Following in the footsteps of rival MasterCard, Visa announced it is planning to issue an IPO (Initial Public Offering). There are currently three major players in the credit card arena: Visa, MasterCard (MA) and AmericanExpress (AXP), with market shares of 60%, 25%, and 11% respectively.
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Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) – Saga vs. Stock Performance
With the latest Hewlett Packard boardroom-spying episode, maybe Hewlett-Packard is finally ready to get back to business. Hopefully with some of the HPQ board members departing, Patricia Dunn, Tom Perkins, George Keyworth, etc., maybe the HPQ board can begin to cooperate with each other instead of playing politics.
Bearish on Aluminum?
Alcoa (AA) kicked off earnings season with a sour note indicating they are experiencing slowing demand and a drop in the price for aluminum. Alcoa indicated a large part of the slowing demand is coming from the automotive and housing construction market segments.
Google (GOOG) – YouTube – Options Trades
Google’s (GOOG) announcement of its acquiring YouTube for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction may be a good strategic move in the long term, but for the short term the Google/YouTube deal may not be so hot for Google’s stock price.
North Korea – Nuclear Bombs – Defense Contractors
With North Korea’s claim to have detonated a nuclear weapon, the list of nuclear capable countries expands. Japan is probably the biggest loser with North Korea’s new nuclear capability, as Japan is within range of a North Korean nuclear missile.
Bearish on Oil Stocks?
The price of oil and the price of gasoline have decreased significantly in the last few months. The price of oil and gas at the pump are somewhat cyclical as the price tends to rise in the summer months with more vacation driving, etc. (higher demand) and falls in the winter months with less driving (lower demand).
Stock Option Probability – How Good Is It
In a previous article, “Stocks – Options & Trading Probability“, we discussed probability and stock options. PowerOptions‘ stock options search tool SmartSearchXL and stock options back testing tool SmartHistoryXL both display probability estimates for stock options positions and provide the capability to search based on probability criteria.
Wal-Mart (WMT) Stuck in a Retail Rut
Wal-Mart’s stock (WMT) has been stagnant for the last several years. A large part of Wal-Mart’s problem stems from the company having saturated the rural and suburban U.S. with stores and having a need to find other avenues for revenue growth.
TheStreet.com (TSCM) – Covered Calls
With Jim Cramer’s company, TheStreet.com (TSCM), now available for options trading, conservative investors with a high regard for Jim Cramer and his management skills can conservatively invest in his company through covered call investing.
Apple (AAPL) vs. Microsoft (MSFT) – One More Time
With Microsoft’s (MSFT) announcement of Zune, its entry into the digital media player market, we are once again having a showdown similar to the PC/Mac showdown of the 80s and 90s.