. If not, we are in for a long 2008 between presidential candidates bantering caught in a weak economy and a down trending market. The daily sell-off is hard to argue against since buying only works for a short period right now. About the best thing the bulls could hang a shingle on today was an initial flat reading seen in some index after the open. That wasn't to hold. All of the same reasons that the bulls hung on to were overrun by the same arguments the bears have been using all along.

Below are the unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA 11,146.30 (-238.40)
S&P500 1,244.66 (-29.04)
NASDAQ 2.234.89 (-59.55)
10YR T-Note 3.834% (-0.046%)
52-WEEK LOWS
TOP ANALYST UPGRADES
TOP ANALYST DOWNGRADES

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) was one of the bigger losers in key technology on two different reports causing concern on Wall Street. Shares were down over 5.3% at $21.66 in today's final minutes.

QLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QLGC) was a winner after it actually raised guidance. Shares were up over 9% today in the final minutes at $15.27.

VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) was a standout winner today. Shares were raised, although there are more questions than answers outstanding on this stock now. Shares were up 2.8% at $33.77 in today's final minutes.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) shares were down over 2% at $24.09 despite rumors on Jerry Yang about to resign. I called the company, and it denied such rumors right on the spot.

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Talk turns to worsening earnings

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-07-07T10:35:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Apple Inc (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Economic data

As each day passes, estimates for how bad Q2 earnings will be grows. According to The Wall Street Journal, "analysts estimate S&P 500 operating earnings -- income excluding one-time items -- fell 11.5% in the second quarter."

While the paper points out that earnings often come in a bit worse than expected, this quarter could be a bit different. Everyone expected the numbers to be bad in sectors including banking, brokerage, insurance, autos, and airlines. But the real question is whether business and consumer spending have been hit harder than predicted.

If spending is down, even companies which are expected to do fairly well such as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) could face rough earnings reports as big business and the little consumers defer purchases which they feel they cannot afford. That means that tech earnings, which were expected to be OK, could take a big hit.

If tech falters, what is left? Energy and commodities companies? Perhaps, but that is thin ground on which to build an earnings season.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Entrepreneur's Journal: Virtualizing your business

Tom Taulli — 2008-06-29T18:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Small business

Darren Shafae operates Paper-Check.Com, which is a proofreading business. Without web-based technologies, his business would probably be far smaller.

"I have taken the best of ideas I have seen, and refined them to meet our needs and improve work flow and customer and employee satisfaction," said Shafae.

So, what kinds of applications does Shafae use to improve his business? Well, let's take a look:

GotVMail: Basically, this is a virtual PBX system. In other words, there is no need to manage hardware or pay for consultants. Instead, Shafae pays for the service on a subscription basis.

Some of the features include custom greetings, multiple extensions, music-on-hold, toll-free numbers, Dial-By-Name Directory and so on. According to Shafae: "GotVMail offers professional voice talent that gives the impression that there are thousands of operators standing by to address client needs and concerns."

WebEx: This allows for remote presentations, including PowerPoint slides. The technology, which is now owned by Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), is fairly affordable for smaller businesses. No doubt, it's quite useful for Shafae. He uses WebEx for things like customer demos, training and customer support.

Rackspace: This company provides premium managed web hosting services. Basically, as Shafae's business started to grow, there was a need to allow for custom components - which is only possible in a dedicated server environment.

By using Rackspace, Shafae was able to save the potential costs of hiring an IT expert as well as purchasing expensive hardware. "Rackspace has saved our business five to seven times this year already," said Shafae. "The company continually monitors our server and, if there is a problem, they let us know, after they fix the problem."

Some advice: Of course, there are always perils when buying web- based applications. To help out, Shafae has some advice:

o. Read the fine print: What if the applications don't perform according to specifications? Make sure you read the contract and you have a way to terminate things without causing much trouble.
o. Do some research: Before making a purchase decision, Shafae checks online venues, such as blogs, message boards and even Twitter. "Most Twitter users are more than happy to give you their two cents," he said.
o. Buying too much: Because of the low price points, it's easy to buy too many web-based applications. In other words, focus only on those that will make a difference.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

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Jabil Circuit (JBL): Price defines bullish 'flag' pattern

Larry Schutts — 2008-06-27T12:51:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Technical Analysis, Stocks to Buy

Jabil Circuit (NYSE: JBL) is a leading electronics manufacturing services firm, providing comprehensive design, manufacturing and product management services to global electronics and technology companies. The firm works for original equipment makers in the automotive, storage, medical, networking, telecommunications, computer and consumer products industries. Top customers include Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK).

The company had good news for investors earlier in the week, when it reported fiscal Q3 EPS of 26 cents and revenues of $3.09 billion. Analysts had been looking for 20 cents and $3.08 billion. Management also guided Q4 EPS to 29-33 cents (29 cent consensus) and Q4 revenues to $3.2-$3.3 billion ($3.19B consensus). Credit Suisse subsequently reiterated its "neutral" rating on the stock, but RBC Capital Markets repeated an "outperform" recommendation and Needham said "buy" again.

The JBL price jumped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Stocks frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Altogether, brokers now recommend the shares with six "strong buys", four "buys" and nine "holds". Analysts see a 27% growth rate, through the next year. The stock's Price to Sales ratio (0.24), Price to Book ratio (1.12), Price to Cash Flow ratio (10.10) and EPS Growth rate (62.50%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 85% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $9.03 and $25.80. A stop-loss of $13.65 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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Cisco (CSCO) says online video will explode

Douglas McIntyre — 2008-06-16T09:26:00+00:00

Filed under: Forecasts, Cisco Systems (CSCO)

Online video has already exploded between video sharing sites like YouTube and all the premium content that media companies are putting online. Cisco (NADSAQ: CSCO) says it will explode again. According to The Wall Street Journal, the firm "is projecting a sixfold jump in Internet traffic between 2007 and 2012."

Not likely. YouTube and its peers are still growing, but not as fast as they were over a year ago when video online was more of a novelty. Media companies have not figured out a way to make a lot of money from putting their programming online. That may mean that they will do less and less of it.

Perhaps the most important reason the use of online video will slow is that carriers, both phone companies and cable firms, want to cut back the amount of bandwidth their customers can use or charge the heavy users. The operations claim services like file sharing are clogging their "pipes" with too much traffic. They need to either cut that down, or make a profit on it.

Cisco may want to check its numbers.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

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Best stocks to retire on from Fortune 40

Eliza Popescu — 2008-06-12T16:19:00+00:00

Filed under: Forecasts, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Coca-Cola (KO), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Procter and Gamble (PG), Economic data

Many of us would be happy to benefit from a quiet retirement without facing concerns of losing all of our hard earned money. Fortune 40 gives us a helping hand by suggesting some big names to invest in that could offer us the results that we are looking for.

One such company is Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), whose earnings surged 35% during its last quarter, helped by its famous anti-inflammatory drug Humira and HIV treatment Kaletra. Looking ahead to the company's performance, CEO Miles White is planing to keep his main attention on its medical devices unit which is seen as a key element against strong competition.

Fortune 40 also looks at beverage maker The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO), which benefits from strong international gains able to beat recent weakness in U.S. In addition, it looks like the company's acquisition of Glacéau and its VitaminWater brand offer it a good support to outperform on the market.

Consumer products maker Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) made it on Fortune 40's list as remarkable for its ability to fight against competitor The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG). Another company that makes its presence felt is pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), cited for its impressive dividend growth rate of 14% over the past five years.

There are also some tech giants on the list, such as Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), which benefits from the strong popularity of video streaming, and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), which expanded its presence into the Web-based software market by launching its Xbox 360 game console.

But those are only a few big names that Fortune 40 recommends to us. To get a clearer and more comprehensive image of these strong companies and their profitability chances just take a look at the Fortune slide show.

Eliza Popescu is a financial writer for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.

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40 best stocks to retire rich on, shoppers beware of shrinking products & top-earning celebrities - Today in Money 6/12

Allan Halprin — 2008-06-12T08:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Apple Inc (AAPL), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Coca-Cola (KO), Walgreen Co (WAG), Money and Finance Today, Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Novartis AG ADS (NVS), Anheuser-Busch Cos (BUD), Procter and Gamble (PG), Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO)

In the News:

· American Icon Anheuser-Busch Gets $46 Billion Offer From Belgium's InBev

· Retail Sales Jump Thanks to Rebate Check Spending

· Mortgage Lender Thornberg Posts $3.3 Billion Quarterly Loss

· State Farm Cuts Gulf Coast Policies

· Steve Jobs Health Concerns Apple Investors

· Martha Stewart Living CEO Resigns

· Mortgage Rates Skyrocket; 30-Year Fixed at 6.5%

· Hedge Fund Fraudster Disappears on Way to Prison

Retire Rich: Best Stocks to Retire On
FORTUNE's trademark long-term portfolio can help put you on the road to a secure future. They include Abbott Labs, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Cisco, 3M, Walgreen, Cascade, Novaratis and Vodafone to name a few of the 40 stocks on FORTUNE's list.
Fortune 40: Best stocks to retire on - FORTUNE

Shoppers Beware: Products Shrink, But Prices Remain the Same
There's a reason why the tub of ice cream you bought last week looks a tad smaller than ones you bought last summer. It is. Many major ice cream makers, hit by higher dairy costs, have shrunk their standard containers to 1.5 quarts from 1.75 quarts, about 1 cup less. As packaged goods makers' costs rise, they eventually have just two choices: raise prices or put less stuff in the package. While most are trying a price boost first, a growing number are shrinking the contents of their packages -- from Frito Lay's chips to Dial soap to Dreyer's ice cream. Other shrinking products include Hellmann's mayo down to 30 oz. from 32 oz., Cheerios & Wheaties have shrunk 1.5oz., Bounty papertowels down to 60 from 52 towels and more.
Shoppers beware: Products shrink but prices stay the same - USATODAY.com

Safeguard Your Home Before a Disaster Hits
Disaster has stormed through the midwest with record rains and through homes from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, with over 1,000 tornadoes reported so far this year. Insured losses due to catastrophe exceeded $3 billion in the first quarter of 2008 -- a new record. Take these steps now to protect your house and valuables -- plus, what to do after disaster hits.
Safeguard Your Home Before a Storm Strikes - Kiplinger.com

America's Money: Debt Crush
Smart spending choices are paying off for Californians Angela and Andrew Sarno while Texan Carla Bowman fights everyday to make ends meet. Americans deep in debt are struggling more than ever amid the credit crisis and economic downturn. See how people got in the hole and what they're doing to get out.
America's Money: Debt crush - CNNMoney.com

Not-So-Rich Airline Rewards
Airline credit cards offer generous rewards. But good luck actually redeeming them.
Airline Cards Offer Big Rewards at a Big Price -SmartMoney

Newest Summer Sun Care Products 2008
Not only do today's sun-care products offer better protection from damaging UVA and UVB rays, they're also more innovative and come in a wide array of prices.
Photo Gallery of New Sun Care Products - BusinessWeek

Top Earning Celebrities
How much do top celebs earn? Can you believe Simon Cowell made over $70 million last year and Ryan Seacrest over $20 million? According to Forbes the top earner over the past year was JK Rowling with $300 million. Oprah made $275 million and 50 Cent $150 million.
The Celebrity 100 - Forbes.com

Tech Free Celebs
You might not be able to live without e-mail or your cellphone but here are some celebs who do. Paul McCartney doesn't know how to operate ATMs and isnt into email. Vince Vaughn doesn't have a cell phone, Simon Cowell doesn't own an MP3 player or a computer, Billy Bob Thornton doesn't use email, Tom Cruise shuns cellphones and email to name a few.
Celebs Who Do Without - Forbes.com

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Are we in for Bush vs. Carter, and what stocks would fare better under each?

Sheldon Liber — 2008-06-11T15:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Rants and raves, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Pfizer (PFE), Coca-Cola (KO), Exxon Mobil (XOM), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Automatic Data Proc (ADP), Avon Products (AVP), Black and Decker (BDK), Chevron Corp (CVX), Costco Wholesale (COST), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Cardinal Health (CAH), Kraft Foods'A' (KFT), Politics, Suntech Power Hldgs ADS (STP), General Dynamics Corp (GD), Northrop Grumman (NOC), Raytheon Company (RTN)

For the first time Monday I heard John McCain comparing Barack Obama to Jimmy Carter. I had heard this before in other arenas, but not from McCain. I guess that despite these two presidential candidates pledging to the American people to bring change and resist politics as usual, they are both, as usual as one could get.

Obama is being shaped by the pressures of running for office and to believe otherwise is delusional. I suppose one has to have hope but the effects of the campaign are becoming clear. Obama has been painting McCain as an extension of Bush, which is nonsense, and now in a typical tit-for-tat response, McCain is filling the air with Carter references.

Both McCain and Obama are wrong in their assessments of their opponents and they are becoming commoners to resort to the bottom of the barrel campaign techniques used in every campaign for most of our nation's proud history. Obama gave up the high ground too easily and McCain has decided he can sling mud with the best of them.

Stick to the issues fellas, or neither one of you will have any credibility left to fight the inflation, sinking dollar, war, oil & food prices, federal deficit, trade imbalances, national infrastructure, health care and Social Security nightmares and a multitude of other issues one of you will be saddled with.

How will either affect stock prices. The market is full of assumptions. If McCain wins, the defense sector, energy, health care, financials and high yielding stocks are probably better bets. Some examples are:

If Obama wins, better bets might be alternative energy, high-tech, consumer staples, retail and non-dividend paying stocks (think taxes). Some examples are:

These are just a few stocks from among those that have been reviewed on BloggingStocks and not current recommendations. They are just meant to give a little flavor to what I sense as market sentiment, and to stimulate some discussion.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.

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Market highlights for next week: Texas Instruments mid-quarter update

Eric Buscemi — 2008-06-07T11:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Conventions and conferences, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), Texas Instruments (TXN)

Monday, June 9

The Pediatric Ethics Subcommittee of the Pediatric Advisory Committee will meet at 8:30 am to discuss the application of 21 CFR 50.52 (Clinical investigations involving greater than minimal risk but presenting the prospect of direct benefit to individual subjects) to FDA-regulated research. The discussion will be illustrated with hypothetical case examples of research involving HIV vaccines in adolescents and controlled trials of inhaled corticosteroids in children with asthma.
Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to give mid-quarter update at 5:00 pm.

Tuesday, June 10

The Pediatric Ethics Subcommittee will meet at 8:00 am to discuss the application of 21 CFR 50.52 to FDA-regulated research illustrated with a hypothetical case example of research using stem cells for treating periventricular white matter injury in children.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) to hold conference call at 11:00 am to discuss business video innovation.
Varian Medical Systems (NYSE: VAR) to hold mid-year review meeting at 12:00 pm.

Wednesday, June 11

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) to present data at ADA conference at 8:30 am.
Resources Connection (NASDAQ: RECN) to discuss management changes at 5:00 pm.

Thursday, June 12

FCC Open Commission Meeting at 9:30 am.
School Specialty (NASDAQ: SCHS) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 11:00 am.

Friday, June 13

Friday the Thirteenth!
W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW) to hold prerecorded May sales conference call at 8:00 am.
Herley Industries (NASDAQ: HRLY) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 9:00 am.

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Agilent Technologies (A): Shares forming bullish 'flag'

Larry Schutts — 2008-05-21T11:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Agilent Technologies (A), Merck and Co (MRK), Technical Analysis, Stocks to Buy

Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A) provides electronic measurement and bio-analytical solutions to the communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis industries. Its Electronic Measurement segment offers such instruments as data generators, multimeters, and oscilloscopes. The Bio-Analytical Measurement unit sells instruments, software, consumables and services for quantifying the physical and biological properties of substances. Customers include Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Merck (NYSE: MRK). The firm was a 1999 spin-off of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ).

Agilent pleased investors last week, when it announced fiscal Q2 EPS of 51 cents and revenues of $1.46 billion. Analysts had been looking for 48 cents and $1.43 billion. Management also guided Q3 EPS to 52-56 cents (55 cent consensus), Q3 revenues to $1.44-$1.49 billion ($1.46B consensus), FY08 EPS to $2.07-$2.15 ($2.08 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $5.82-$5.93 billion ($5.83B consensus). Needham subsequently reiterated its "buy" recommendation and boosted its price target to $42. Standard & Poor's raised its Agilent outlook from "stable" to "positive".

The stock popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "flag" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit flags moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the issue with three "strong buys", four "buys" and three "holds". Analysts expect a 16% growth rate, through the next year. The Agilent Price to Sales ratio (2.30), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (17.23), EPS Growth rate (57.00%) and Return on Equity (19.58%) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutional investors hold about 76% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 500 Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $28.79 and $40.42. A stop-loss of $31.15 looks good here.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold positions in any of the stocks mentioned above.

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Earnings highlights: Cisco, News Corp., Crocs, Clear Channel, WWE, CVS and others

Trey Thoelcke — 2008-05-11T09:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Earnings reports, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Sara Lee Corp (SLE), Clear Channel Commun (CCU), NYSE Euronext (NYX), CVS Corp (CVS), News Corp'B' (NWS), Crocs Inc (CROX)

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) beat Q2 expectations but offered a weak outlook.
Clear Channel Communications Inc. (NYSE: CCU) higher Q1 profits failed to beat expectations.
Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) just missed EPS estimates but raised its full-year guidance.
CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) strong Q1 results only met Wall Street expectations.
eResearch Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: ERES) beat Q1 expectations and offered Q2 and full-year guidance.
Foster Wheeler Ltd. (NASDAQ: FWLT) beat estimates due to a boost in its power plant segment.
Internet Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: INET) reported strong Q1 results on ongoing M&A.
Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY) widened its loss in Q1 but beat expectations.
News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) Q3 earnings jumped on a one-time transaction with Liberty Media.
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) missed Q1 estimates but was upgraded by analysts anyway.
NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) reported a first-quarter profit above analysts' estimates.
Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) Q3 profits surged but fell short of analysts' expectations.
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: WWE) posted strong results but couldn't cover its dividend.

Upcoming results to watch for include Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR), Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI), Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI), Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT), JC Penney (NYSE: JCP), Macy's (NYSE: M), Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Closing Bell: Oil + charts = Fear + pain

Jon Ogg — 2008-05-07T16:21:00+00:00

Filed under: After the bell, Major movement, Earnings reports, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Market matters, Economic data, DJIA

As you saw in a Market tankola note earlier, today can be blamed on oil or many other things. But the charts are likely the real culprit as old resistance levels didn't hold as the new support levels. The bears may have gotten an upper hand for a while if today's sentiment holds.

To top it off, worker productivity data came out strong enough today that it might even allow companies to make more layoffs. Below are the unofficial closing bell prices today:

DJIA 12,814.35 (-206.48; -1.59%)
S&P500 1,392.56 (-25.70; -1.81%)
NASDAQ 2,438.49 (-44.82; -1.80%)
10YR-TBond 3.867% (-0.026)
52-WEEK LOWS.
TOP 10 ANALYST CALLS

Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) beat Street estimates for earnings Tuesday with $1.77 billion in net income, or $0.29 EPS, a 5.4% drop from first quarter 2007. Sales of $9.79 billion beat estimates of $9.75 million. Cisco gave 2008 guidance that met expectations as demand for Cisco's costly networking systems may still be slow during the economic slowdown. Shares fell 2% to $25.78 despite being positive earlier this morning.

Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) climbed after beating second quarter estimates with $1.13 net income or $0.58 EPS. Sales continued to grow across the board over the quarter despite the economic downturn. Shares rose almost 3% to $34.70.

Foster Wheeler, Ltd. (NASDAQ: FWLT) showed a 20% growth in earnings driven primarily by the boost in its power plant segment. Net income for the quarter was $138.1 million or $0.95 EPS, up from $0.80 EPS in the same quarter in 2007. Revenue jumped 56% to $1.8 billion, beating Thomson estimates of $1.48 billion. Shares fell almost 2% to $65.15, but interestingly enough the stock was up big early this morning.

Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNCR) took a massive hit after it released guidance, saying the company is concerned with revenues by Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. On Tuesday, the company reported a 17% profit growth at $0.16 EPS on $29.1 million in revenues, meeting estimates. Shares tanked 43% to $13.04.

UTStarcom Inc. (NASDAQ: UTSI) still soared after releasing preliminary guidance that significantly beat expectations. Revenues are expected to be between $580 million and $590 million compared to initial estimates of $500 million to $520 million due to improved performance in its personal communications unit. Shares closed up 15% at $3.87.

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