Can Nokia's Lumia 900 Steal Share From Apple? [View article]
I have given up on Nokia - since Feb.2011 the stock just keeps sinking - Elop is not worth his salary, it's just unbelievable how much he has done wrong to sink NOK for ever and lead it safely to bankruptcy, while MSFT just keeps going higher - mutually beneficial alliance I don't think so! But Elop is bribed by MSFT to sink the share' value and then MSFT will get them for 2 bucks! What a shameful executive!
France Telecom: A 12.9% Dividend Opportunity [View article]
BUT FTE IS VALUED 4 TIMES CHEAPER THAN VZ, I.E. THERE IS A LOT OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, BUT TRUE IN A COMMUNIST COUNTRY LIKE FRANCE IT MAYBE DIFFICULT TO TRIM THE FAT OFF THE RIPS!
Looking to strengthen its balance sheet in the face of growing losses and debt rating downgrades, Nokia (NOK) is in advanced talks to sell its Vertu luxury phone brand to P-E firm Permira for ~€200M ($264M), the Financial Timesreports. Vertu, known for extravagant models such as its $88K Diamond phone, is estimated to have annual sales of €200M-€300M. (also) [View news story]
but they have 8 bn in financial dewbt - so net it's 6,6 bn USD and then they have negative free cash flow of 800mm as Mr Elop's strategy proves to be an accelerator for great value creation for shareholders! ELOP GO HOME YOU HAVE REDUCED NOKIA TO A SHIPWRECK! SHAME ON YOU!!
Apple (AAPL) is proving to be as good at avoiding taxes (here and internationally) as it is at designing smartphones, taking advantage of tax laws designed for the industrial, not the digital economy. The company had an overall tax rate of less than 10% in 2011, vs. about a 24% average for non-tech companies, reports the NYT, seemingly laying out a blueprint for politicians to shift attacks from big oil to big tech. Ugh. [View news story]
It's disgraceful that tax evasion is possible by hiring these vulture tax lawyers. I hope people will think twice and prefer a Nokia Lumia to an evasive Iphone!
Top 12 Large-Cap Stocks Selling Below Book Value [View article]
If you look for companies below book value please come to Europe. In France, Italy and Spain, below book valuation is the new normal. You can buy all the French banks at 0.4-0.5x tangible book, same applies to AXA,France Telecom,Air France KLM, Carrefour,Alcatel, EDF, ENEL, VIVENDI,Alstom.
So if you are keen on below book investments and do not think that the EUrozone will implode, which is still a possibility thanks to the great German plotiicians, you definitely need to include the ild continent.
Can Nokia's Lumia 900 Steal Share From Apple? [View article]
Apple marketeers successfully brainwashed so many idiotic consumers who are now happy to pay triple the price for a device that is not substantially superior to the Iphone. I am not sure how long consumers will throw their money out of the window. Same applies to telcos as they can expand their margin and be more profitable without the overhyped Iphone!
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): Q1 net profit of €398M on a €659M gain for the Genesys sale. Operating loss of €289M vs. €64M last year. Sales of €3.21B (-12%) fell short of consensus of €3.9B, led by a 12% drop in North America. Says risks in Europe "remain high," and notes the North American transition from CDMA to lower-margin LTE gear is accelerating. Shares -12% in Paris. (PR) [View news story]
ALU seems to be the eternally sick patient. Of note is that none of their new products, light radio, 100G and patents were commercially marketed in Q1. Nevertheless, prospects for ALU are poor, the Management is not addressing the problems aggressively enough (cost structure, overstaffing, margin erosion etc.) and the stock remains a zombie. With 15 bn euros in sales, having a market cap lower than 3 bn e is really poor. Especially Ben sais that by 2012 ALU will be a normal company that pays a dividend, he should elaborate on his plan and reassure investors. If that does not happen, the stock will be below 1 very soon!
Speaking in NYC, the ECB's Jens Weidmann argues against monetary policies such as bond purchases which obscure "market interest rates (that) are an important signal for governments ... markets don't always get it right ... (but) their signal is still the most powerful initiative we have." [View news story]
I am afraid Mr Weidmann lives in a surreal world trying to uphold the credentials of the Bundesbank, but ignoring the fact that Germany's fate is tied to the economic recovery of the Eurozone. If Weidmann directed ECB policy, there would be no bond purchases, no LTRO , no quantitative easing and higher interest rates. I believe Weidmann needs some lessons from Ben Bernanke who has the accademic credibility to teach him some insight into the monetery reasons of the Great Depression. Weidmann should familiarise himself with this topic and maybe he would be intellectually capable of a turnaround in his lopsided and distorted views of the Eurozone's problems. If Weidmann is not kept in check, he and the Bundesbank will be one of the main contributors of the Euro's demise and the global crises it will spark throughout the financial system!
George Soros declares all-out war on the Bundesbank, writes Ambrose-Evans Pritchard, telling Le Monde he would "bet against the euro" were he still in the business. The salutary effect of the LTRO has been broken by the Buba's counterattack, Soros argues. Soros famously redoubled his pound shorts in 1992 when he concluded the Germans would not move to support the currency. (Bundesbank's Weidmann's interview here) [View news story]
Soros is doing the obvious - the Germans have not understood yet that either they need to commit all resources against the debt crises or they are better off leaving immediately. This lukewarm attitude is an invitation for short-sellers and will make things worse for everybody, including me!
Citigroup (C +2.5%) plans to resubmit its rejected capital distribution plan to the Fed by mid-June, says CEO Pandit. Given the Fed has 75 days to review the plan, investors may have to wait until Q3 to hear any details. By that point, a plan for 2013 will be nearly due, meaning it might pay for the bank to forget about 2012 and just worry about next year. [View news story]
tangibe book + $50.90 - C trading at 30% discount to tangible book. That's better than BAC -8.90/13.50, or is it not?
Citigroup (C +1.8%) shares rise in early trading after the bank posted Q1 results Nomura's Glenn Schorr calls a “well-rounded quarter" highlighted by continued loan and deposit growth as well as strong expense control. "We think Citi’s executing according to plan and the stock is cheap,” Schorr writes, adding he will revisit his estimates and $47 price target that go along with his Buy rating. [View news story]
It all depends on Eurocrises if Financials will be hot stocks this year or not! So while I hope $47 will be reached soon (I am holding 50,000 call options on C) I see some significant downside risks arising from the completely inadequate and unprofessional handling of the Euro debt crises. Mostly Germany is to blame for this, but also other countries who do not stand up to Germany. So this means uncertaintyu will continue and can easily derail any stockmarket rally just like 15th of September 2008.
The ECB should restart its bond purchase program says Jamie Garcia-Legaz, a deputy minister in Spain's Economy Ministry. The comment is an escalation of the rhetoric coming from the Rajoy government, which previously had been careful to praise ECB actions, but not explicitly call for help. [View news story]
The only solution is to commit the ECB to buy unlimited amounts of Spanish and Italian bonds if the yield goes above a defined threshold - say 5.25%. Unless this is done, we are going to see the meltdown of Eurobanks, stocks and a further spike in mass unemployment. If this is what Germany wants, they should say so and leave the Eurozome immediately before the whole house of cards collapses!
5 Oversold Dividend Stocks Poised For Long-Term Rebounds [View article]
FTE is trading at such a ridiculous valuation that a strong rebound by at least 20% must be imminent as the stock trades now at an EV/EBITDA of less than 4. Catalyst may be: - competition from FREE less than feared - in fact the EU is launching an investigation into the distorsion of termination call charges conceded by ARCEP - dividend payout of 0.80 EUR was confirmed by CEO for June against employees appeal to reduce the dividend to 0.40 to secure employment (this is ridiculous and can only happen in socialist lazy countries such as France). Management stressed that the financial performance in 2011 infact justified the payout. -French election: even with the election of Hollande, the socialist contender, the French economy and even Europe may be better off than with Sarkozy. In five years of his presidency, French shares have remained at crises level and the CAC-index has halved over the last 5 years, a really shameful performance! - Analysts in general regard the FTE share price reaction excessive in relation to potential competitive threats from FREE: CS issued buy rating three weeks ago with target 15.50, idem MS with target 15.50. -FTE is trading atlowest level since September 2002, before lowest level was 14.01 on 2nd July 2010, the stock was 27 Euros in 11/2007 and is now EUR 10.115 which is an incredible low.
FTE will report on April 28, so this could be a catalyst for a share price reevaluation!
Can Nokia's Lumia 900 Steal Share From Apple? [View article]
France Telecom: A 12.9% Dividend Opportunity [View article]
Looking to strengthen its balance sheet in the face of growing losses and debt rating downgrades, Nokia (NOK) is in advanced talks to sell its Vertu luxury phone brand to P-E firm Permira for ~€200M ($264M), the Financial Times reports. Vertu, known for extravagant models such as its $88K Diamond phone, is estimated to have annual sales of €200M-€300M. (also) [View news story]
ELOP GO HOME YOU HAVE REDUCED NOKIA TO A SHIPWRECK! SHAME ON YOU!!
Apple (AAPL) is proving to be as good at avoiding taxes (here and internationally) as it is at designing smartphones, taking advantage of tax laws designed for the industrial, not the digital economy. The company had an overall tax rate of less than 10% in 2011, vs. about a 24% average for non-tech companies, reports the NYT, seemingly laying out a blueprint for politicians to shift attacks from big oil to big tech. Ugh. [View news story]
Top 12 Large-Cap Stocks Selling Below Book Value [View article]
So if you are keen on below book investments and do not think that the EUrozone will implode, which is still a possibility thanks to the great German plotiicians, you definitely need to include the ild continent.
Can Nokia's Lumia 900 Steal Share From Apple? [View article]
Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): Q1 net profit of €398M on a €659M gain for the Genesys sale. Operating loss of €289M vs. €64M last year. Sales of €3.21B (-12%) fell short of consensus of €3.9B, led by a 12% drop in North America. Says risks in Europe "remain high," and notes the North American transition from CDMA to lower-margin LTE gear is accelerating. Shares -12% in Paris. (PR) [View news story]
Speaking in NYC, the ECB's Jens Weidmann argues against monetary policies such as bond purchases which obscure "market interest rates (that) are an important signal for governments ... markets don't always get it right ... (but) their signal is still the most powerful initiative we have." [View news story]
George Soros declares all-out war on the Bundesbank, writes Ambrose-Evans Pritchard, telling Le Monde he would "bet against the euro" were he still in the business. The salutary effect of the LTRO has been broken by the Buba's counterattack, Soros argues. Soros famously redoubled his pound shorts in 1992 when he concluded the Germans would not move to support the currency. (Bundesbank's Weidmann's interview here) [View news story]
Mario Draghi, The Rain In Spain, And The Future Of European Banking [View article]
Citigroup (C +2.5%) plans to resubmit its rejected capital distribution plan to the Fed by mid-June, says CEO Pandit. Given the Fed has 75 days to review the plan, investors may have to wait until Q3 to hear any details. By that point, a plan for 2013 will be nearly due, meaning it might pay for the bank to forget about 2012 and just worry about next year. [View news story]
Citigroup (C +1.8%) shares rise in early trading after the bank posted Q1 results Nomura's Glenn Schorr calls a “well-rounded quarter" highlighted by continued loan and deposit growth as well as strong expense control. "We think Citi’s executing according to plan and the stock is cheap,” Schorr writes, adding he will revisit his estimates and $47 price target that go along with his Buy rating. [View news story]
The ECB should restart its bond purchase program says Jamie Garcia-Legaz, a deputy minister in Spain's Economy Ministry. The comment is an escalation of the rhetoric coming from the Rajoy government, which previously had been careful to praise ECB actions, but not explicitly call for help. [View news story]
If this is what Germany wants, they should say so and leave the Eurozome immediately before the whole house of cards collapses!
5 Oversold Dividend Stocks Poised For Long-Term Rebounds [View article]
- competition from FREE less than feared - in fact the EU is launching an investigation into the distorsion of termination call charges conceded by ARCEP
- dividend payout of 0.80 EUR was confirmed by CEO for June against employees appeal to reduce the dividend to 0.40 to secure employment (this is ridiculous and can only happen in socialist lazy countries such as France). Management stressed that the financial performance in 2011 infact justified the payout.
-French election: even with the election of Hollande, the socialist contender, the French economy and even Europe may be better off than with Sarkozy. In five years of his presidency, French shares have remained at crises level and the CAC-index has halved over the last 5 years, a really shameful performance!
- Analysts in general regard the FTE share price reaction excessive in relation to potential competitive threats from FREE: CS issued buy rating three weeks ago with target 15.50, idem MS with target 15.50.
-FTE is trading atlowest level since September 2002, before lowest level was 14.01 on 2nd July 2010, the stock was 27 Euros in 11/2007 and is now EUR 10.115 which is an incredible low.
FTE will report on April 28, so this could be a catalyst for a share price reevaluation!
3 Reasons To Consider Arcelor Mittal [View article]