Archive for April 29th, 2008
Posted by: in Housing
Filed under: Bad news, Economic data, Housing, Recession
Home foreclosure activity jumped 23% in Q1 2008 and a whopping 112% in the past 12 months, as the housing sector’s deep recession continues. And substantially more default notices, auction sales notices, and bank repossessions were reported in Q1, research firm RealtyTrac announced Tuesday.
In Q1 2008, one in every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure notice, RealtyTrac said, adding that foreclosure activity increased in 46 of 50 says and in 90 of the nation’s 100 largest cities in the same period.
State foreclosure rates
In Q1 2008, Nevada (one in 54 households) had the U.S.’s highest foreclosure rate, followed by California (one in 78 households), and Arizona (one in 95 households). Vermont (one in 103,186 households), North Dakota (one in 6,156 households), and West Virginia (one in 6,138) had the nation’s lowest foreclosure rates.
Meanwhile, California reported the most foreclosure filings, with 169,831, a 212% increase from Q1 2007. Florida was second, with 87,893, a 178% increase from Q1 2007.
Housing Sector Analysis: The key statistic (but not the sole downbeat number) in the report is the enormous 112% increase in foreclosure activity from Q1 2007 to Q1 2008. During the 12-month period, U.S. foreclosure activity more than doubled. Given the triple-digit increase in foreclosure activity, it’s unlikely that foreclosures can maintain that pace throughout 2008, and no economist or policy maker wants to see the nation try. Nevertheless, the elevated foreclosure rate reveals a housing sector in deep recession — its worse slump in more than 15 years — and the sector isn’t prone to register a recovery in the U.S median home price in 2008. If the median home price started to recover before next year at this time (April 2009), that would be an unexpected (and cheered) accomplishment.
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Posted by: in Housing
Filed under: Bad news, Economic data, Housing, Recession
 U.S. home prices in 20 major cities declined 12.7% in February 2008 on a year-over-year basis — a record — according to the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index (pdf), released Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the 10-city composite set yet another new record, as well, with an annual decline of 13.6%.
Las Vegas and Miami continue to hold the dubious distinction of being the weakest markets in the nation over the past 12 months, reporting double-digit annual declines of 22.8% and 21.7%, respectively, followed by Phoenix with a 20.8% decline.
Widespread price declines
For February 2008, markets in the West declined the most, with San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles being the worst performers, with depreciation rates of more than 4% each. Charlotte is the only market with a positive return over the last 12 months, rising a scant 1.5%.
‘Another horrible report’
Economist Peter Dawson told BloggingStocks Tuesday the report has almost no positive news. “It’s another horrible report, except for only mild price declines in Seattle and the Northwest U.S. and Charlotte’s increase. Home inventories continue to rise and prices are falling almost everywhere,” Dawson stated. “The February [2008] home price data shows no sign of a housing recovery.”
Many economists expect home prices to continue to fall as home inventory levels grow through Q2 2008 and possibly into Q3 2008. That’s because the slowing U.S economy will nearly certainly reduce the number of eligible home buyers, and banks are prone to add to inventories by posting recently-foreclosed homes for sale.
Currently, the nation has about a 9.5- to 10-month supply of homes on the market, at current sales rates. A healthy housing market typically has a 3.5- to 4-month supply.
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Science Daily is reporting on the characterization of a population of ancient galaxies, formed less than 3 billion years after the Huge Bang, that are as huge as some modern galaxies but are only 1/20 the size. Each of the 9 compact galaxies found is less than 5,000 light-years across, and could fit comfortably inside the Milky Way’s central hub (if you moved the supermassive black hole out first). The stars in these galaxies were 1/2 to 1 billion years old when observed and at least one generation of big stars had already exploded as supernovae.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Ronaldo hides after run-in with transvestite hookers - ESPN.com
SAO PAULO, Brazil — Ronaldo went into hiding Tuesday after a run-in with cross-dressing prostitutes that prompted police to investigate whether to charge one with trying to extort money from the striker. The AC Milan player, in Brazil recovering
Bay Area home to the state’s elite - 8 counties place in wealthiest - San Francisco Gate
At a time of great national debate on how much money it actually takes to be considered rich, the California Franchise Tax board has released its annual report on median incomes for each of the state’s 58 counties. Eight of the state’s top 12 highest
Australian police break up international tax evasion scheme - San Diego Union-Tribune
SYDNEY, Australia – Police have broken up an international money laundering scheme operating in Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu that involved $93 million and hundreds of people, Australian police said Monday. A 58-year-old Australian man who had
NJ Senator to push for toll hikes, tolls on free interstates - MSN MoneyCentral
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - An influential lawmaker is pushing for lesser toll increases than proposed by the governor and new tolls along free interstate highways — but no gas tax hike — to help provide money for a decade’s worth of state transportation
Prize money up at Wimbledon - Reuters India
LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer will earn 750,000 pounds ($1.49 million), an increase of 7.1 percent on 2007, if he wins a sixth successive Wimbledon title in July. The women’s champion will receive the same amount after Wimbledon brought in equal
Ohio Voters Prefer Raising Tobacco Tax to Raiding Tobacco Endowment to - Forbes
New Poll: Nearly Two-thirds of Ohio Voters Support Tobacco Tax to Fund Stimulus Package and Tobacco Prevention COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As the Ohio legislature acts to abolish tobacco prevention in the say, a new survey
Missouri budget to continue Amtrak trains - Southeast Missourian
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Amtrak gets the money to keep two passenger trains chugging back and forth across Missouri. Home and Senate budget negotiators agreed Tuesday to provide $8 million in subsidies for the twice daily trains that run between
Meijer cuts short contest raising money for Humane Society - Detroit News
GRAND RAPIDS — Meijer Inc. has cut short an on the internet pet photo contest that was raising money for the Humane Society of the United States. The Grand Rapids Press reports the retailer stopped the contest Monday after the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance
WRAPUP 1-Countrywide, GMAC post huge losses on mortgages - Reuters
NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) and GMAC LLC, which run the largest independent U.S. mortgage lenders, on Tuesday posted large first-quarter losses, hurt by credit problems as the nation’s
Eagles suing Owens for $769K in bonus money - CBS Sportsline
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles sued their former wide receiver Terrell Owens for bonus money he has not repaid the team. The suit for nearly $770,000 was filed in U.S. District Court on Monday. Owens lost in arbitration earlier this year, a
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Filed under: Products and services, NIKE, Inc’B’ (NKE), Under Armour’A’ (UA), Battle of the Brands
 This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you like, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.
The story of Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is just one more David and Goliath scenario. Just like in the biblical story, David’s battle (UA) was more one of survival against the odds, while Goliath (NKE) truly did want to vanquish the diminutive challenger. Under Armour is capitalized at $1.28 billion while the long-established and legendary Nike has a capitalization more than 20 times the size at $26.38 billion.
NIKE, the world’s #1 shoemaker, does more dominating than assisting, to capture more than 20% of the U.S. athletic shoe market. It designs and sells shoes for a variety of sports, including baseball, cheer-leading, golf, volleyball, hiking, tennis, and football. Under Armour is proving its mettle as an apparel warrior. Since its foray into the sporting goods market, the maker of performance athletic undies and apparel has risen to the top of the industry pack, boasting a massive portion of the compression garment market.
In addition to playing a dominant role in the shoe market, Nike has retail and wholesale outlets that sell a broad range of branded sports gear, including clothes, watches, balls, hats, and an expanding array of accessories. Under Armour is expanding as well, trying to get a foot-hold (could not resist) in the shoe market starting with a series of cross-trainers. They hope to capture perhaps 10% of the market as they promote their up-and-coming brand.
There are so many manufacturers in the market, or arena if you like, that Under Armour can grow for quite some time before posing a threat to Nike; even though to be sure, Nike will not be underestimating its smaller rival and is expanding into UA’s niche as well. Both companies spend significantly on advertising and promotion and seek to tie their products to major sports figures.
UA has traded from a 52-week low of $25.52 to a high of $73.40, most recently trading in the mid 30s with an optimistic P/E ratio over 41 and, like most small start-up, pays no dividend. However, this company has plenty of room to run and has successfully produced a ROE and ROIC of over 20%, which is better than most companies that are not pedaling something exotic.
Nike, the larger and more conservative investment for those so inclined, has traded in a tighter range this past year from $51.50 to $70.60 and currently is testing the top end in the high 60s per share. Nike is producing similar ROE and ROIC of 25% and 20% respectively. It also is paying a dividend of 1.35%, which is a nice bonus. It too has a P/E higher than average of 19, but given that it is still expanding and is trading near a high perhaps this is to be expected.
I like both companies from an investment perspective in terms of adding to my watch list, but I would be more inclined to watch Under Armour than Nike just because it has so much more room to grow. I also think that at its current capitalization it could be acquired by any number of more massive companies.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I do not own shares of NKE or UA.
Vote in our poll for Nike or Under Armour as your preferred brand, and let us know in the comments why you love it.
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Filed under: Products and services, NIKE, Inc’B’ (NKE), Under Armour’A’ (UA), Battle of the Brands
This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.
The story of Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and Under Armour (NYSE: UA) is just one more David and Goliath scenario. Just like in the biblical story, David’s battle (UA) was more one of survival against the odds, while Goliath (NKE) truly did want to vanquish the diminutive challenger. Under Armour is capitalized at $1.28 billion while the long-established and legendary Nike has a capitalization more than 20 times the size at $26.38 billion.
NIKE, the world’s #1 shoemaker, does more dominating than assisting, to capture more than 20% of the U.S. athletic shoe market. It designs and sells shoes for a variety of sports, including baseball, cheer-leading, golf, volleyball, hiking, tennis, and football. Under Armour is proving its mettle as an apparel warrior. Since its foray into the sporting goods market, the maker of performance athletic undies and apparel has risen to the top of the industry pack, boasting a large portion of the compression garment market.
In addition to playing a dominant role in the shoe market, Nike has retail and wholesale outlets that sell a broad range of branded sports gear, including clothes, watches, balls, hats, and an expanding array of accessories. Under Armour is expanding as well, trying to get a foot-hold (could not resist) in the shoe market starting with a series of cross-trainers. They hope to capture perhaps 10% of the market as they promote their up-and-coming brand.
There are so many manufacturers in the market, or arena if you like, that Under Armour can grow for quite some time before posing a threat to Nike; although to be sure, Nike will not be underestimating its smaller rival and is expanding into UA’s niche as well. Both companies spend significantly on advertising and promotion and seek to tie their products to major sports figures.
UA has traded from a 52-week low of $25.52 to a high of $73.40, most recently trading in the mid 30s with an optimistic P/E ratio over 41 and, like most small start-up, pays no dividend. However, this company has plenty of room to run and has successfully produced a ROE and ROIC of over 20%, which is superior than most companies that are not pedaling something exotic.
Nike, the bigger and more conservative investment for those so inclined, has traded in a tighter range this past year from $51.50 to $70.60 and currently is testing the top end in the high 60s per share. Nike is producing similar ROE and ROIC of 25% and 20% respectively. It also is paying a dividend of 1.35%, which is a nice bonus. It too has a P/E higher than average of 19, but given that it is still expanding and is trading near a high perhaps this is to be expected.
I like both companies from an investment perspective in terms of adding to my watch list, but I would be more inclined to watch Under Armour than Nike just because it has so much more room to grow. I also think that at its current capitalization it could be acquired by any number of larger companies.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I don’t own shares of NKE or UA.
Vote in our poll for Nike or Under Armour as your preferred brand, and let us know in the comments why you love it.
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Filed under: Forecasts, Bad news, Products and services, Industry, Merck and Co (MRK)
Merck (NYSE: MRK) was counting on its new cholesterol drug to help its revenue in the years ahead. It won’t work out. The drug, Cordaptive, was turned down by the FDA.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “Merck was counting on Cordaptive to bring in as much as $2 billion a year in sales.” The news is apt to injured the company’s stock, which trades at $41.44, well below its 52-week high of $61.62.
Merck’s revenue last year was just over $24 billion, so the rejection will injured, and perhaps hurt a great deal.
Merck is one of a handful of Massive Pharma companies that have a number of important drugs coming “off patent.” That means that cheap generics will flood the market and margins on the original drugs will disappear. Creating a “blockbuster” drug can take years of R&D, so Merck is left with relatively high costs against falling revenue.
The ideal way to look at Merck, and the shares of companies like it, is to watch for approval of drugs that are apt to bring in billions of dollars. Without those Merck and its peers will have falling share prices for years to come.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and the author of Ten Stocks Under $10.
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Posted by: in Politics News
goombah99 writes “Princeton Professor, Ed Felton, has posted a series of blog entries in which he shows the printed tapes he obtained from the NJ voting machines don’t report the ballots correctly. In response to the first one, Sequoia admitted that the machines had a known software design error that did not correctly record which kind of ballots were cast (republican or democratic primary ballots) but insisted the vote totals were correct. Then, further tapes showed this explanation to be insufficient. In response, Say officials insisted that the (poorly printed) tapes were misread by Felton. Again further tapes showed this not to be a adequate explanation. However all those didn’t foreclose the optimistic assessment that the errors were benign — that is, the possibility that vote totals might really be correct even though the ballot totals were wrong and the origin of the errors hadn’t been explained. Now he has found (well-printed) tapes that show what appears to be hard proof that it’s the vote totals that are wrong, since two different readout methods don’t agree. Sequoia has made trade-secret legal threats against those wishing to mount an independent examination of the equipment. One small hat-tip to Sequoia: at least they are reporting enough raw data in different formats that these kinds of errors can come to light — that lesson should be kept in mind when writing future stipulations for voting machines.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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Posted by: in Housing
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 this day. On Wednesday, Fed chairman Bernanke will announce the policy decided, and while most investors anticipate a quarter point rate cut, they also anticipate the Fed to announce a pause in the cuts following some inflationary pressures.
On Monday, stocks finished the day tiny change ahead of the Fed meeting and despite some huge 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 today. 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 superior 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 big sport utility vehicle plants in Flint and Pontiac, Mich.; Janesville, Wis.; and Oshawa, Ontario, resulting in about 3,550 layoffs. GM said it will make about 88,000 fewer pickups and 50,000 fewer large SUVs this calendar year.
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Posted by: admin in Today News
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