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Union-bought politicians chase Wal-Mart out of DC
Tag Archives: Wal Mart
How Much Does Wal-Mart Want the DC Market? Maybe More Than You'd Think
By Erika Morphy, Contributor Washington DC has — had — been primed for Wal-Mart’s expansion into the city. The big box retailer has — had — six stores in the pipeline, three of which are under construction already. Then the City Council unveiled a measure that would require Wal-Mart — all large retailers in fact — to pay its workers $12.50 an hour; quite a bit more than DC’s $8.25 per hour. (Specifically, the measure, the Large Retailer Accountability Act, would require retailers that either make more than $1 billion annually or operate stores larger than 75,000 square feet, to pay employees a living wage.) …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
13 arrested in Zimmerman verdict protests in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said violence and vandalism in city streets resulted in 13 arrests in protests over George Zimmerman’s Florida acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
Speaking at a news conference with Garcetti late Monday, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said about 150 people broke off from a larger, peaceful protest and began walking through the streets, committing multiple acts of vandalism and several assaults.
The officials didn’t elaborate on the assaults or any potential injuries.
Beck said more than 300 officers were called to the scene. They were slow to directly engage the protesters in an attempt to allow a peaceful end to the demonstration.
He said police would take a much stricter posture if the protests continued for another night.
Protesters ran through Los Angeles streets, stopping traffic, breaking windows and at one point raiding a Wal-Mart store, and a major freeway was blocked in the San Francisco Bay Area in the third night of protests in California over George Zimmerman’s Florida acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
Several hundred mostly peaceful protesters gathered Monday night at Leimert Park southwest of downtown Los Angeles, many of them chanting, praying and singing.
But a smaller group of about 100 people splintered off and began blocking traffic on nearby Crenshaw Boulevard, some of them jumping on cars and breaking windows.
At about 10 p.m., a few hours after the splinter protest began, police declared the group an unlawful assembly, and many in the crowd began to disperse.
Several protesters ran into a Wal-Mart store, where they knocked down displays before store security chased them out, and police began guarding the door.
TV news helicopters showed some people apparently throwing punches along the street. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
“I commend the prayer rally attendees in Leimert Park for practicing peace,” tweeted LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, who returned early from an East Coast visit. “I call on people in street on Crenshaw to follow their example.”
In Oakland, dozens of demonstrators briefly blocked all lanes of Interstate 880 at the tail end of rush hour Monday evening, stopping traffic in both directions for several minutes before they were cleared by authorities. Several protesters laid their bicycles on the ground in front of stopped cars.
“You’ve got to go. You will go to jail,” one police officer shouted at demonstrators who were blocking traffic, the Oakland Tribune reported. However, police decided not to make arrests as the marchers, chanting “Justice for Trayvon Martin,” were directed back to surface streets.
Later, another group tried to march up the onramp to Interstate 580 before being turned away by Oakland police and California Highway Patrol officers.
The freeway protesters broke off from a larger group organized via social media that gathered at Oakland City Hall about an hour earlier. Several people were arrested for acts of violence and vandalism while marching from City Hall, authorities said.
Over the weekend, demonstrators in Oakland and Los Angeles blocked traffic and clashed with police in protests over a Florida jury’s acquittal of neighborhood watch volunteer Zimmerman in …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Zimmerman protesters raid Wal-Mart, stop freeway
Protesters ran through Los Angeles streets, stopping traffic, breaking windows and at one point raiding a Wal-Mart store, and a major freeway was blocked in the San Francisco Bay Area in the third night of protests in California over George Zimmerman’s Florida acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
In Los Angeles, several hundred mostly peaceful protesters gathered Monday night at Leimert Park southwest of downtown, many of them chanting, praying and singing.
But a smaller group of about 100 people splintered off and began blocking traffic on nearby Crenshaw Boulevard, some of them jumping on cars and breaking windows.
There was at least one arrest and more were expected, Los Angeles Police Lt. Andrew Neiman said. At about 10 p.m., a few hours after the splinter protest began, police declared the group an unlawful assembly, and many in the crowd began to disperse.
Several protesters ran into a Wal-Mart store, where they knocked down displays before store security chased them out, and police began guarding the door.
TV news helicopters showed some people apparently throwing punches along the street. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
“I commend the prayer rally attendees in Leimert Park for practicing peace,” tweeted LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, who returned early from an East Coast visit. “I call on people in street on Crenshaw to follow their example.”
In Oakland, dozens of demonstrators briefly blocked all lanes of Interstate 880 at the tail end of rush hour Monday evening, stopping traffic in both directions for several minutes before they were cleared by authorities. Several protesters laid their bicycles on the ground in front of stopped cars.
“You’ve got to go. You will go to jail,” one police officer shouted at demonstrators who were blocking traffic, the Oakland Tribune reported. However, police decided not to make arrests as the marchers, chanting “Justice for Trayvon Martin,” were directed back to surface streets.
Later, another group tried to march up the onramp to Interstate 580 before being turned away by Oakland police and California Highway Patrol officers.
The freeway protesters broke off from a larger group organized via social media that gathered at Oakland City Hall about an hour earlier. Several people were arrested for acts …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
UUCP Transfer Files to Old UNIX Computer
By BrentBANKS
I recently installed AT&T UNIX SysV, on an old Pentium computer. I now find that I am unable to transfer files to and from the computer. I previously posted about problems mounting a floppy drive, but that is just bringing up more problems about the filesystem format.
JGT brought to my attention UUCP, where I can transfer files to and from my computers via serial cable.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by jgt
(Post 302832699) 3. Do you have serial ports on the unix system, and at least one of the others?
The unix system should have uucp installed. You will need to create a null modem cable to connect the serial ports. You may have to install uucp on the ubuntu system. There are windows versions of uucp as well. |
The only problem is that I don’t have a cable lying around. And I havn’t seen one in Wal-Mart before. I do however, have the resources to build a cable, if it is possible. I have an abundance of parallel port connectors (25pin printer port). Is it possible to use a parallel port cable instead of a serial port?
Thanks for the help
These 6 States Have the Highest Minimum Wages
By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
In his State of the Union address earlier this year, President Obama called for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour by 2015, with automatic adjustments upward to reflect increasing costs of living going forward. But with the current level of $7.25 an hour, the increase would amount to an almost 25% jump in the costs that minimum-wage employers have to pay, raising concerns about potential impacts on businesses and on employment among lower-paid workers. Although proponents argue that boosting the minimum wage stimulates overall economic growth by putting more money in the hands of workers, opponents respond that minimum-wage increases result in reduced hours for workers because of the cost pressures they put on employers.
President Obama at his State of the Union address. Source: White House.
One interesting fact in the minimum-wage debate is that many states already pay more than the federal minimum wage. Let’s look at the six states that pay the highest minimum wage, according to figures as of the beginning of 2013 from the Department of Labor and more recent updates from various legislative sources.
6. Illinois
Illinois pays workers a minimum of $8.25 an hour, but with several exceptions. Employers can pay workers under 18 as little as $7.75, while tipped employees are subject to an even lower potential minimum wage of $4.95, representing the allowed 40% credit that employers are allowed to claim on tip income. Proposals to lift the minimum wage to $10 an hour over the next four years have raised controversy, especially in light of disparities already between Illinois and surrounding states that opponents say put the state at a competitive disadvantage with its neighbors.
5. Connecticut
Connecticut’s minimum wage is also $8.25 an hour, but it treats its tipped employees slightly better than Illinois, giving them a minimum of $5.69. Last week, though, the Connecticut Senate passed a measure to increase the wage to $8.70 next January and to $9 by 2015, which was a compromise from a more aggressive earlier bill that would have sent the minimum wage to $9.75 within two years. The bill goes to the state House for debate.
4. Nevada
The $8.25 minimum wage that Nevada pays comes with an interesting twist: Companies that offer health insurance benefits to their employees are allowed to pay $1 less in hourly wages. Although a referendum in 2006 required the state to index its base wage to inflation, the wage has stayed the same since 2010. Another perk: Tipped employees have to receive the same minimum wage as other workers. That’s a big cost for Las Vegas Sands , Wynn Resorts , and other companies with casinos in the state that might otherwise be able to pay many of their tip-earning workers less.
3. Vermont
In Vermont, minimum-wage workers receive $8.60 an hour, with amounts rising for inflation each year. Tipped employees, however, take a big haircut, with minimums as low as $4.10 applying to occupations where tips are paid. Vermont’s unemployment rate recently fell to 4%, the lowest since before the 2008 recession, which wage-increase proponents argue is evidence against the idea that high minimum wages automatically mean higher unemployment.
2. Oregon
In Oregon, the minimum wage is $8.95 an hour, with wages having increased along with the rate of inflation for a decade. Oregon’s high minimum wage was specifically cited in testimony before Congress recently, as a National Restaurant Association representative noted that the average number of workers per restaurant in the state has decreased steadily since the minimum wage started rising at a faster rate than the federal minimum wage.
1. Washington
Finally, Washington currently tops the nation with a $9.19-per-hour minimum wage. The wage is indexed to the federal Consumer Price Index. Employers can pay workers who are 14 or 15 years old just 85% of the prevailing minimum wage. Even with the top figure in the country, however, a report from the Alliance for a Just Society found that a single adult would need to earn $16.13 an hour in the state to support basic household needs.
What the minimum wage means for investors
The minimum-wage debate often leads investors to focus on McDonald’s and its fast-food peers, Wal-Mart and similar retailers, and other businesses where relatively low wages are an integral part of the viability of their business models. Yet many workers at those businesses earn more than the minimum wage, making increases largely moot. Moreover, the fact that McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, and similar businesses maintain profitable operations in Washington, Oregon, and other higher minimum-wage-rate states suggests that companies can make adjustments to remain successful — albeit perhaps at some cost to investor profits.
With the House of Representatives having rejected in March a Democratic push to raise the minimum wage to $10.10, the idea of a higher minimum wage is likely to be on hold for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, these states will act as case studies to give evidence of the impact of higher wages on state economies.
Of course, some employers have expanded overseas, benefiting from lower labor costs. For instance, Las Vegas Sands has successfully capitalized on a booming Chinese economy, with its big bet on Macau gaming about a decade ago that’s paid off in spades. The company is now looking to spread its empire further, but will it be able to replicate its prior successes? Learn about all these opportunities, and the risks they pose, in our premium report on Las Vegas Sands. Be sure to claim your copy today by clicking here.
The article These 6 States Have the Highest Minimum Wages originally appeared on Fool.com.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Forget Uncle Sam: Big Business Is Driving Our Green Future
By Aimee Duffy and Tyler Crowe, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Though it may seem as if fans of LNG exports, the Keystone XL pipeline, or green energy have nothing in common, there’s one thing that brings these folks together: government inaction. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, chances are you’re waiting for a decision to be made. For investors, that can be incredibly frustrating, given that these decisions can affect several companies, sectors, and future trends.
There are two areas of energy, however, that are surging ahead with or without government action: renewable power and energy efficiency. In this video, Fool.com contributor Aimee Duffy talks with Tyler Crowe to illustrate the point by examining Wal-Mart‘s efforts to cut energy waste and develop cleaner-burning fuels.
When it comes to dominating markets, it doesn’t get much better than Intel‘s position in the PC microprocessor arena. However, that market is maturing, and Intel finds itself in a precarious situation longer term if it doesn’t find new avenues for growth. In this premium research report on Intel, our analyst runs through all of the key topics investors should understand about the chip giant. Click here now to learn more.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
How About An Assault Pressure Cooker Ban?
Here’s an idea.
How about an assault pressure cooker ban?
In view of last week’s events in Boston, it makes more sense than an assault rifle ban. (Keep in mind that Obamacare probably will not pay for the surgical removal of my tongue from my cheek.)
It’s now well known that a cheap pressure cooker (Wal Mart has them as low as $42.87 for a T-Fal model) can be turned into an IED, which can kill or maim a lot faster than a Bushmaster 223 with a 30 round magazine. Ask the folks who were gathered near the finish line of the Boston Marathon last week.
Where are the “if we can just save one life” folks on this one?
I’m pretty sure that the Second Amendment does not cover pressure cookers, so why not ban them in addition to ball bearings and printed circuit boards that can receive radio signals and switch something on?
A more reasonable question to ask, of course, would be if those folks in the Boston area, who were ordered back into their houses during the manhunt for the two Chechnyan punks who apparently set off the IEDs at the Boston Marathon, would have felt more comfortable with a handgun or an assault rifle to protect themselves and their families?
I know that if this had happened in Northern Nevada, there would have been a whole lot of weapons being loaded and cocked and kept handy until the manhunt was over.
At the risk of being accused of politicizing a tragedy, this is the exact reason we do not and should not ban guns in this country. You have a guaranteed constitutional right to defend yourself from nutjobs like these clowns and, for that matter, anybody else who would do your family and yourself any harm.
Understand that you are not required to do so. But you have the right to do so. And, should you wish to be pro-active in a situation such as this, the nanny staters should not be standing in your way.
One such nanny stater is our own Harry Reid (D-Washington DC Ritz Carleton), who has now completed his transition from a one-time blue dog Democrat who understood exactly the nature of the state he represented to a Barney Frank limousine liberal who could care less about who actually sent him to Washington because he’s above all that.
In last week’s Senate votes on the President’s gun control bill, Reid actually voted FOR an assault weapons ban.
That’s right, Dirty Harry voted to stop me from owning my M1 Carbine, the assault rifle that won World War Two. The rifle we made six and a half million of and sold surplus to citizens’ marksmanship groups in the 50s and 60s for around $21.
He lost by a good 20 votes because even in a Senate run by Harry Reid, there’s enough good sense to realize such a bill was going nowhere.
California Senator Dianne Feinstein poo
Will Selling the Dow in May Work in 2013?
By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Every year as spring reaches full bloom, investors start hearing about how selling in May can be a better move than simply staying invested throughout the year. But given that the strategy doesn’t always work, is it worth giving up on a long-term investing plan to take a six-month break from the stock market? Let’s take a look at how the strategy has fared recently for the Dow Jones Industrials and then take a broader look at why seasonal strategies can be more costly than you’d expect.
“Sell in May” has done well lately
The way the strategy works is simple: It has you sell off your stock exposure at the beginning of May and stay out of the market until the end of October. Then you buy stocks at the beginning of November and hold them until the end of April.
Over the past few years, the strategy has done pretty well. As of yesterday’s close, the Dow had risen more than 12% since the end of October, while the Dow fell 1% from May to October 2012. Both of the two previous years, stocks gained more than 10% during the November-to-April period but posted a drop of 3% and a gain of 1%, respectively, in 2011 and 2010’s summer months. And although the strategy had you miss out on much of the bounce in 2009, it also kept you out of the market during the initial phase of the market‘s meltdown in the wake of the financial crisis.
The cost of selling every six months
With the Dow having hit several new all-time record highs in recent months, sell-in-May advocates have a pretty strong argument that 2013 may be another winning year for the strategy. But before you decide that the seasonal approach is for you, it’s important to understand the costs involved.
The biggest downside to short-term investing strategies is that you greatly increase the tax costs involved if you use taxable accounts. By selling every six months, all the gains you earn will incur tax at short-term capital gains rates, which can be as much as 20 percentage points higher than what investors pay on long-term gains.
Furthermore, depending on what specific investments you use, repeatedly buying and selling can tack on additional trading costs, such as commissions for buying and selling individual stocks or exchange-traded fund shares. Add in the friction from bid-ask spreads, and depending on the size of your portfolio, you can give up a significant portion of any profits you make using the strategy.
Finally, it’s hard to predict which individual stocks will follow the rule. For instance, selling in May last year led you to miss out on nearly 30% gains in Wal-Mart and a 20% gain in Home Depot , and while Home Depot has continued to rise sharply since then, Wal-Mart has trailed the Dow’s overall rise since November. Yet Hewlett-Packard and Intel have exhibited classic
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Competition Gets Pantsed by Kmart
By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
I’ll admit that when it comes to Sears Holdings , I’m not a big fan of the company. I see its death spiral as a slow, painful one for investors. It’s too bad a new marketing campaign for its new Kmart shipping services isn’t the norm, because it’s the type of promo that makes the once venerable retailer seem relevant again.
Laden with innuendo, Kmart’s “Ship My Pants” commercial highlighting the ability of shoppers to get items shipped for free from the company’s website if it can’t be found in stores is actually a pretty funny spot. It’s gone viral, too, serving up more than 5 million hits at this writing, even though it was posted to YouTube just last week.
One actor remarks how excited he is that he can “ship my pants,” while a woman notes that she “shipped my drawers” and a third person can’t believe he “shipped my bed.”
It’s the kind of advertising that’s fresh, despite being tinged with bawdiness. Contrast that with an out-of-touch and out-of-fashion decision by Sears to launch clothing lines by pop stars Nicki Minaj and Adam Levine — an all too reminiscent retread of its Kim Kardashian clothing line — and you have to give them props for going a different route here.
Not that the actual service Kmart is providing is unique, mind you. Wal-Mart offers a free ship-to-store feature, as do J.C. Penney, Radio Shack, Toys R Us, Nordstrom , and a number of other retailers. Actually, so committed to customer service is Nordstrom that it’s even had employees drive items to a customer’s house at no charge to ensure they get it.
Yet the service does set Kmart apart from some of its top rivals, such as Target , which offers only a standard free shipping option if you use your Target credit card for the purchase. Macy’s doesn’t offer it at all.
Yet for those that do provide a free ship-to-store option, Kmart has separated itself by promoting it in a fun, memorable way. But let’s see just how many customers decide to avail themselves of the opportunity and whether it can have an impact on a steadily declining retail base. As the Pets.com sock puppet made clear, a clever advertising campaign doesn’t always translate into sales.
Out of stock
J.C. Penney’s stock cratered under Ron Johnson‘s leadership, but could new CEO Mike Ullman present the opportunity investors have been waiting for? If you’re wondering whether J.C. Penney is a buy today, you’re invited to claim a copy of The Motley Fool’s must-read report on the company. Learn everything you need to know about Penney’s turnaround — or lack thereof. Simply click here now for instant access.
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/14/competition-gets-pantsed-by-kmart/
J.C. Penney's Been a Survivor Before
By Alex Planes, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
On this day in economic and business history …
James Cash Penney opened his first store, one of a chain known as “the Golden Rule,” in Kemmerer, Wyo., on April 13, 1902. Penney originally operated the store in partnership with two other entrepreneurs, but Penney proved the more dedicated of the three partners, and within five years the others had sold their interests and Penney was in sole control of three Golden Rule stores. Within a decade, there were nearly three dozen stores scattered across the Rocky Mountain states, and it was time for a new name for the business: J.C. Penney , named after the man who built it.
J.C. Penney grew rapidly throughout the western half of the United States and had more than 1,400 stores in 1929, just before the stock market meltdown. Unfortunately for James Penney, the crash of 1929 destroyed much of his wealth, and the economic effect of the Great Depression was such that he had to borrow against life insurance policies just to meet J.C. Penney’s payroll. Penney (the man and the company) survived the Depression and grew again, but it took a toll on the health of both. James Cash Penney wound up checking into the Battle Creek Sanitarium — the birthplace of Kellogg , where the highly religious Dr. John Harvey Kellogg attempted to cure his patients with boring food — to recover from the stress of nearly losing everything. That was the end of his corporate leadership, but James Penney remained chairman of the board until after World War II and would serve as an honorary chairman until his death in 1971.
J.C. Penney is also notable, beyond its leading role in American retail, for its formative imprint on Sam Walton. The Wal-Mart founder’s first job following his college graduation was as a management trainee in an Iowa J.C. Penney store. Penney’s focus on maximizing the value of customers’ visits and their purchases remain clear in Wal-Mart’s corporate focus to this day. By the time Walton opened his first Wal-Mart in 1962, J.C. Penney was already truly national — it had opened a store in Alaska that year, and its first Hawaiian location would open four years later. A decade later, J.C. Penney had more than 2,000 stores across the country. This was “Peak Penney,” and the company has never been quite as large, or quite as important to the American economy, since.
The roots of American insurance
A number of prominent Philadelphia citizens and businessmen came together on April 13, 1752, to form the Philadelphia Contributionship, the first property insurance company in the United States. As with many other important developments in early American history, this one owed its genesis to Benjamin Franklin, who had founded Philadelphia’s first volunteer fire brigade in 1736 and saw a clear benefit to insuring the properties that might eventually
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/13/jc-penneys-been-a-survivor-before/
Why Best Buy's Stock Has Doubled This Year, and Why It Should Still Be Avoided
By Brian Stoffel, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Last year may have been one of the worst ones ever for big-box retailers. Shares of Best Buy , RadioShack, and hhgregg fell 50%, 78%, and 50%, respectively. It would make sense that this might be the case, as more and more people use these companies’ stores simply as a venue to test out new products, before going home to order them cheaper on Amazon.com .
Things were bad enough that in early January, I told investors to stay away from Best Buy, even though it had experienced a slight rally. So far, I’ve been wrong. The stock has more than doubled so far this year. But let me explain why I still think you should stay away from the company’s shares.
Anatomy of a rally, in three phases
Source: YCharts.
The first big bump Best Buy got was at the beginning of the year. Holiday sales, especially through the company’s e-commerce site, were much better than expected. The site, in fact, was the third most visited, coming in behind only Amazon and Wal-Mart.
Source: YCharts.
After a relatively flat February, the good news continued in March. First, founder Richard Schulze decided to forgo a buyout offer — something investors actually liked. That was accompanied by an earnings release that showed positive comparable-store sales in the United States. And even though earnings were down from the year before, they were better than expected.
Source: YCharts.
Finally, the company looked to pull a major coup when Samsung announced that it will open as many as 1,400 “Samsung Experience Shops” within existing Best Buy locations. The move makes a lot of sense for both companies. Samsung is able to gain a retail presence without having to build out its own stores, and Best Buy can capitalize on the popularity of Samsung’s phones by attracting more customers.
But what do things really look like over the long term?
Let’s be clear: Best Buy has made a lot of good moves lately. Not only were the company’s e-commerce success and its deal with Samsung encouraging, but it also wowed analysts with the success of its price-match policy.
Still, one needs to take a realistic look at where commerce is heading and where Best Buy stands in the competitive field.
A distribution disadvantage
Let’s take Best Buy‘s e-commerce success, for instance: It’s great to see that the company’s site was frequently visited during the holiday season. But even if Amazon, its main competition for e-commerce, is forced to collect sales taxes — thereby lessening its competitive pricing — Best Buy is still at a huge disadvantage.
Sure, there are Best Buy locations throughout North America. But those are stores, and not warehouses or fulfillment centers. Stores alone could never meet the demands of distributing products that Best Buy customers buy online. It would cost billions to build out an infrastructure of
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/13/why-best-buys-stock-has-doubled-this-year-and-why/
How the Dow's Consumer Stocks Have Fared in 2013
By Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Investors follow the Dow Jones Industrials because it fairly represents a reasonable microcosm of the U.S. economy with stocks from many different industries. So far this week, we’ve looked at health care stocks, financials, energy companies, and tech stocks. Today, let’s turn to the consumer goods sector.
Consumer-oriented stocks play a major role in the Dow because consumers are such a key element of economic activity. The ups and downs of the entire economy tend to follow the behavior of consumers, and companies that can capitalize on changing trends tend to do well. Let’s take a look at how various consumer stocks in the Dow have fared so far in 2013 and what their prospects are for the rest of the year and beyond.
Dow consumer stock total return price data by YCharts.
Two things stand out from this chart. All six of these stocks have performed in line with or better than the overall Dow. Moreover, many of them have done so despite having faced major challenges recently:
- In February, leaked emails from Wal-Mart personnel warned of a “total disaster” in short-term sales to start out 2013. Concerns about the impact of higher payroll taxes and gas prices sent a near-panic throughout the retail sector, especially among those serving lower-income customers.
- McDonald’s has been dealing with ongoing weakness. Same-store sales fell 1.9% in January and 1.5% in February, with particular weakness in the U.S. market. Moreover, concerns about avian flu in China could hurt the company’s growth in the important emerging-market country going forward as fearful would-be fast-food customers choose not to venture out.
- For Coca-Cola , concerns about whether the beverage giant’s products have negative health effects worthy of regulatory intervention have made investors nervous about the company’s weak domestic sales volumes, despite reasonably strong results in other parts of the world.
- After dealing with high input costs, Procter & Gamble took a major hit from Venezuela’s decision to devalue its currency. The event cost the company a one-time charge of up to $275 million, as well as a drag on earnings expected to continue throughout the year.
Yet despite these warning signs, investors still see the consumer sector as a relatively safe place to invest. With easy-to-understand business models and well-known products, these companies are especially compelling to investors who have been out of the stock market for a while and want the security of a familiar name in their portfolios.
Can consumer stocks keep up the pace?
One big issue for consumer stocks is that most of them trade at fairly high earnings multiples. That reflects the investors’ desire to have defensively oriented stocks in their portfolios, but it also greatly reduces the margin of safety that those stocks usually offer. If you anticipate a downturn, you shouldn’t necessarily expect these stocks to hold up as well as they have in the past when the market
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/12/how-the-dows-consumer-stocks-have-fared-in/
Retail Police Blotter: Pretzel Dip Fight at Auntie Anne's
Filed under: Shopping, Wal-Mart, Ripoffs & Scams, Food
Welcome back to the weekly retail police blotter, a new feature that looks back at the week that was in retail crime. If something weird went down at a retail or restaurant chain near you, drop us a line at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com.
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Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.
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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/retail-police-blotter-auntie-annes/
Sears Is Out of Fashion
By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
If Kim Kardashian couldn’t help Sears Holdings turn its retail operations around, what makes it think singer Adam Levine, or rapper-turned-American Idol judge Nikki Minaj, will do any better? The diminished stature of the once-venerable retailer is simply taken down yet another notch as it slaps a new pop icon face across its banner.
Sears is developing a new business unit called Shop Your Way Brands that focuses on entertainment-driven fashion and lifestyle brands, and the Levine-Minaj tag team duo represent the first two also-rans to populate the stage. I’m just not sure the “authentic personal style of iconic artists” is exactly what the typical Sears shopper is looking for.
Levine’s t-shirt and jeans might carry over, but exactly how that differentiates what Sears offers from the clothes found at Target and Wal-Mart is beyond me. And the big curves of Minaj seems to have already been tried with the Karadashian line, though perhaps the pink hair might be a new draw.
It’s easy to understand why Sears might want to hitch its wagon to celebrities, as revenues at the retailer continue to ebb away, dropping more than 4% in 2012, and down 25% since 2007, the last year it recorded a gain. The ShopYourWay social shopping experience drove over half of its revenues at Sears and Kmart in the fourth quarter and for all of last year. But its half of a quickly dwindling pie. In contrast, Wal-Mart sales grew 4% in the fourth quarter, to $127 billion while Target’s sales were almost 7% higher, and neither had to rely upon pop stars to achieve the growth.
It’s true that every retailer has a stable of personalities it relies upon, though more often than not, they’re related to true fashion designers rather than the latest popular reality TV star. But Sears is making an art form out of trying any new shtick to see if it can reverse course and, by this point, you’d think it would realize it’s making some horrible choices.
At this point, I’d be willing to bet J.C. Penney has a better shot at making a viable comeback than does Sears. Perhaps it was done tongue-in-cheek, but a blog yesterday speculated about the chances of Sears buying out Penney, though it concluded adding yet another wounded retailer to its mix of dying brands would probably not serve anyone’s interests.
From Christmas in July to being your quick cash-for-gold broker, financial gimmicks like total return swaps to calving off divisions like Orchard Supply and Sears Hometown, the retailer has thrown a lot at the wall over the years to try and return value to shareholders, but hardly anything has worked.
Despite what it heralds as a new entertainment-driven fashion business, Sears isn’t singing any new tune that shoppers — or investors, for that matter — are likely to want to hear.
J.C. Penney’s stock cratered under Ron Johnson‘s leadership, but could new CEO Mike Ullman present the opportunity investors have been waiting for?
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/sears-is-out-of-fashion/
Costco Hammers Home Its Strength
By Andrew Marder, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
March was a solid month for Costco , and the company posted a 4% increase in comparable sales. The stock was stagnant, though, as analysts had been expecting a 5% increase. But investors shouldn’t be alarmed, as the shortfall was due mainly to exchange rates and lower fuel sales. In its press release, the company said that stripping out exchange rates and fuel changes, comparable sales rose 6%.
Costco has already posted a solid beginning to 2013, with its second-quarter comparable sales — through the middle of February — up 5%. The company has continued to find success through its disruptive membership model, and investors have rewarded it with a 20% increase in the stock price over the last 12 months. But even at its current price, Costco still looks like a good buy.
Solid management leads the way
Costco’s leadership has been focused on meeting its customers’ needs since the company’s founding. But as evidence of its strategic abilities, the company hasn’t been happy just to let its past customers make up the whole of its future customer base. Instead, the company has branched out into business products and homegoods to bring in a new audience.
It has also partnered with local auto dealerships to offer discounts on cars to members. While at the outset this might seem like a gimmick, the theory behind it is brilliant. Costco customers are car owners. In order to get the most out of a membership, you have to be able to transport a huge amount of dog food — or whatever. Costco members are also deal seekers. You don’t just happen into a Costco with a coupon from the paper — you have to really want to save.
Management recognized that it could provide a new service and attract new customers by partnering with local dealerships, who themselves may become members. That kind of cycle is what makes Costco such a solid business. In short, it’s founded on relationships.
Growth for investors
But buying at Costco isn’t the only good deal the company offers. Over the last three years, an investment in Costco has proven to be a world beater. The chart below shows the total return from 2010 to today for Costco and its competitors.
COST Total Return Price data by YCharts.
Costco has been the clear winner, beating out both Target and Wal-Mart . Wal-Mart, in particular, has struggled recently. Reports have come out that indicate the company is having trouble keeping its stores stocked, due to the sheer physical effort required. Target, meanwhile, has had limited success in the last year with its new product lines. The company’s tie-in with Neiman Marcus last holiday season was a flop.
The bottom line
With its strong customer base and relationship-focused business plan, Costco represents the better side of American retail. Workers at the company have generally positive reviews of Costco, and the brand has never been stronger. The company
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/costco-hammers-home-its-strength/
The U.S.' 10 Most Valuable Retail Brands of 2013
By Dan Dzombak, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Recently, brand consultancy Interbrand came out with its report on the 50 most valuable U.S. retail brands of 2013. Read on to find out the top 10.
So how did Interbrand determine their value? In short, Interbrand looks at three key aspects. First is the financial performance of the branded products or services. Interbrand only considers companies with publicly available data that are creating economic value (meaning a positive EBITDA) and generating a minimum of 50% of their sales from their retail stores (this excludes Apple).
The other two aspects Interbrand considers are the role of the brand in the purchase decision process and the strength of the brand — meaning, “the ability of the brand to create loyalty and, therefore, to keep generating demand and profit into the future.”
Here are Interbrand’s 10 most valuable U.S. retail brands of 2013:
| Rank |
Company |
Brand Value |
Change From 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Wal-Mart |
$141.0 |
1% |
|
2 |
Target |
$25.0 |
7% |
|
3 |
Home Depot |
$22.9 |
4% |
|
4 |
Amazon.com |
$18.6 |
46% |
|
5 |
CVS |
$15.9 |
(8%) |
|
6 |
Coach |
$14.6 |
8% |
|
7 |
Walgreen |
$14.4 |
(4%) |
|
8 |
Sam’s Club (a subsidiary of Wal-Mart) |
$13.5 |
5% |
|
9 |
eBay |
$10.9 |
12% |
|
10 |
Nordstrom |
$10.1 |
7% |
Source: Interbrand.
Wal-Mart is the most valuable retail brand in the U.S. by a factor of five. Remarkably, Wal-Mart subsidiary Sam’s Club is the eighth most valuable retail brand in the U.S. Wal-Mart established itself as the dominant low-cost retailer over decades by constantly improving on its processes and supply chain skills under the leadership of Sam Walton. While Sam is no longer with us, Wal-Mart continues to thrive and his family leadership continues today under Chairman S. Robson Walton.
Many people don’t realize the difference in size between Wal-Mart and other retailers. The company’s sales for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2013, were $275 billion in the U.S. Compare that to the second most valuable retail brand in the U.S., Target , with sales of just $72 billion. Even Amazon.com , 2013’s fastest-growing major brand, only did $35 billion in sales in the U.S. in the past year.
Notably absent from the top 10 this year is Best Buy , which moved from fifth in 2012 to 13th in 2013 as the company’s brand value dropped 52% to $8 billion. The electronics retailer had a tough 2012 as shoppers treated its stores as showrooms and then used apps to buy goods cheaper online from Amazon and eBay. In the past, both online retailers benefited from not having to collect state sales taxes, but that advantage is slowly ending.
Best Buy is slowly turning things around this year. It announced in February a policy to match prices found online, and earlier this month that
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/the-us-10-most-valuable-retail-brands-of/
Dow Hits the Fast Lane Toward 15,000
By Jeremy Bowman, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped again today, riding a wave that carried the S&P 500 up 1.2% and lifted the Nasdaq 1.8%. The blue chips finished the day with a gain of 129 points, or 0.9%, topping 14,800 at the closing bell.
The Dow got some help from the Federal Reserve, which released the minutes from its Open Market Committee earlier than expected. After learning that 154 people had gotten the release, including employees at some major banks, the central bank was forced to release the notes at 9 a.m. instead of the usual 2 p.m. There was little new information from the Fed, but the news seemed to confirm investors’ belief that the central bankers would keep present market stimulus measures in practice until the economy improves and the unemployment rate comes down. Some at the central bank said they wanted to reduce the Fed’s bond buying, but overall the market interpreted the report favorably. Hopes for a better-than-expected earnings season also appeared to drive stocks higher.
While tech stocks pushed the Nasdaq up nearly 2%, pharmaceuticals were the biggest gainers on the Dow. Merck jumped 2.9% after announcing that the FDA had accepted a new drug application for Noxafil, a drug for the treatment prophylaxis of invasive fungal infections. Merck is seeking approval for daily use of the application, which is already used for patients over the age of 13 who are immunocompromised. The new drug application is the first step in a long approval process, but since the drug is already in use, its chances of passing are significantly higher.
Pfizer received similar good news today, climbing 2.8% after the FDA called its experimental breast cancer drug, Palbociclib, a “breakthrough therapy.” The drug is in late-stage testing and could be a life-saving treatment for many women who suffer from the often-fatal form of cancer.
There were only four losers among the 30 Dow components today, among them Wal-Mart , which fell 1%. An Indian judge said he would seek more information from the world’s largest retailer about its illegal lobbying activities in India. As Wal-Mart seeks to further penetrate the world’s second-biggest country, it has again run into legal problems, which potentially include bribery. After hours, the company received some favorable news as the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents Wal-Mart along with other retailers, said it would opt out of a $7.2 billion settlement with Mastercard and Visa, a decision that could give retailers greater leverage over the credit card lenders that take a significant bite out of their profits.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Exxon Mobil's Stock Falls As the Dow Sets a New Record
By Matt Thalman, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Only four of the Dow Jones Industrial Average‘s 30 components ended the trading session in the red today, as the blue-chip index rose more than 128 points. The main catalyst for the move higher today was the release of the Federal Reserve‘s minutes from its last meeting. These minutes made it clear that the Fed will only slow its quantitative easing programs once the jobs market dramatically improves. The promise of continued cheap money was enough for investors to push the Dow to an all-time closing high once again today. The Dow now rests at 14,802, after rising 0.88%.
Two of the four losers today were Wal-Mart and Travelers, which lost 0.96% and 0.54%, respectively, this afternoon. This morning I touched on a few reasons for the declines. To read about those companies, click here.
After releasing mixed earnings after the market closed on Monday, shares of Alcoa fell 0.95% today. My fellow colleague John Maxfield pointed out earlier today that the aluminum giant is now the most shorted Dow component. Currently 6.47% of the float has been sold short by investors speculating that the stock still has room to move lower. While this is not a particularly positive thing for the company, it’s really not all that bad, either. But what is a negative sign is that, according to John, the company’s earnings per share have fallen 44% since the financial crisis began. Alcoa also takes the No. 1 spot for this metric when compared with the other 29 Dow components.
Shares of ExxonMobil lost 0.1% of their value today, after a Morgan Stanley analyst changed the stock‘s rating and gave investors a better option. Exxon was cut from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating this morning, in addition to having its target price cut from $90 per share to only $85. The new target price would indicate that shares are worth less than their current price of $88.68.
Morgan Stanley also stated that Exxon competitor and fellow Dow component Chevron will outperform Exxon by 55% over the next five years. Furthermore, Morgan Stanley slapped a price target of $135 per share on Chevron. Reports have cited that higher production growth and improving returns will give Chevron an advantage in the long run.
While the analyst may be correct, the call is a little late. Shares of Chevron have already risen 10.63% year to date, while Exxon’s stock is up only 2.46% in 2013.
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The article Exxon Mobil’s Stock Falls As the Dow Sets a New Record originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Matt Thalman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Chevron.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Why the Dow Jumped 128 Points Today
By John Divine, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Still gathering momentum in anticipation of corporate earnings, the markets rallied again today. Wall Street got some help from the Federal Reserve, which released the minutes of its latest meeting earlier than expected today. Bulls cheered the release, which suggested the central bank will only slow quantitative easing efforts when the job market improves markedly. Ending at an all-time record close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 128 points, or 0.88%, to finish at 14,802.
Health care was one of the strongest sectors today, and Merck shares didn’t disappoint, adding 2.9% to lead the Dow. A Jefferies analyst raised his price target on the shares to $48, citing his bullish view on pharmaceuticals, because of compelling valuation. The company also announced that the FDA will review Merck’s application to market an antifungal drug it’s trying to hawk in Europe as well.
It’s no surprise that the FDA also played a role in Pfizer‘s 2.8% climb today; drug manufacturers often live and die by the rulings of the regulator. Shares soared after the FDA labeled an experimental breast cancer treatment as a breakthrough medicine, meaning the agency will give priority review to the drug, speeding up the process it requires to get to market.
With tech stocks also flying high today, Cisco Systems advanced 2.4% Wednesday. Trading a little over 10 times forward earnings and paying a 3.3% dividend, Cisco shares offer compelling value in a Dow that’s risen 13% this year alone. The company’s new offerings with Microsoft to boost data-center productivity may also help send the stock higher if they catch on quickly.
But not everyone can be winners. Wal-Mart Stores , for instance, was one of only four decliners in the Dow, slipping 1% on PR-related negativity. The executive who called the retailer’s sales “a total disaster” in February, sparking investor fear, is leaving the company. A Facebook group of Wal-Mart critics, “Making Change,” derided the departure as “more of the same failure to address the real issues.”
Once a high-flying tech darling, Cisco is now on the radar of value-oriented dividend lovers. Get the low down on the routing juggernaut in The Motley Fool’s premium report. Click here now to get started.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance