Are Investors in the Dark About Solar?

Aside from analyst reports and company statements, investors have another way to decide what to do about their stock in a company.  They could read each others advise on opinion comment boards of financial news websites.

The solar energy company First Solar hit a new low of 85.28 this week possibly in part to downgrades from Merrill Lynch and Hapoalim Securities.  Even Jim Cramer who touted the stock a few weeks ago now recommends that investors sell.

But on comment boards across several business news sites, the response from individuals to the recommended downgrades continue to be bullish on the solar energy sector. What should investors do?

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You're Fired

Yesterday, Warnaco announced that it is laying off 7 percent of its corporate staff in an effort to combat the weakening global environment. While I’m sure the workers losing their jobs aren’t happy, some say that this is actually good news.

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Warmer weather could mean cooler sales for natural gas co's

NOAA Winter Forecast

NOAA Winter Forecast

Sales of natural gas rely heavily on weather conditions.  The colder it is in the winter, the more natural gas you sell.  Looking ahead to Winter 2008-2009, several authorities are predicting a mild winter that could impact sales at Northwestern Corporation and other natural gas companies.

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BKC Changes AD Firms, and Its Fortunes

Burger King changed the course of the company forever when it hired the ad firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky a few years ago. Since then, BKC has distanced itself from McDonald’s and its happiness and gone the irreverent slacker route. Check out the sprout I made above. Click the play button to view BK commercials in a linear path since the 1980s and see how they have changed. The ads will play continuously.

Since hiring CPB, Burger King has gone public and consistent growth while capturing the much-desired 18-35 male demographic.

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Consumers Lock It Up

The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor fell a record six points in October as consumers continued to fret and disappeared into the lock box.  One thing that can always be said about Americans is that we shop through good times and usually through bad. But the economic downturn has so many people worried that people are actually beginning to save money. This is clearly not the American way.

Nearly two out of three consumers (63 percent) now rate the economy as poor and 72 percent think it’s getting worse.

“October’s numbers show consumers clearly are hunkering down to ride out the economic and financial crisis,” said Margo Georgiadis, chief marketing officer of Discover.

Even more telling perhaps is that even while gas prices have fallen, 79 percent of those surveyed said they have not increased their spending in other areas as a result. Upper-income consumers (those who make more than $75,000) also felt the pinch. More than half (51%) are expecting to spend less on discretionary entertainment spending. From September to October, the percentage of those in the upper-income category who thought their financial situation was getting worse went from 40% to 50% surveyed in October.

Whether or not the consumers keep the buying power locked up over the holidays will be a telling sign of how skittish and suddenly save-conscious the U.S. consumer has become.

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Is Charney Bad For American Apparel's Stock Price?

Since American Apparel went public in December 2007, its stock price, with the exceptions of some minor upticks (like May and September of this year, when positive sales reports came out), has been steadily declining.

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Like a Car Wreck: You Just Can't Look Away

Dov Charney

Dov Charney

So, one of the reasons I chose American Apparel to cover this semester is because I am fascinated by the company’s CEO, a bizarre Jewish Canadian guy named Dov Charney.

Charney has become infamous in the retail world for his unusual business practices–both good and bad. In the good column: He’s completely against sweatshop labor. He pays his employees a minimum of $12 an hour, and he provides them with benefits. In the bad column: Charney has had at least five sexual harrassment suits brought against him, four of which have been settled out of court.

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Jobs Tumble: Worry in Credit Card Sector Increases

David Nelms, Discover CEO

David Nelms, Discover CEO

Discover Financial Services Earnings Prediction

The rate of default for credit card companies is predicated by the unemployment figures, and as the jobless rate increased for the tenth straight month in October, up to 6.5 percent with 240,000 job losses reported, next quarter’s earnings for credit card companies could reflect this dire news.

The Chicago-based credit card company Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) recently announced the settlement of an anti-trust legal dispute with rivals MasterCard Inc and Visa Inc. that will put $2.75 billion in the coffers, but this may not be enough to insulate the company from the contracting of the credit card industry. Discover maintains a nominal three percent of the market and the limited share of the market could be a blessing considering credit card banks are likely to write off a record amount of $96 billion, 10 percent of all credit card debt, by the end of 2009 according to Strategic Value Advisors.

Goldman and Sachs economists have predicted that the jobless rate will continue to increase and could be as high as 8.5 percent by the end of next year. In the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods research report, analysts stressed that unemployment is the largest determinant of credit card quality and coupled with the lack of liquidity for consumers could affect Discover’s fourth quarter earnings to be announced at the end of December.

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"A great Company to work for – but you're never safe"

Julio Soares, with the various recognition pins he won while working for InBev.

Julio Soares, with the various recognition pins he won while working for InBev.

Julio Soares looks calm and content on this Sunday afternoon, savoring some fresh coffee in the living room of his apartment in Belo Horizonte, the third largest city in Brazil. But his rush-free weekends only started about 3 months ago, after he left his job at InBev.

“It is without a doubt a great company to work for, the knowledge that you can amass working there is incredible. But you do have to pay a high personal price. I spent many weekends at the office, had countless workdays that started at 8 am and ended around 1 am… ”

Soares said that the company is known for being extremely demanding of its employees and paying salaries that are below the average. Still, there’s fierce competition to get in. For a very good reason, according to Soares. “The upside of these gruesome hours is the super fat bonus you get,” he said. “You may get more than half of your whole yearly salary as a bonus in the end of the year.”

According to Soares, another reason many people want to work for InBev is the company’s management style, which encourages new ideas and fosters learning and improving one’s capabilities all the time. “Many people use Inbev as a bridge to a better job because any place you apply for a job after having worked there will want to hire you because they know how much you learn at Ambev,” Soares said.

The pressure to always be producing is ever present and can be very stressful, Soares added. “You’re never safe at Inbev, no matter how good you are. You can never rest on your laurels you need to always be producing results non-stop. All your efforts are completely meaningless if they do not produce results,” he said.

Soares witnessed the Anheuser-Busch take-over by InBev from the beginning. “We were really proud when the take-over offer happened. We felt like we helped Brito make the deal come true. We were really proud, but not because we bought a quintessential American company, it was nothing like that, we were proud because it was a great deal and it happened. One more time we proved that we buy stuff, we take over stuff, not the other way around,” he said.

Soares left the company to go work in the medical industry a few months ago. He said he does not regret it. “It is really a great company to work for – if you’re willing to pay the price. I was at a point in my life where I needed to move on, I was not willing to work those hours anymore,” he said. “My wife is happy now; she’s got her husband back.”

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Sad State of Celebrity Endorsement Deals

Even the rich and powerful can’t save the world from the financial crisis. At least, not in the case of Warnaco Group Inc. Though the company just released its third quarter earnings, posting huge gains in revenue and EPS, its stock dropped to its year low on Thursday.

Which, makes it almost official: Even with help from the entire U.S. Olympic Swim Team (read: Michael Phelps) and Eva Mendes, Warnaco can’t catch a break.

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