There are a ton of analysts throwing around all sorts of numbers as to what fair value should be. For example; Michael King at Rodman & Renshaw pegs it at $72.00 and Yaron Werber at Citigroup comes up with $73.00.

As of 06/10/2008, we placed TLB on the CrossProfit homepage as it was definitely on our radar as a stock to focus on. The timing was just right. TLB's President and Chief Executive Trudy F. Sullivan confirmed on 06/11/2008 that 2008 earnings will be above analysts' estimates. Six weeks ago TLB stated that 2008 earnings would come in at $0.47/$0.52 per share. According to Thomson Financial, consensus was at $0.41 per share. Obviously the market heeded analysts' figures, disregarding the 'overly optimistic' company spiel.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- FedEx Corporation said after the close of regular trading Monday that it will record a charge of about $891 million to change the name of FedEx Kinko's stores to FedEx Office.

Whenever a company comes out with a novel marketing idea that entails lower profit margins for the sake of gaining market share, the entire industry takes up arms attempting to forestall or outright kill the concept. This is human nature and is to be expected. The same happened when the first horseless carriages were introduced. Where are the horse breeders today? Don't forget that at first horses were more reliable and faster as well. Not to mention that horses commanded more than 61% of the market (Google's (GOOG) search share) yet the concept was slowly accepted for one reason only - it made sense!

Metals and mining has been the sector to be in for the past six months as predicted in 'Mining is Shining' and here (take special notice of the comments posted on the Seeking Alpha article). It would be true to say that energy has done relatively well as well, however, the whole trick is to find the lead sector that is poised for the largest increase. Keep in mind that when prices rise not all sectors benefit from the inflationary spiral. The difference is between 'hard' and 'soft' assets.

Below is a list of banks that are financing the Clear Channel (CCU) deal.

Klug's suit, which was filed in federal court on December 12, 2007, by attorneys Andre' F. Toce and Joseph Arshawsky, details the dramatic turnaround in the company's fortunes led by Klug and president/CEO James C. Eckert and the company's subsequent refusal to pay them promised compensation…

Usaironmaker said:

We all know that real estate is a dirty word these days, but still, to maintain the name 'medical imaging' when you build and manage shopping centers is a bit confusing. It's time to change the image.

While ESV peaked in July this year (around $64), after issuing a Q3 earnings alert towards the end of August, the stock sank to the $55 level. Q3 wasn't that bad, up only (!) 24% YOY. When expecting a 40% increase, well, maybe it is a disappointment. The real question is was the market really expecting a 40% increase? The answer is a resounding no!

On 10/25/2007 PLD reported Q3 results, beating consensus estimates. I was not surprised as depicted in the forward looking evaluation line. PLD has already climbed from $66.35 to $70.82 and has more to go. I anticipate several jittery weeks in 2008 as real estate continues to get clobbered and investors lump all real estate REITs together. As the dust settles, investors should realize that not all REITs are equal. Should this materialize, traders will have a heyday with this stock.

Ambassadors Group (EPAX) shocked the market when it disclosed that bookings for 2008 were 30% below the same period for 2007. This caused a slam down, plummeting shares from $39 to $19.

To recap the events we first have to comprehend that oil and energy sources have become the new point of contention between east and west. Hopefully this will not lead to (military) confrontation, but one never knows. For over a decade, China has realized that the sole danger to its economic growth is insufficient energy. With over 50% imported and likely to climb in the future, China is competing head on with the United States for energy resources. The U.S. consumes over 20% of global oil production. As China's appetite for oil grows and new production can not keep up with the future demand, control of production has become a top priority for both countries.

Even so, there are several items that need to be said. First, CLF closed at $103.61 on Friday and may have gotten a bit ahead of itself. Take into account that this article is being written on a $95 valuation. Second, the time frame is for 12 months forward.

On 10/11/2007 MTL reported production as follows:

In a press release, Charles Phillips (president of ORCL) is quoted as describing the offer as "the culmination of repeated conversations with BEA's management over the last several years." Yeah, right. He meant to say that ORCL has been unsuccessful in closing a friendly deal over the past several years. (That long?) Now the question is, will BEAS be open-minded about any offer or are they still not ready to sell.