jay fredrickson

July Retail Sales: The Economic Storm Is Not Over

Excellent article and discussion. No where in this thread do I see anything about the psychological feeling of being wealthier than 6 months ago due to the market bounce. For those that had high quality stocks and held them, their 'wealth' has increased by 25-40% since earlier this year. maybe they are the one's out celebrating in bars and restaurants?

Five Reasons Why Newspaper Industry Will Bounce Back

Looking at the chart of ad revenues Borrell predicts, it shows that the revenue figure is stuck at nearly $40 billion until 2015. So basically, next year revenue goes up 2%, then stays flat for the next 5 years? Not really a healthy picture as there is no way newspaper companies can continue to show positive earnings growth if the top line is not growing.
The story also says that preprints will move from direct mail back into papers. Has that started to happen? Last I saw, the price of Valassis stock was up 700% in the past 5 months. Doesn't appear that they are losing too much preprint revenue to newspapers, does it?

Microsoft - Yahoo Search Deal Leaves Newspapers on the Sidelines

I have found that a lot of local dollars have switched from print to online, usually paid search. The display dollars are still not generating the types of returns to advertisers that search dollars return. When people are searching, they are looking to buy. Display dollars are good for image ads and institutional ads, but still haven't delivered the results that search ads have. Maybe a stronger yahoo, using better search tech, will in turn be a stronger place for advertisers to run Behavioral targeting ads.
Jay

McClatchy Cuts Costs, Raises Profits

Nice 2Q report for MNI. The stock should continue to rise to at least $2.15 within the next 12 months.

Renewed Cost-Cutting Leads to Newspapers' Return to Profitability

Excellent 2q report for MNI. The cuts have been deep and painful, but this company now looks to be out of the woods for short term and intermediate term bankruptcy. Alarmingly low cash levels could still force this company to draw down the credit line even further.

The McClatchy Company Q2 2009 Earnings Call Transcript

well done quick turnaround on the conference call transcripts. good 2q report for mni, looks like the stock will clear $2.15 in the next year.

Print Ad Losses to the Internet: It Ain't Over Yet

Excellent discussion going on here.

Can Wal-Mart Survive Generation Y?

This article was weak. Walmart continues to grow market share at a time when nearly all other retailers are showing significant losses. Wally being up 3% is pretty good when the rest of their competitors are flat at best. Remember, in real dollars, 3% of Walmart's sales are still HUGE.

Your article fails to point out that Walmart is growing these sales in the GROCERY aisles of their Super stores. Are you suggesting that generation Y don't and won't eat, therefore they'll have no reason to shop for groceries? I think you skimmed the surface of who Walmart is now, and why it will succeed for a long long long time.

Media Must Start Anew, Mine Connectivity

Wow, what an article!

With Microsoft Refocusing on Advertising, Razorfish Sale Seems Well-Timed

Conflict of interest also means gaining knowledge and information about competitors. Why would MSFT want to give that up, they are just getting started in the search thanks to BING

Home Depot, Lowe's for Portfolio Improvement

Why not just buy shares in both and have hope that people will start to spend on fixing up their homes again. People are only going to save for so long before they'll have to spend on new tools, paint etc. Buy and hold these 2 for a 40% gain in less than 2 years.

How to Save Newspapers: Outlaw Linking

When and if newspapers go away, someone will have to pay a huge price to gather and distibute news. Why not allow newspapers to charge for what they pay to produce? Seems logical to me.

Why the Dow Is Headed to 6000

Excellent article and comments. Seems like many people are saying that 6,000 might not be low enough. Anything's possible and this is definitely a time to protect gains with options if so inclined.

Wendy's Is a Tasty Buy - Barron's

Thanks for the update on my flavorite restaurant stock. We have been buying aggressively in the last 2 weeks.

Jim Rogers Shares His Thoughts on the Market

Everybody is an expert on this topic, including me. Take enough contrasting positions and we'll all be right half the time.