VMware (VMW, EMC) officially launches its vCloud Hybrid Service, which allows clients to pair on-premise workloads with a VMware-run public cloud infrastructure. VMware claims the service supports more than 90 OS', has high-availability options, and allows public and on-premise workloads to be jointly managed. VMware also says it will offer SAP software, including Hana, "as a subscription service on premise and in the cloud." vCloud Hybrid competes with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft's Azure (perhaps the most direct rival), and Rackspace's OpenStack offerings. ITWorld calls it "ideal for a significant set of enterprise applications," but adds it's "no Amazon killer," given AWS' focus on low cost and ease-of-use. [View news story]
The "Amazon killer" task is left for EMC's spinout, PIvotal and its CEO Paul Martz. GE is a Pivotal investor.
Amazon Vs. Pivotal: 5 Reasons Maritz Beats Bezos In Big Data Battle http://bit.ly/YXRAJK
Amazon - The Mystifying Estimates For The Quarter Just Ahead [View article]
What do you think of BGC Partners' tech analyst, Colin Gillis? He is well rated and has been been something of a thorn on Amazon's side to the extent he made a stink about being shut out of their recent CC. Has been bearish and wrong for some time now. This is how he expressed his opinion of Amazon's 1Q results in Haiku form: This not leverage This is slowing revenue growth And dreams of profit.
Amazon - The Mystifying Estimates For The Quarter Just Ahead [View article]
Michael- I don't think there is a high enough COGS advantage among the major players (inspite of the ballyhooed efficiencies of Amazon's logistics and Walmart's supply-chains) to wage a “profitable” price war with the goal of driving the competition out of business.
Once a status-quo of “market share stasis” is reached in at least one major revenue segment like Electronics where price-comparison is easy and practiced, it will manifests as everyone’s revenue growth in line with market growth and this might lead to a reassessment of Amazon as the unstoppable juggernaut sucking up all and every feckless B&M’s revenues.
I think the timing of BBY & TGT resorting to price-matching is tied to the coming sunset of the sales-tax loophole. Amazon deftly used the loophole to become the price king as B&M could not price compete net of taxes without taking a loss while Amazon very well could although with skimpy $$ profits. Now that the loophole has been closed in many states and is likely to happen nationwide soon, the survivors are in a position to employ price matching to effectively push back, but the bruising loss of market share during all these years of unfair competition will be hard to reverse.
One unintended consequence of price-matching might be its degeneration into a tacit price-fixing arrangement among the major players to the detriment of consumers. And with price-fixing shall arrive profitably all around and as long as Amazon can hang on to its market share it might at last become a decent for-profit enterprise.
Amazon (AMZN +0.4%) keeps adding to its portfolio of video content by signing a new deal with Comcast (CMCSA -0.4%) for shows from NBC and other NBCUniversal networks. As is standard, the shows will be available on Prime Instant Video several months after they originally air. [View news story]
The metaphor is shifting from "Platform is King" or even "Device is King" to "Content is King", with Video content providers squeezing top dollars pitting Cable, Netflix, Amazon, Google against each other. Beyond that, as content becomes device and platform agnostic they can dispense with all these middlemen. HBO has shown the way leveraging Cable into its own online platform HBOgo.com which I think in due course will be untethered from Cable. Sony, when it gets its act together, will leverage all the investments made in studios and content. I think the streaming content platforms will have to find another fork of innovation soon to stay relevant.
Amazon - The Mystifying Estimates For The Quarter Just Ahead [View article]
An apropos quote of J.Paul Getty by Hussman captures today's market zeitgeist:
“For as long as I can remember, veteran businessmen and investors – I among them – have been warning about the dangers of irrational stock speculation and hammering away at the theme that stock certificates are deeds of ownership and not betting slips… The professional investor has no choice but to sit by quietly while the mob has its day, until the enthusiasm or panic of the speculators and non-professionals has been spent. He is not impatient, nor is he even in a very great hurry, for he is an investor, not a gambler or a speculator. The seeds of any bust are inherent in any boom that outstrips the pace of whatever solid factors gave it its impetus in the first place. There are no safeguards that can protect the emotional investor from himself.”
The Small, But Important, Flaw In The Tepper Analysis [View article]
amalagoli- If I may add to your efforts to defog the loose phrase "money on the sidelines", there was a whole SA piece on this very subject a few months ago "Cash Hoards On The Sidelines And The Great Rotation" which drew 500+ comments which attests to the difficulty for most to see through the hollow concept.
Here is an excerpt from this piece which helped me greatly in understanding this matter: "..The price of any good - including stocks - rises or falls as a function of the perceived value assigned by marginal buyers and sellers to a given quantity of cash relative to a given quantity of a good. .. an increased quantity of "cash on the sidelines" combined with a decrease in liquidity preference are two factors that contributes to shifting preferences for cash relative to other goods. Then we have a situation in which the holders of cash might bid up the price of certain goods that displace cash on their scale of preferences. I want to reiterate the fact that the value of stocks and other investment assets can fall when the aggregate supply of money rises and vice-versa. There is no necessary relationship between the money supply and the prices of investment goods and/or consumer goods. But all variables remaining equal, a large increase in the amount of available cash (investable funds) combined with a decline in liquidity preferences will tend to exert upward pressure on the value of consumer good and/or investment assets, and especially if the supply of these goods is relatively inelastic."
And this from John Hussman (of Hussman funds): "..“cash on the sidelines” is not a useful concept. Whatever “cash” is there on the sidelines exists because government has created paper money, or the Treasury has issued bills, or because companies have issued commercial paper. Until those securities are actually physically retired, they will and must remain “on the sidelines” because somebody will have to hold them. If Mickey wants to sell his money market fund to buy stocks, the money market fund has to sell commercial paper to Nicky, whose cash goes to Mickey, who uses it to buy stocks from Ricky. In the end, the commercial paper Mickey used to have is now held by Nicky. The cash that Nicky used to have is now held by Ricky, and the stock that Ricky used to have is now held by Mickey. There is exactly the same amount of “cash on the sidelines” after this transaction as there was before it. Similarly, money never moves “into” or “out of” a secondary market, or from one sector to another. If I bring $1 “into” the stock market, that same dollar goes back “out” a moment later in the hands of a seller. If it did not, there would be no trade, no fill."
The Small, But Important, Flaw In The Tepper Analysis [View article]
Ducati..- "..only rotation could move prices." Why can't a rotation just among equities move prices? I mean, why can't prices spiral higher, if say, entity A swaps GOOG for AAPL with entity B with both trades on an uptick? I am using just two entities for illustration and not to suggest collusion, but in a positive sentiment for equities this is what happens until asset class preference ("liquidity preference") changes.
The Small, But Important, Flaw In The Tepper Analysis [View article]
"..There is plenty of appetite for debt. Regular auctions do not include the Fed, and they have a high bid-to-cover ratio. "
Could it be because the primary dealers know that the Fed has their back? Why wouldn't they step up to the plate when they know that they can flip it immediately to the Fed and pocket a vigorish for the trouble!
Anyway, the reason the regular auctions do not include the Fed is because the Fed cannot buy directly from the Treasury.
"..The question is what will Microsoft do with Nook? In my analysis, Microsoft will probably simply kill it on purpose. ... it wants to strengthen the ecosystem for its Surface line of tablets and Windows 8. This was the motivation behind Microsoft’s initial investment in Nook. ..An outright purchase of Nook will give Microsoft complete control of Nook’s ecosystem and in all likelihood, Microsoft will attempt to migrate this ecosystem to Windows 8. ..A purchase of Nook is certainly better for Microsoft compared to creating an eReading ecosystem from the ground up."
Regarding the Internet Tax Bill, now that Amazon has been forced into collecting sales taxes in many of the populous states (NY,CA,TX,PA etc. and many more in due course) it made a U-turn in now backing the bill suggests that is less concerned about leveling the playing field vs. B&M and more concerned about the ironic un-level playing field it now faces vs. its online competitors who don't collect sales taxes. So, longer the bill stays in limbo in congress, harder it will be for Amazon to compete with its online competitors net of taxes.
Why Analysts Are So Wrong When Evaluating High-Growth Stocks [View article]
"Amazon will have serious challengers, whether Wal-Mart (WMT), eBay (EBAY), Google (GOOG), or some other company we do not know yet. "
Alibaba?
http://bit.ly/15t3ro2 A source close to Alibaba said the company has US$ 5 billion cash in hand.. The Wall Street Journal cited an unnamed source as saying that Alibaba secured credit lines worth US$ 8 billion from nine banks on April 30.
What is the online equivalent term for "showrooming"?
And that might be harder to combat once online sales tax becomes the law of the land because B&M can more easily match & beat w/o the shipping overhead as can the smaller sales-tax exempt online merchants.
"..But when I want a toaster, ..Amazon will have hundreds..."
Have you heard of “The Paradox Of Choice” by Barry Schwartz ?
A notable quote: "An ounce of strategy will take you farther than a ton of inventory. The substitute for thinking is to offer a lot of options."
Frankly my eyes glaze over anytime I START my shopping at Amazon. It is a good place to go check for better price and perhaps reviews but only after having made the decision on the WHAT part. And as for the better price part, the prevailing meme of Amazon selling at the best price is true sometimes but many times is not.
VMware (VMW, EMC) officially launches its vCloud Hybrid Service, which allows clients to pair on-premise workloads with a VMware-run public cloud infrastructure. VMware claims the service supports more than 90 OS', has high-availability options, and allows public and on-premise workloads to be jointly managed. VMware also says it will offer SAP software, including Hana, "as a subscription service on premise and in the cloud." vCloud Hybrid competes with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft's Azure (perhaps the most direct rival), and Rackspace's OpenStack offerings. ITWorld calls it "ideal for a significant set of enterprise applications," but adds it's "no Amazon killer," given AWS' focus on low cost and ease-of-use. [View news story]
Amazon Vs. Pivotal: 5 Reasons Maritz Beats Bezos In Big Data Battle
http://bit.ly/YXRAJK
Erickson Air-Crane Updates Guidance: Why Shares Should Be Valued At $40-$60 [View article]
But suggesting wait to get in during a pullback on a secondary offering.
Amazon - The Mystifying Estimates For The Quarter Just Ahead [View article]
He is well rated and has been been something of a thorn on Amazon's side to the extent he made a stink about being shut out of their recent CC.
Has been bearish and wrong for some time now.
This is how he expressed his opinion of Amazon's 1Q results in Haiku form:
This not leverage
This is slowing revenue growth
And dreams of profit.
http://bit.ly/18QxiWO
Amazon - The Mystifying Estimates For The Quarter Just Ahead [View article]
I don't think there is a high enough COGS advantage among the major players (inspite of the ballyhooed efficiencies of Amazon's logistics and Walmart's supply-chains) to wage a “profitable” price war with the goal of driving the competition out of business.
Once a status-quo of “market share stasis” is reached in at least one major revenue segment like Electronics where price-comparison is easy and practiced, it will manifests as everyone’s revenue growth in line with market growth and this might lead to a reassessment of Amazon as the unstoppable juggernaut sucking up all and every feckless B&M’s revenues.
I think the timing of BBY & TGT resorting to price-matching is tied to the coming sunset of the sales-tax loophole. Amazon deftly used the loophole to become the price king as B&M could not price compete net of taxes without taking a loss while Amazon very well could although with skimpy $$ profits. Now that the loophole has been closed in many states and is likely to happen nationwide soon, the survivors are in a position to employ price matching to effectively push back, but the bruising loss of market share during all these years of unfair competition will be hard to reverse.
One unintended consequence of price-matching might be its degeneration into a tacit price-fixing arrangement among the major players to the detriment of consumers. And with price-fixing shall arrive profitably all around and as long as Amazon can hang on to its market share it might at last become a decent for-profit enterprise.
Amazon (AMZN +0.4%) keeps adding to its portfolio of video content by signing a new deal with Comcast (CMCSA -0.4%) for shows from NBC and other NBCUniversal networks. As is standard, the shows will be available on Prime Instant Video several months after they originally air. [View news story]
Amazon - The Mystifying Estimates For The Quarter Just Ahead [View article]
“For as long as I can remember, veteran businessmen and investors – I among them – have been warning about the dangers of irrational stock speculation and hammering away at the theme that stock certificates are deeds of ownership and not betting slips… The professional investor has no choice but to sit by quietly while the mob has its day, until the enthusiasm or panic of the speculators and non-professionals has been spent. He is not impatient, nor is he even in a very great hurry, for he is an investor, not a gambler or a speculator. The seeds of any bust are inherent in any boom that outstrips the pace of whatever solid factors gave it its impetus in the first place. There are no safeguards that can protect the emotional investor from himself.”
http://bit.ly/16g36Wk
The Small, But Important, Flaw In The Tepper Analysis [View article]
If I may add to your efforts to defog the loose phrase "money on the sidelines", there was a whole SA piece on this very subject a few months ago "Cash Hoards On The Sidelines And The Great Rotation" which drew 500+ comments which attests to the difficulty for most to see through the hollow concept.
http://bit.ly/10zIcsq
Here is an excerpt from this piece which helped me greatly in understanding this matter:
"..The price of any good - including stocks - rises or falls as a function of the perceived value assigned by marginal buyers and sellers to a given quantity of cash relative to a given quantity of a good. .. an increased quantity of "cash on the sidelines" combined with a decrease in liquidity preference are two factors that contributes to shifting preferences for cash relative to other goods. Then we have a situation in which the holders of cash might bid up the price of certain goods that displace cash on their scale of preferences. I want to reiterate the fact that the value of stocks and other investment assets can fall when the aggregate supply of money rises and vice-versa. There is no necessary relationship between the money supply and the prices of investment goods and/or consumer goods. But all variables remaining equal, a large increase in the amount of available cash (investable funds) combined with a decline in liquidity preferences will tend to exert upward pressure on the value of consumer good and/or investment assets, and especially if the supply of these goods is relatively inelastic."
And this from John Hussman (of Hussman funds):
"..“cash on the sidelines” is not a useful concept. Whatever “cash” is there on the sidelines exists because government has created paper money, or the Treasury has issued bills, or because companies have issued commercial paper. Until those securities are actually physically retired, they will and must remain “on the sidelines” because somebody will have to hold them.
If Mickey wants to sell his money market fund to buy stocks, the money market fund has to sell commercial paper to Nicky, whose cash goes to Mickey, who uses it to buy stocks from Ricky. In the end, the commercial paper Mickey used to have is now held by Nicky. The cash that Nicky used to have is now held by Ricky, and the stock that Ricky used to have is now held by Mickey. There is exactly the same amount of “cash on the sidelines” after this transaction as there was before it.
Similarly, money never moves “into” or “out of” a secondary market, or from one sector to another. If I bring $1 “into” the stock market, that same dollar goes back “out” a moment later in the hands of a seller. If it did not, there would be no trade, no fill."
The Small, But Important, Flaw In The Tepper Analysis [View article]
"..only rotation could move prices."
Why can't a rotation just among equities move prices?
I mean, why can't prices spiral higher, if say, entity A swaps GOOG for AAPL with entity B with both trades on an uptick?
I am using just two entities for illustration and not to suggest collusion, but in a positive sentiment for equities this is what happens until asset class preference ("liquidity preference") changes.
The Small, But Important, Flaw In The Tepper Analysis [View article]
Could it be because the primary dealers know that the Fed has their back? Why wouldn't they step up to the plate when they know that they can flip it immediately to the Fed and pocket a vigorish for the trouble!
Anyway, the reason the regular auctions do not include the Fed is because the Fed cannot buy directly from the Treasury.
Nook Media Gets How To Play The Gorilla Game [View article]
http://onforb.es/10zJ8Cx
"..The question is what will Microsoft do with Nook? In my analysis, Microsoft will probably simply kill it on purpose. ... it wants to strengthen the ecosystem for its Surface line of tablets and Windows 8. This was the motivation behind Microsoft’s initial investment in Nook. ..An outright purchase of Nook will give Microsoft complete control of Nook’s ecosystem and in all likelihood, Microsoft will attempt to migrate this ecosystem to Windows 8. ..A purchase of Nook is certainly better for Microsoft compared to creating an eReading ecosystem from the ground up."
Amazon Is Ready For A Correction [View article]
Arne Alsin's #1 Pick: Amazon.com [View article]
How about a growing A/P ("float") now @$8.9 billion together with a steady stretching of A/P days (1Q13: 68 days vs. 62 days in 1Q12) ?
How about the $3 billion debt raised in Nov-2012 ?
Why Analysts Are So Wrong When Evaluating High-Growth Stocks [View article]
Alibaba?
http://bit.ly/15t3ro2
A source close to Alibaba said the company has US$ 5 billion cash in hand.. The Wall Street Journal cited an unnamed source as saying that Alibaba secured credit lines worth US$ 8 billion from nine banks on April 30.
Amazon Has A Moat Without A Castle [View article]
And that might be harder to combat once online sales tax becomes the law of the land because B&M can more easily match & beat w/o the shipping overhead as can the smaller sales-tax exempt online merchants.
Ain't that sweet irony !
Amazon Has A Moat Without A Castle [View article]
Have you heard of “The Paradox Of Choice” by Barry Schwartz ?
A notable quote: "An ounce of strategy will take you farther than a ton of inventory. The substitute for thinking is to offer a lot of options."
Frankly my eyes glaze over anytime I START my shopping at Amazon. It is a good place to go check for better price and perhaps reviews but only after having made the decision on the WHAT part. And as for the better price part, the prevailing meme of Amazon selling at the best price is true sometimes but many times is not.