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21 Jan 2011 13:31

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Biz, Tech: Even though Google’s stock is expensive right now, it’s still a “buy”

  • $640+ the stock’s recent price peak, before yesterday’s management shakeup
  • $627 the stock’s price as of when we wrote this, post-announcement
  • $800+ the price some analysts are expecting the stock to hit someday source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Jan 2011 11:01

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Biz, Tech: Apple’s stock not reacting well to Steve Jobs’ medical leave

  • 5.2% decline the drop in Apple’s stock in the wake of yesterday’s announcement that Steve Jobs took medical leave
  • $19
    billion     the amount of market value that was erased in the wake of Jobs’ temporary departure source
  • » Not enough to kill their swagga: Apple shares are still up 66 percent over the last twelve months, and have a higher market capitalization than any other technology stock. So, even without Jobs, they’re still in a good financial position.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Jan 2011 10:58

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Biz, Tech: Stock futures market not liking Steve Jobs being sick again

  • Stock markets don’t have hearts. They’re giant money machines that react to news in callous, cold ways that don’t appreciate the nuances of a person’s achievements. Which is why, when someone like Steve Jobs takes a medical leave of absence – which isn’t the big Apple announcement everyone had been expecting (wait a second, this isn’t shaped like an iPad 2!) – stocks go haywire. Fortunately, they timed the news on MLK day, so the New York stock market gets a bit of a breather. But other markets are still open today, and the futures market isn’t liking the news either. Some quick numbers for you kids:
  • 7.5% Apple’s stock dip on the German stock market today after Jobs’ announcement
  • 0.9%stock futures dip on the NASDAQ – THE ENTIRE THING – this morning after the announcement
  • 0.3% stock futures dip on the S&P 500 – ALSO THE ENTIRE THING – after he dropped the bomb source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jan 2011 21:01

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Biz, Music: Irony: 50 Cent makes penny stock move using influence alone

  • 29¢ increase in a penny stock that Fitty recommended on Twitter
  • 240% the increase in the value of HNHI, a firm that sells headphones
  • $50M the increase in the value of the stock based on Fitty’s tweets alone
  • $10M the amount 50 Cent  made off his 3.8 million followers source
  • » Yeah yeah, we know the irony: A guy named after pocket change just used his power to give a penny stock a boost. And the best part? It’s entirely possible the stock (currently at 39 cents) will reach 50 cents tomorrow. See, when 50 Cent sells out his name, he doesn’t sell it out to make a quick buck on advertising. He sells it out to make a quick buck. Period.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jan 2011 10:15

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Biz: New year, new life: BP’s stock soaring today for some reason

  • 5.6% increase in BP’s troubled stock today alone source
  • » It’s at its highest level in six months. But why? Two things. First off, the cost of BP’s compensation payouts is expected to be much less than first thought, and, secondly, BP could be the target of a takeover. After the year they’ve had, it might be a respite or something.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Dec 2010 22:07

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Biz: Rough-and-tumble year for stocks ends on the upswing

  • 11% jump in the up-and-down stock market in 2010 source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Dec 2010 14:34

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Biz: H&R Block can’t loan you your tax refund early anymore, guys

  • situation H&R Block offered instant loans to those who didn’t want to wait a couple of weeks to get their tax refund – which often benefited low-income customers.
  • conflictUnfortunately for them, the US government stepped in and forced the bank backing the loans, HSBC, to stop offering them, in part due to their very high interest rates.
  • defeatThe decision was made very late last week, and now H&R Block’s stock is down by a solid 10 percent, because they don’t have a backup for HSBC’s loans. source
  • » A weakened competitive position: Unfortunately for H&R block, that 10 percent drop isn’t the only bad news they have to deal with. See, the IRS informed HSBC and Republic Bancorp that they wouldn’t be underwriting the controversial loans anymore, and wouldn’t be informing tax services which consumers were eligible for said loans. But their top competitor, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, managed to find other banks to offer the service, so as a result, they’ll have a significant competitive advantage over H&R Block next year – which has caused H&R Block’s stock to lose nearly half its value and Jackson Hewitt to skyrocket 37 percent in recent weeks. Just a tip to our friends who use these loans – their interest rates are predatory in nature, so be careful.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 Nov 2010 10:15

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Biz: GM hopes for, but can’t promise, a full bailout repayment

  • I don’t know where the market is going to be a year or two down the road, so I can’t make such a bold statement. Sure, I’m hopeful, and I’m not saying it can’t happen. I think the company is well positioned … so things look good for General Motors.
  • GM CEO Dan Akerson • Not committing to a full repayment of the taxpayers’ money from the bailout. It sounds like a hedging of the bets, honestly. If he says it now and the stock goes south, he’s on the record offering a promise he can’t keep. For what it’s worth, though, GM’s stock is doing boffo so far in its first day of trading, already up six percent in early-morning trading. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Nov 2010 23:18

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Tech: Steve Ballmer decides to cash out some Microsoft shares

  • $1.3 billion, or 12 percent, of Ballmer’s stake sold source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 20:39

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Biz: Stock market really likes Federal Reserve’s stimulus plan

  • 11,434 the Dow Jones Industrial’s close today, the highest close of the entire year so far
  • 1.96% the leap the Dow made in reaction to the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion money bomb announcement source
  • » The most impressive part: This is the highest that the Dow has closed since September of 2008, just before Lehman Brothers collapsed and turned the stock market into a shell of its former self. Alright, great. Now when are these largely rehabilitated firms going to start hiring some people back so everyone else can feel the economic recovery?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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