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KentuckyFC writes “To do anything useful with quantum logic gates, you need dozens to hundreds of them, all joined together. And because of various errors and problems that creep in, that’s more or less impossible with today’s technology. Now an Australian group has built and tested logic gates that convert qubits into qutrits (three-level quantum states) before processing and then convert them back again. That makes them far more powerful. The group states that a quantum personal that might require 50 conventional quantum logic gates can now be built with just 9 of the new gates. What’s more, the gates process photons using nothing more than standard linear optical components (abstract on the physics arxiv).” Read more of this story at Slashdot. Filed under: Products and services, Target Corp. (TGT)
One of the more interesting product niches that’s been explored recently has been higher-end women’s cosmetics. When six beauty products rack up a retail bill of more than $200, you know there’s something to be celebrated. No longer are Dillard’s Inc. (NYSE: DDS) and Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) the exclusive way many women purchase those extremely lucrative cosmetic products with the hefty profit margins. Nope, Target’s moving into the arena aggressively from all appearances. Target is now stocking upper-end cosmetic brands like Clarins, Kiehl’s, Origins, Bare Escentuals and Bumble and Bumble. Even though the retailer’s move was studied this past Tuesday, it certainly was no April Fool’s joke. But do these brands care that the positioning Target will provide will undermine the premium brand luxury awareness and hefty prices at department store partners? Many of these brands say they’ve no relationship with Target; therefore, Target’s source might be the gray market. They are free to do that, but perhaps Target is just testing the waters of luxury cosmetics before making an official plunge in most of its national stores. Not so strangely, the experiment could easily work with Target’s very special position in the market.
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2008
Apple passes Wal-Mart as world’s largest music sellerPosted by: in Products and ServicesFiled under: Products and services, Competitive strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Wal-Mart (WMT)
Here’s the kicker — Apple does not sell a single physical piece of music. It’s all digital. The company’s iTunes digital music store sells music, videos, television shows and movies to all those bazillions of iPod users around the world. Now, it just took out the world’s largest retailer in terms of selling the most music. This although Wal-Mart sells more CDs than anyone in addition to its very sizable music download service as well. Apple passed Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) as the second-largest music retailer just recently, and now it’s on top. All by using the mighty download as its vehicle of choice to get content to its customers. Is the music industry a different world than it was just five years ago? I’d say more like a different universe. Movies and television shows — you could be next. In fact, the transition may already be far, far underway. Filed under: International markets, Bad news, Products and services, Management, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Motorola (MOT), Marketing and advertising, Employees, Nokia Corp. (NOK), iPhone
It wasn’t that long ago that Motorola was a major force in the world of mobile phones, but over the past two years the company has definitely fallen from grace among consumers. Two years ago the company was the world’s second largest handset maker, but that status is no more, and the company is currently sitting in the fourth spot overall. Analysts have blamed the company’s drop due to lack of innovation, and some have gone so far as to predict that the company’s handset business is doomed if Motorola can not pick up the pace and begin to pump out new and fresh ideas for consumers to gobble up. At its peak, the company was able to rely on sales of its highly popular Razr phone line (which I admit, I still have myself), but the popularity of the Razr phones has fallen, and competitors such as Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Samsung have been able to leave Motorola behind with their newer models. While last year’s launch of the iPhone, by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was by no means enough to push Apple ahead of Motorola, the iPhone definitely stole customers away from Motorola and has added pressure on the company to step up the development process. The company recently announced that it was going to separate out this ailing portion of its business, and analysts hope that by giving the handset unit its autonomy that it will be able to attract higher profile executives who can help turn things around. Time will tell how this will play out. Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor’s Observer. Filed under: Major movement, Products and services, Consumer experience, Middle East, Politics, Commodities, Oil
This is the second day in a row that gas prices have set new highs, after jumping more than a penny overnight. At these current levels, prices are now a large 22% higher than they were this time last year. Congress has been trying to get to the bottom of the situation, and earlier this week they heard testimony from executives of 5 of the world’s largest oil companies regarding the current price explosion. Some analysts are predicting that Congress may have to step in to take some action to help combat the record-high prices by making the buy of high-risk oil contracts tougher to do, which could lead to lower prices. Whether or not that takes place remains to be seen. Oil companies are defending the current run up in prices, blaming it absolutely on the recent record high oil prices. Currently oil is trading at slightly above the $105 mark. A little lower than the $110 oil we saw last month, but not enough lower to really impact the future of gas prices. The hardest hit says are, as usual, California and Hawaii. California drivers can anticipate to pay on average $3.679 for their gasoline, and Hawaii residents are also facing prices above the $3.60 mark. So where is the cheap gas? Well, if you consider $3.046 a gallon cheap, then that honor goes to resident of New Jersey, which is the only state in the country to show gasoline prices below the $3.10 mark. For those of you driving diesel powered vehicles, your gas bill is even more extreme, with the average price of a gallon of diesel running at $4.023. I wish I could predict that prices would be retreating in the months to come, but I can’t. With the high-demand summer driving months right around the corner, it isn’t looking as though we will see much relief over the next few months. So, if you’re planning on doing any heavy driving this summer, you may want to begin saving now, because barring any sort of miracle, these high prices are here to stay. What are you seeing in your area? I am always curious to hear from our readers regarding prices in their neck of the woods. Let us know where you’re from, and what prices you are seeing at your local gas stations. Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor’s Observer.
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2008
Microsoft (MSFT) keeps XP, a bit of a defeat for VistaPosted by: in Products and ServicesFiled under: Products and services, Launches, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL)
The explanation sounds bogus. Microsoft’s new OS Vista has had reasonable sales, but reviews of the software say that it is full of bugs and does not help PCs work well with other devices like printers. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has been pushing its OS not just for Macs but directly into the PC market. The company claims that its product works superior than Vista and it appears that some consumers are buying into that claim. There have also been reports that some corporations do not want to upgrade to Vista and will keep the old Microsoft OS running until a version after Vista is produced. The Microsoft move may have a silver lining. Customers and businesses that want the latest and most powerful Microsoft product can buy Vista. Those who are concerned about the software can use XP, instead of considering the Apple substitute. Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com. Filed under: Products and services, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), News Corp’B’ (NWS) Bloomberg reported Thursday that News Corp.’s (NYSE: NWS) MySpace asset wants to leverage its mindshare to sell music. Not a massive leap of logic there — MySpace is a touchstone for the online-savvy youth, a group that enjoys consuming songs and going to shows. Only problem is, the MySpace generation also intersects with another club — the iPod generation — and going against Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) won’t be a easy task for Rupert Murdoch and his social-networking empire. Bloomberg points out an another interesting issue for MySpace — its buzz appears to be weakening somewhat. I found it very interesting that Facebook is challenging MySpace’s dominance in terms of user growth, and that Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) might not be doing as well with its MySpace deal as perhaps it theoretically should be. This music initiative, called MySpace Music, is intended to assist top-line sales expansion. Remember the days when MySpace was the undisputed god of the web? Hey, it’s still a major online brand, no question, but I find it funny how, in certain respects, MySpace just isn’t the untouchable social network that it once was. It definitely calls to mind the axiom dictating that the hot domain one year might not be quite the zeitgeist the next; I’ve certainly been hearing more and more about Facebook than I have about MySpace these days. MySpace is nowhere close to death, though, and MySpace Music will come to market with some heavy business partners: Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG). But will it be enough? Not to sound like Donny Deutsch, but I have to go back to the branding here. Apple and its iTunes franchise is way too powerful at this point to challenge. Does this mean News Corp. shouldn’t try to be a music merchandiser? No, it’s a worthwhile experiment. Taking the crown from Apple isn’t feasible, but I’ll assume News Corp. isn’t really gunning for Apple so much as it is attempting to ensure that MySpace remains a major player in social networking. That’s the huge challenge. The most influential constant in the formula for success on the internet is change, since change is an easy thing in the electronic economy. MySpace has to do all it can to remain cool and attractive to the hipster surfers, and selling them music should help. Disclosure: I don’t own shares in any of the companies mentioned here; positions can change at any time. Filed under: Housing A lot of Americans are watching their homes decline in value, and many families are finding themselves upside down on their mortgages — owing more than the home is worth. But don’t worry: if you were wealthy enough to afford New York City’s sky-high real estate in the first place, you’re doing quite well. New York apartments hit record highs in the first quarter — an average of between $1.63 million and $1.72 million, depending on which data source you believe. That’s a year-over-year price increase of more than 19%. Manhattan real estate rose 13% to between $855,000 and $945,276, depending on which source you believe. But some experts say that that number is inflated by a disproportionate number of high-end properties and that prices on lower-end units are flat to negative. In a related story, Italian businessman Luigi Zunino is looking to sell a Park Avenue apartment he hasn’t yet closed on for $100 million. According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the 1907 Plaza Hotel where the unit is located is also home to Bear Stearns Chairman James Cayne and developer Harry Macklowe — both of whom are suffering (or rather their investors are suffering) in the wake of the falling housing market. But as long as executives who destroy value still reap huge paydays, high end real estate will probably continue to do fine.
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2008
Cramer on BloggingStocks: The market learns to weigh mortgage bondsPosted by: in HousingFiled under: Market matters, Citigroup Inc. (C), Merrill Lynch (MER), Bear Stearns Cos (BSC), Housing, Cramer on BloggingStocks
Home price declines abound. Yet the mortgage bonds that are entwined with those homes are going up. So what’s going on? I think that what’s happening is that the bonds themselves are not “as bad” as people think. There are many kinds of bonds out there that have to do with mortgages. Some of them are combinations of Home Equity Loans, and when you read that home prices have declined, many of these bonds could be worthless. But we’re now becoming able to figure out that there are some homes that are not being walked away from, and if that paper can be found it might be a buy. It’s the latter that’s trading and is taking the pressure off the Merrills (NYSE: MER) (Cramer’s Take) and the Citigroups (NYSE: C) (Cramer’s Take), and that’s why you can hear Merrill state it doesn’t need more capital. The inventory is rising in value or being sold at prices that are higher than we thought or that were marked. So, when you see house prices decline, you’ve to recognize that we’re not out of the woods when it comes to the domestic economy. But when it comes to the financials, you could have too much of a discount for some bonds, which makes it so you can isolate the bad and trade the good. That’s a huge change. And it is a positive one that removes systemic risk even as it does not make the consumer stronger or better. Random musings: Lots of people are asking me if I’m changing my view of Bernanke in light of the rally in the financials post-Bear (NYSE: BSC) (Cramer’s Take). Why should I? The work since Bear is the work of Treasury (mostly Bob Steel) taking over from Bernanke and working in concert with the Fed. Had the Fed opened the discount window when I stated it should, all of this could have been avoided. All of it. That’s some legacy. RELATED LINKS: Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com’s sites and serves as an adviser to the company’s CEO. At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in stocks mentioned. |
The days of music distribution have changed. They’re not changing, they’ve already changed. Nothing indicates this more easily than a leaked report from research brain trust NPD Group that indicates 
Last night, handset maker 
With the current surge in oil prices, it should come as no surprise that we are getting hit hard at the gas pumps, and according to AAA, prices moved to a 
Microsoft 
TheStreet.com’s Jim Cramer says not all mortgage bonds are bad, and the ones with solid backing could be worth finding and buying. 
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