Senator John McCain officially introduces the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013 in Congress in a milestone for the movement toward "a la carte" cable market pricing for consumers. On the floor of the Senate, McCain singled out Comcast's (CMCSA -0.9%) NBC and Disney's (DIS +1.1%) ESPN-ABC family of channels as examples of media concerns forcing consumers to pay for bundled channels they don't want. Analysts think the combined heft of the broadcasting industry stands a good chance of keeping McCain's bill spinning in place. (full bill) [View news story]
How Congress views bills:
"This makes sense and the people are in support of it. It will have to die in committee lest we have to actually vote on it and show the people who's really in charge."
GE Capital (GE +2.5%) cuts off lending to gun shops in response to public backlash since the Sandy Hook shootings. Though the company isn't the first financial firm to back away from involvement with the gun industry, the development puts the spotlight back on sellers such as Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS -0.4%), Wal-Mart (WMT -1.2%), and Cabela's (CAB +0.9%) which could see more foot traffic. It's also of interest to gun manufacturers Smith & Wesson (SWHC +0.8%) and Sturn Ruger (RGR -0.8%) - wallowing around with relatively low P-E ratios with future demand tough to forecast. [View news story]
I for one am glad when companies take the positive step forward that our government just refuses to.
As on alternative energy and better internet infrastructure, leave it up to the private sector to figure out things that the federal government can't because it is in the grip of people who apparently really like to post on this website.
China Central Television (CCTV) has accused Apple (AAPL) and Volkswagen of giving consumers a bad deal. It's worth taking notice, as it was CCTV allegations about chicken quality at KFC that led to a plunge in sales. [View news story]
from the article, it seems that the expose was about apple not honoring warranties the way they would be honored in other countries.
having seen friends buy and try to make use of apple care (extended warranty) for one of their computers, i can't imagine how it could be worse than the old "it has a slight ding in it, apple care is void" argument that they regularly pull on customers in the united states regardless of what is actually wrong with the hardware.
Talks between BP (BP) and states to settle the latter's claims over the Gulf oil spill are reportedly being made more difficult by the competing interests of the sates. At the opening of the civil trial yesterday, the Justice Department's Michael Underhill accused BP of "willful misconduct," which is an even higher standard than gross negligence and would leave BP open to fines of up to $17.6B. Underhill accused Haliburton (HAL) and Transocean (RIG) of gross negligence. [View news story]
Didn't Transocean already settle for civil and criminal penalties, for $1.4 billion total? Are they still being sued or in some other way potentially liable for more fines?
A test drive of a Tesla Motors (TSLA -0.9%) Model S from Washington DC to Boston goes resoundingly smooth for a CNN reporter as he zooms through traffic at over 70 mph at times with enough charge left to spare at the end of the trip. The one nitpick from the drive was the 200-mile stretch without a charging station, although that should be an easy problem for the EV maker to fix. (Previous saga: NYT vs Musk) [View news story]
The Obama administration's decision on the Keystone oil pipeline (TRP) will not be made until at least June, a U.S. official tells Reuters, which would delay the project for months and frustrate backers of Canada's oil sands. "It's not weeks until the final decision," according to the source. "It's months." [View news story]
i feel like this is the first time that people on this site have stood up to the bigoted, small-minded attacks on anything obama and the democrats do. nice to see this site isn't just an extension of fox news!
Yelp (YELP -6.9%) has sold off as Facebook (FB -2%) shows off Graph Search; investors seem to to be fretting Yelp traffic will be hurt as Facebook's tool is used to search for businesses a user's "friends" have visited/liked. However, Graph Search is far from a direct rival. Google (GOOG -0.2%) has slipped a little after Mark Zuckerberg notes Bing (MSFT) will be a fallback option for searches. Zuck: "Graph Search is a really big project that will take years and years to index the whole map and the graph" (live blog) [View news story]
Though I would agree that they could be wiped out by the next new thing, the fact that everyone and their mom (literally) uses Facebook is in fact something of a moat. If you want an example, just look at Google +: plenty of money and brand recognition, yet completely failed because people realized that everyone else is on Facebook.
The American Academy of Neurology has published new research suggesting that drinking sweetened beverages, especially diet drinks, is linked to an increased risk of depression in adults, while drinking unsweetened coffee was tied to a slightly lower risk. The study,released today, will be presented at the Academy's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013. [View news story]
1. The AAN is a private, member-funded, organization with members from around the world...(which you could've found out by the simplest Google search).
2. The NIH does fund a host of neurological research, which I assume you are actually referring to. If you want to cut that (we could save $1 billion, that'll save us!!), then don't blame anyone else when you get a neurological disorder that no one is trying to treat. At least if it's Alzheimer's or another form dementia, you won't remember how you felt about this. But that will be little solace.
3. Sure, let's cut the public R&D spending and watch as other countries take over our technological leadership, losing the one edge we still have over other countries.
NY Times reports state regulators have determined that fracking can be done safely in New York, but the findings have been closely guarded by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, "unnerved in part by strident opposition on his party's left." That's tantamount to a Cuomo cover-up, WSJ's Jason Riley writes: "For the governor, this is about politics, not science." [View news story]
"and 2. wants to be selective as to what science it follows is a disgrace - and it shows exactly how inept it truly is."
By those standards, most politicians, but especially Republicans, are utterly inept.
A preliminary review by Michigan has found that Detroit has a "serious financial problem," with reporting problems causing cash-flow projections to significantly oscillate on a monthly basis. The review could lead to the declaration of a fiscal emergency and prompt the appointment of an emergency financial manager. A municipal filing for bankruptcy protection, the biggest in U.S. history, could ultimately ensue. (previous) [View news story]
It's surprisingly shocking to see someone on this site use real-world facts about politics instead of paranoid illusions about a man (Obama or Bernanke) they distrust. Well done!
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index slides to -41.9 from -39.7 the previous week. It's the lowest read in 2 months. Current conditions fell to -74.4, the lowest since February. "The American public is downright sour on their own economic prospects and those of the nation as a whole." [View news story]
it's good to see that some sane, rational, thinking people actually visit this site.
The next iPhone (AAPL) will feature a thinner display thanks to its use of in-cell touch panels, the WSJ reports. Past rumors have indicated Apple will adopt in-cell tech, which also lowers costs and improves image quality. Separately, Piper's Gene Munster reports a survey of 400 consumers found 65% stating their next phone will be an iPhone. However, Munster adds 52% of respondents were already iPhone owners, well above the iPhone's estimated 32% share of U.S. smartphone owners. [View news story]
having gotten the chance to play with the samsung galaxy sIII, i decided it would be my next phone if i was to buy one right now (currently iphone 4S). apple will have to wow - with hardware especially.
Though analysts are impressed with Microsoft Surface (MSFT +3.7%), few see it as a huge threat to the iPad (AAPL +0.6%). Jefferies' Peter Misek thinks Microsoft will need to "significantly undercut" the iPad on pricing (something that's unlikely given its specs) to be competitive, and argues the iPad's 225K+ apps set it apart. However, Forrester's David Johnson believes Windows RT's management features, user interface, and Office support will appeal to enterprise users. (more) [View news story]
How is it that the number of apps available for a given OS is always seen as an indicator of how well it will be received? For example, saying that the OS with 225k apps will be more popular than the one with 70k (? - Windows Phone) apps? I know personally that at least half the iOS apps are pure crap, which I why I have to delete them after first use, so the increase in quantity really does nothing for the consumer if the quality isn't also there.
More on Facebook: The Reuters survey comes on a day when the company is introducing a major overhaul of its Sponsored Stories ad product, which allows marketers to promote products liked by a user's "friends." Sponsored Stories will now appear directly in a user's news feed, rather than in right-hand columns. In addition, in an effort to boost Facebook's limited mobile ad business, Sponsored Stories can now be purchased specifically for mobile devices. [View news story]
facebook is really gonna lose people's interest when the newsfeed is just a bunch of advertisements.
Weakish demand for the Facebook (FB) IPO isn't a surprise for Minyanville's Conor Sen, who says the public markets are doing a great job sifting through new share offerings. The revenue growth isn't there, he tweets. If Facebook grows revenues at 20-25% in 2012, give it an 8X sales multiple and call it generous ... that's $40B. [View news story]
What you gotta remember about amazon is: they sell real products. and lots of them.
For example, in the past month I have: 1. bought a book on my Kindle 2. rented a movie through my amazon PS3 app 3. as a prime member, I do most of my online shopping through amazon if possible because of the free two-day shipping
Facebook, on the other hand: I use adblock and don't even see any of the ads. Also, I am extremely creeped out by facebook's attempts to get me to post more things (which they can sell), so I removed basically everything but my picture and name from my facebook account.
I feel like one of those companies is close to hitting its growth limit, while the other is just getting started with great new ideas to make money.
Senator John McCain officially introduces the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013 in Congress in a milestone for the movement toward "a la carte" cable market pricing for consumers. On the floor of the Senate, McCain singled out Comcast's (CMCSA -0.9%) NBC and Disney's (DIS +1.1%) ESPN-ABC family of channels as examples of media concerns forcing consumers to pay for bundled channels they don't want. Analysts think the combined heft of the broadcasting industry stands a good chance of keeping McCain's bill spinning in place. (full bill) [View news story]
"This makes sense and the people are in support of it. It will have to die in committee lest we have to actually vote on it and show the people who's really in charge."
GE Capital (GE +2.5%) cuts off lending to gun shops in response to public backlash since the Sandy Hook shootings. Though the company isn't the first financial firm to back away from involvement with the gun industry, the development puts the spotlight back on sellers such as Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS -0.4%), Wal-Mart (WMT -1.2%), and Cabela's (CAB +0.9%) which could see more foot traffic. It's also of interest to gun manufacturers Smith & Wesson (SWHC +0.8%) and Sturn Ruger (RGR -0.8%) - wallowing around with relatively low P-E ratios with future demand tough to forecast. [View news story]
As on alternative energy and better internet infrastructure, leave it up to the private sector to figure out things that the federal government can't because it is in the grip of people who apparently really like to post on this website.
China Central Television (CCTV) has accused Apple (AAPL) and Volkswagen of giving consumers a bad deal. It's worth taking notice, as it was CCTV allegations about chicken quality at KFC that led to a plunge in sales. [View news story]
having seen friends buy and try to make use of apple care (extended warranty) for one of their computers, i can't imagine how it could be worse than the old "it has a slight ding in it, apple care is void" argument that they regularly pull on customers in the united states regardless of what is actually wrong with the hardware.
this seems like a non-story to me.
Talks between BP (BP) and states to settle the latter's claims over the Gulf oil spill are reportedly being made more difficult by the competing interests of the sates. At the opening of the civil trial yesterday, the Justice Department's Michael Underhill accused BP of "willful misconduct," which is an even higher standard than gross negligence and would leave BP open to fines of up to $17.6B. Underhill accused Haliburton (HAL) and Transocean (RIG) of gross negligence. [View news story]
A test drive of a Tesla Motors (TSLA -0.9%) Model S from Washington DC to Boston goes resoundingly smooth for a CNN reporter as he zooms through traffic at over 70 mph at times with enough charge left to spare at the end of the trip. The one nitpick from the drive was the 200-mile stretch without a charging station, although that should be an easy problem for the EV maker to fix. (Previous saga: NYT vs Musk) [View news story]
The Obama administration's decision on the Keystone oil pipeline (TRP) will not be made until at least June, a U.S. official tells Reuters, which would delay the project for months and frustrate backers of Canada's oil sands. "It's not weeks until the final decision," according to the source. "It's months." [View news story]
Yelp (YELP -6.9%) has sold off as Facebook (FB -2%) shows off Graph Search; investors seem to to be fretting Yelp traffic will be hurt as Facebook's tool is used to search for businesses a user's "friends" have visited/liked. However, Graph Search is far from a direct rival. Google (GOOG -0.2%) has slipped a little after Mark Zuckerberg notes Bing (MSFT) will be a fallback option for searches. Zuck: "Graph Search is a really big project that will take years and years to index the whole map and the graph" (live blog) [View news story]
The American Academy of Neurology has published new research suggesting that drinking sweetened beverages, especially diet drinks, is linked to an increased risk of depression in adults, while drinking unsweetened coffee was tied to a slightly lower risk. The study,released today, will be presented at the Academy's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego, March 16 to 23, 2013. [View news story]
2. The NIH does fund a host of neurological research, which I assume you are actually referring to. If you want to cut that (we could save $1 billion, that'll save us!!), then don't blame anyone else when you get a neurological disorder that no one is trying to treat. At least if it's Alzheimer's or another form dementia, you won't remember how you felt about this. But that will be little solace.
3. Sure, let's cut the public R&D spending and watch as other countries take over our technological leadership, losing the one edge we still have over other countries.
NY Times reports state regulators have determined that fracking can be done safely in New York, but the findings have been closely guarded by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, "unnerved in part by strident opposition on his party's left." That's tantamount to a Cuomo cover-up, WSJ's Jason Riley writes: "For the governor, this is about politics, not science." [View news story]
By those standards, most politicians, but especially Republicans, are utterly inept.
A preliminary review by Michigan has found that Detroit has a "serious financial problem," with reporting problems causing cash-flow projections to significantly oscillate on a monthly basis. The review could lead to the declaration of a fiscal emergency and prompt the appointment of an emergency financial manager. A municipal filing for bankruptcy protection, the biggest in U.S. history, could ultimately ensue. (previous) [View news story]
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index slides to -41.9 from -39.7 the previous week. It's the lowest read in 2 months. Current conditions fell to -74.4, the lowest since February. "The American public is downright sour on their own economic prospects and those of the nation as a whole." [View news story]
The next iPhone (AAPL) will feature a thinner display thanks to its use of in-cell touch panels, the WSJ reports. Past rumors have indicated Apple will adopt in-cell tech, which also lowers costs and improves image quality. Separately, Piper's Gene Munster reports a survey of 400 consumers found 65% stating their next phone will be an iPhone. However, Munster adds 52% of respondents were already iPhone owners, well above the iPhone's estimated 32% share of U.S. smartphone owners. [View news story]
Though analysts are impressed with Microsoft Surface (MSFT +3.7%), few see it as a huge threat to the iPad (AAPL +0.6%). Jefferies' Peter Misek thinks Microsoft will need to "significantly undercut" the iPad on pricing (something that's unlikely given its specs) to be competitive, and argues the iPad's 225K+ apps set it apart. However, Forrester's David Johnson believes Windows RT's management features, user interface, and Office support will appeal to enterprise users. (more) [View news story]
More on Facebook: The Reuters survey comes on a day when the company is introducing a major overhaul of its Sponsored Stories ad product, which allows marketers to promote products liked by a user's "friends." Sponsored Stories will now appear directly in a user's news feed, rather than in right-hand columns. In addition, in an effort to boost Facebook's limited mobile ad business, Sponsored Stories can now be purchased specifically for mobile devices. [View news story]
Weakish demand for the Facebook (FB) IPO isn't a surprise for Minyanville's Conor Sen, who says the public markets are doing a great job sifting through new share offerings. The revenue growth isn't there, he tweets. If Facebook grows revenues at 20-25% in 2012, give it an 8X sales multiple and call it generous ... that's $40B. [View news story]
For example, in the past month I have:
1. bought a book on my Kindle
2. rented a movie through my amazon PS3 app
3. as a prime member, I do most of my online shopping through amazon if possible because of the free two-day shipping
Facebook, on the other hand: I use adblock and don't even see any of the ads. Also, I am extremely creeped out by facebook's attempts to get me to post more things (which they can sell), so I removed basically everything but my picture and name from my facebook account.
I feel like one of those companies is close to hitting its growth limit, while the other is just getting started with great new ideas to make money.