Archive for April 29th, 2008
Posted by: in Business News
Filed under: Business, World wide web, Web services, Social Software, web 2.0
 Yelp lets customers write reviews of restaurants, shops, and all sorts of other businesses in communities throughout the country. And that’s the sort of service that makes the site both incredibly useful and incredibly dangerous for business owners.
Now Yelp is giving business owners tools that let them keep a closer eye on the reviews their establishment is receiving. If you sign up for a Business Owner Account, you can track how many people view your business page, update your business profile, and send messages to people who have reviewed your business. In order to get a business owner account, you’ll obviously need to verify that you actually run the business in question.
Of course, there’s no guaranty that you’ll be able to prevent people from writing that your food tastes stale or that your bathrooms are smelly unless you actual improve your food and clean your bathrooms. You know, unless those folks on the internet are lying. But that never happens.
[via TechCrunch]
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Posted by: in Latest News
Filed under: Deals, Marketing and advertising
When IHOP (NYSE: IHP) concurred acquire Applebee’s nine months ago, Applebee’s shareholders were none too pleased. Highly respected investor Sardar Biglari vocally opposed the deal, Applebee’s director Burton Sack made plans to sue, and shares of IHOP rose more than Applebee’s on the announcement — a very rare occurrence.
But now things have changed as the restaurant industry has continued to weaken and shares of IHOP have lost a good chunk of their value. Applebee’s competitors like Ruby Tuesday’s (NYSE: RT) have plunged, and the deal is looking less well timed.
The company released its first quarter results this week and the Applebee’s turnaround appears to be doing as well as could be expected given the environment — the company saw the first quarter of positive same-store sales growth in two years. However, plans to sell and lease back some of the real estate that came with the deal has been “challenged by weakening credit market conditions.” The plan to franchise more of the company-owned stores has made some progress.
In an interview with USA This day, IHOP chairman and CEO Julia A. Stewart explained her plan to revitalize Applebee’s. The paper stated that she wanted “better food, superior ads, superior atmosphere and conversion to a near-100% franchise business model from the current about 75%. She wants Applebee’s again to be the friendly, neighborhood bar and grill it was.”
Stewart might have overpaid for Applebee’s, but that happens with nearly each acquisition. In addition, the ill-timed buy pulled IHOP out of the acquisition game right before a lot of other restaurant companies got cheaper. If Stewart can’t make hay out of Applebee’s, she’ll have a lot of explaining to do.
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Posted by: in Latest News
Filed under: Deals, Launches, Viacom (VIA), Blockbuster Inc ‘A’ (BBI), Circuit City Stores (CC)
 Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) must want to own a piece of everything. First, it made a bid for Circuit City (NYSE: CC) and now it is trying to get a piece of the new pay TV channel being launched by Viacom (NYSE: VIA).
Viacom states it will start a TV network with movies and other video content with contributions from MGM and Lions Gate (NYSE: LGF). The channel will compete with HBO and Showtime.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “As part of a deal being discussed, Blockbuster would get digital rights to the new channel’s programming in return for an investment in the partnership.”
How that makes sense is a mystery. The Viacom channel can sell DVDs though a number of outlets. Streaming content over the web does not require help from Blockbuster. How does a company with rental stores and a DVD-by-Internet operation help a pay Television channel which will be distributed by satellite and cable?
Blockbuster has problems of its own. For starters, it just needs to stay in business. Its stock trades at $2.98, near a 52-week low, and down from more than $20 less than five years ago. Putting capital into new ventures or nutty M&A transactions is a waste of shareholder money.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 Letter.
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Posted by: in Latest News
Filed under: Deals, Industry, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bear Stearns Cos (BSC), Federal Reserve
 Hyperbole? Maybe.
The former head of monetary policy at the Fed called the agency’s action on Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) the “worst policy mistake in a generation.” To some extent, the comments by Vincent Reinhart reflect his thought that the Fed didn’t look at a number of other alternatives for saving the investment bank. According to The Wall Street Journal, “seeking other suitors, removing certain assets from Bear’s portfolio or swiftly implementing its previously announced offer to temporarily swap Treasury securities for dealers’ less liquid assets” were all options.
The comments beg the question of what would have happened to the financial markers if Bear Stearns failed. The answer the Fed gives is that assets of other firms could have been destroyed or at least might have lost some of their value.
Rienhart may have a point. The Fed has made funds available to banks in exchange for paper, some of it with little value, which is, in many cases backed by mortgage-related securities. More recently it has let primary brokers have access to money on a similar basis. That mechanism wasn’t in place when Bear Stearns was sold to JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) with Fed backing. Reinhart’s real question is whether it was necessary to wipe our the investment bank’s shareholders in exchange for saving its customers.
The Fed probably did act too fast. How many days would it have taken to ask for other bids for the investment house? Could the Fed have kept Bear afloat during that period? The answer is almost certainly “yes”.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and writes the Ten Stocks Under $10 Letter.
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Posted by: in Latest News
Filed under: Before the bell, Earnings reports, Deals, Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Market matters, Wrigley, (Wm) Jr (WWY), Economic data, Housing, Federal Reserve
 Stocks futures were lower early Tuesday morning ahead of the Federal Reserve Open Committee two-day meeting set to start today. On Wednesday, Fed chairman Bernanke will announce the policy decided, and while most investors expect a quarter point rate cut, they also anticipate the Fed to announce a pause in the cuts following some inflationary pressures.
On Monday, stocks completed the day little change ahead of the Fed meeting and despite some massive deal news involving candy maker Mars and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) buying chewing gum maker Wrigley (NYSE: WWY) for some $22 billion. Also, Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. announced its intention to purchase 20 million of Ford (NYSE: F)’s shares at $8.50 per share. With that, the Dow industrials ended the day down 20 points, or 0.16%, the S&P 500 fell 1 point, or 0.11%, while the Nasdaq rose 1 point, or 0.06%.
Not many economic releases this day. Still, already RealtyTrac reported that foreclosures soared 112% in the first quarter, compared to a year earlier. And still in the housing sector that doesn’t seem to be able to find a bottom yet, before the bell, the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index is due for release.
Also this day at 10 a.m. EDT, April consumer confidence index will be reported and economists are expecting the index will slide from the previous month. With higher food and energy prices, along with the troubles in the housing sector and the increasing troubles in the labor market, this is far from surprising.
In corporate news we’ve Visa (NYSE:V), which reported its first quarterly results since going public. While net income climbed 28% and earnings per share of 52 cents handily beat estimates of 45 cents per share, the stock is trading down over 5% in premarket trading as expectations were likely for even better numbers.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) reported Tuesday its first quarterly loss since 2003 as it announced that it wrote down $4.2 billion during the first quarter. Shares are down 1.2% in premarket trading.
Finally, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) announced it plans to cut one shift each at pickup truck and large sport utility car plants in Flint and Pontiac, Mich.; Janesville, Wis.; and Oshawa, Ontario, resulting in about 3,550 layoffs. GM stated it will make about 88,000 fewer pickups and 50,000 fewer huge SUVs this calendar year.
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Posted by: admin in News
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Posted by: in Latest News
Filed under: Deals, US Airways Group (LCC), UAL Corp (UAUA), Delta Air Lines (DAL)
Another day. Another merger of two struggling airlines.
This time it’’s UAL Corp.’s (NYSE: UAUA) United Airlines and US Airways Inc. (NYSE: LCC), which together lost more than $773 million in the first quarter are reportedly in are “advanced” merger speaks, two sources familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. These “sources” might be public relations people who are leaking details of the deal at the direction of the investment bankers and the companies themselves.
Wall Street is reacting positively to the news sending shares of US Airways in mid-afternoon trading. I’m not so sure a party is in order. For one thing, as Reuters and the Associated Press both have noted this is a marriage of necessity.
“The discussions intensified over the weekend after Continental Airlines Inc, which had been in negotiations with United, pulled out to explore a potential marketing alliance with AMR Corp’s American Airlines and British Airways Plc,” according to Reuters.
The combined company would have to compete against the combined Delta Airlines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest Airlines Corp. (NYSE: NWA) which will create the largest airline.
Airline mergers have had such a lousy track record, what makes people think these will be any different?
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