Chris S

What's With Google's Need for Speed?

Somehow, I highly doubt the scalability of GoogleBot is tied to the speed of individual websites. Call me dubious.

Less defensive retailers will begin outperforming Wal-Mart (WMT -2.6%) in H2 as investors rotate into non-staple stocks to take advantage of a recovering retail sector, Goldman says, downgrading shares to Neutral. Firm thinks discretionary retailers will easily lap year-ago margin comparisons, while WMT will struggle to outdo already stellar numbers.

So GS's logic here is that because last year was so horrendous for discretionary retails, they can't help but look good in comparison this year. Thus, they are superior to WMT because all WMT does is put good numbers up consistently.

WTF?

A case against using new intraday lows as a buy trigger.

It was more of a "rant" than a "case". Still entertaining though.

Will Natural Gas Be the Next to Rally?

Some amazing comments here that really put this into perspective.

I'm gonna have to agree with the folks that said to correct with ratio imbalance, oil needs to come down rather than nat gas going up.

Jon Friedman wonders whether Jim Cramer is defiant, or just clueless. "When Cramer writes about the stock market for New York magazine, there is no better or more knowledgeable Wall Street pundit around. He is that good. But when he turns into his Mr. Hyde persona on television, his brilliance gets lost in the noise."

Check the ratings for Mad Money vs. the rest of CNBC and you'll find your answer.

EU regulators are pursuing a new round of sanctions against Microsoft (MSFT), and may force the software giant to include rival browsers in its Windows software in addition to its Internet Explorer.

EU regulators need to wake up and join us in 2009. Browser competition is alive and well.

Japanese machinery orders fell 1.3% in March M/M, the first decline in two months but still better than the 5.1% decline economists expected. Orders -9.9% for the quarter, though 'the pace of the decline is easing.'

Green shoots spotted!

The problem isn't zombie banks - it's a zombie nation.

www.youtube.com/watch?...

What the NFL draft has to teach us about free markets and regulation.

Gonna have to agree with D_Virginia.

Worst. Analogy. Ever.

The Google Cash Machine

"it's a silly-named 10 year old Internet search engine"

Blasphemy!

Amazon.com (AMZN) on the rise after Citigroup upgrades shares to Buy with a price target of $97 (from $52). Firm says margins are improving faster than expected, and that 2009 results will "amplify Amazon's scarcity value." AMZN +1.9% to $79.56.

I'm glad Citi is on top of their game for this one! Upgrading an $80 stock from $52 to $97. Smooth!

Three great reads for lunchtime: 1) Why bail out life insurers? 2) The rift between taxpayers and investors 3) Income taxes for everyone

#3 is an economics opinion article written by a press secretary. And we are supposed to value his opinion... why?

Bucking conventional wisdom, consumers are deleveraging.

Isn't this a good thing though? We, the consumer, are finally realizing we can't spend beyond our means.


On Apr 08 01:21 PM Jolly_Rancher wrote:

> Consumer develeraging means you can say goodbye to inflation. As
> long as the consumer is not spending, the economy isn't growing and
> businesses aren't investing. Input commodity prices will continue
> to stay in the doghouse.

Will OnLive Kill the Console Gaming Business?

Steam by Valve is the evolutionary step and is doing quite well.

Is Online Advertising Heading Off a Cliff?

I wouldn't go so far to say that the online advertising market won't be affected by the downturn. The largest buyers of ads online are autos and financials, neither of which are doing particularly well right now.

That said, I do think that certain plays are a steal right now, specifically SCOR, VCLK, and OMTR. Plays that enable a company to get more out of the dollars they do invest online seems like they would do well when everyone starts to penny-pinch. All three have been beaten hard by the markets recently and can be picked up on the cheap.