Results for Bob Blandeburgo
Hot Stocks: With Alcon Sold, Will Nestle Try to Outmuscle Kraft in a Bid for Cadbury?
Is a bidding war brewing for Cadbury PLC (NYSE ADR: CBY)?
In a widely anticipated move, Nestle SA (PINK: NSRGY) said yesterday (Monday) that it would sell its remaining 52% stake of Alcon Inc. (NYSE: ACN) to Swiss drug maker Novartis AG (NYSE ADR: NVS) for about $28 billion. That influx of cash could give Nestle the financial firepower to go up against Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) in a competing bid for Cadbury.
Nestle is always "open to acquisition opportunities if they fit strategically," Chief Executive Officer Paul Bulcke told The Wall Street Journal in September.
Only the Strongest Retailers Will Survive in 2010 as U.S. Consumers Continue to Battle Back
The early returns on the 2009 holiday shopping season show a minor gain over last year’s abysmal retail sales, and next year will affirm that retailers are successfully adapting to a consumer environment that’s very different from years past.
However, 2010 will be difficult for retailers as they contend with high unemployment, tight credit, and aggressive competition.
Retail sales gained 3.6% year-on-year from Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, SpendingPulse, a unit of MasterCard Advisors (NYSE: MA) said earlier this week. But an extra day between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year may have skewed the data anywhere from 2% to 4%, SpendingPulse said. Sales in the same period last year declined 2.3% as consumers reeled from the financial meltdown that occurred in the fall.
"The latest holiday shopping season wasn’t a rip-roaring success, but at least it met or slightly exceeded expectations," John Lonski, chief economist of Moody’s Capital Markets Research Group (NYSE: MCO) told The Associated Press. "Consumer spending is indeed in a recovery mode, which brightens prospects for 2010."
China’s Exports to Return to Growth Next Year, but How Much Will It Matter?
Shipments from the Red Dragon were hit hard in the first 11 months this year, falling 18.8% compared to a year earlier, but are expected to bounce back and grow 6% in 2010, China’s State Information Center said today (Tuesday).
However, exports from China, which is largely considered to be the world’s manufacturing floor, are becoming less and less relevant as the Red Dragon moves toward a more balanced economy.
For instance, imports are expected to grow 11% next year, reflecting a shift toward more domestic consumption. And while the country is known for its massive spending on infrastructure, its service sector is growing twice as fast as its construction and infrastructure sectors, according to Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald, who says exports account for only 20% of China’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Senate Healthcare Bill Headed for Christmas Eve Vote Without Public Option
Shares of health insurers and pharmaceutical companies gained yesterday (Monday) after a new version of the Senate’s healthcare reform bill eliminated the so-called public option. But it’s the next few weeks on Capitol Hill that will determine the long-term effects that Congressional reforms will have on health-related sectors.
As one of the worst December snowstorms on record passed over Washington last weekend, Senate Democrats successfully negotiated to get the 60 votes needed to clear the first of three motions to thwart further debate on the bill and pave the way for final passage of the bill on Christmas Eve.
"It defies logic that we are now expected to vote on the overall, final package before Christmas with no opportunity to amend it, so we can adjourn for a three-week recess even as legislation will not fully go into effect until 2014," said U.S. Sen. Olympia Snow, R-ME.
Japan’s Measures to Fight Deflation Struggle to Show Progress
For Japan’s central bank and government, there are no easy answers to a growing deflation problem. A loose monetary policy so far has been ineffective and extra stimulus comes with the dire consequence of adding to the nation’s debt burden.
As expected, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) held interest rates at 0.1% Friday as the budding recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is showing signs of slowing.
“The BOJ felt compelled to show that it doesn’t accept deflation and is committed to fighting it,” Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. told Bloomberg News. “It’s reinforcing the view that interest rates will stay very low.”
Weak international demand for Japanese goods and a strengthening yen prompted deflation earlier this year, and the nation’s consumer price index (CPI) – excluding fruit, vegetable and seafood prices but not oil products – is expected show a decline of 1.7% in November according to a median estimate of 25 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The CPI fell 2.2% in October and 2.3% in September.
Is Incoming Bank of America CEO Moynihan “More of the Same?”
Bank of America Corp.’s (NYSE: BAC) decision to appoint Brian Moynihan as its next president and chief executive officer puts the pressure on Moynihan and the bank’s board of directors to prove to investors that the company is serious about changing direction.
Moynihan joined Bank of America via its 2004 merger with FleetBoston Financial and has held several positions since. While technically an insider, Moynihan sits outside BofA’s executive circle in Charlotte, N.C.
“This is a real break with the past,” Tony Plath, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina and a close follower of BofA’s many executive “tribes” told The Wall Street Journal. “It signals to the market that the FleetBoston guys are in charge of the bank now.”
Tax Break Negates U.S. Profit from Citi’s TARP Repayment
The U.S. government is forfeiting billions of dollars in tax revenue collections from Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) that could be worth more than the profit reaped from the bank’s repayment of bailout funds.
The U.S. Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Friday made an exception to longtime tax rules that will enable Citi to avoid taxes on its next $38 billion in profits – the value of the bank’s past losses at the end of the third quarter, The Washington Post reported.
"The government is consciously forfeiting future tax revenues. It’s another form of assistance, maybe not as obvious as direct assistance but certainly another form," Robert Willens, an expert on tax accounting who runs a firm of the same name told The Post . "I’ve been doing taxes for almost 40 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this, where the IRS and Treasury acted unilaterally on so many fronts."
Lawmakers Looking to Use Excess TARP Funds for a Second Stimulus
With the unemployment rate still lingering above 10%, House Democrats are suggesting some of the excess funds from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) be used to promote job creation in what would essentially be a second stimulus.
The Obama administration said in August that TARP – which Congress funded with $700 billion of taxpayer money – would only cost the $341 billion once banks repay government loans, injections and other investments. Now, the U.S. Treasury can take another $200 billion off of that, Reuters reported, citing an anonymous Treasury official.
"We’re going to explain that we’re going to have substantial savings, that we’re going to have very substantial resources we can make available to support not just the immediate priorities the country faces in spurring investment in job creation, but also to meet our long term fiscal challenges," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview with Bloomberg.
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