Woman carrying eco friendly shopping bag full of vegetables, low section © Harrison Eastwood, Digital Vision, Getty Images
They were wrong about Whole Foods
Thanks to the health-conscious habits of younger shoppers, the upmarket grocer is in fine shape, says Jim Cramer.

VIDEO ON MSN MONEY

Here are some things Yahoo should do to make its acquisition of Tumblr a success.

By Minyanville.com Tue 12:59 PM
Businesswomen looking at laptops copyright LWA, Larry Williams, Blend Images, Getty ImagesWhen Yahoo (YHOO) officially announced the expected $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr, a trendy social media site, both sides expressed genuine excitement about the deal. In addition, Yahoo promised "not to screw it up," meaning that Tumblr will continue to roll on its own but with Yahoo's financial resources and manpower available to support growth. 
 
The Internet giant's CEO Marissa Mayer admits, "On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo couldn't be more different" and "more complementary" at the same time. And that's where things become challenging: As several other cases suggest, it’s sometimes hard to efficiently blend an established business with an energetic startup.
 

MSN Money's Anthony Mirhaydari explains what's next for the precious metal.

By MSN Money Partner Tue 12:51 PM
Gold prices gained more than 2.5% on Monday after a roller-coaster ride, snapping a seven-session slide that was the longest since the financial crisis. But Tuesday, gold (GLD) prices were down again.

In the video below, MSN Money's Anthony Mirhaydari explains why gold has fallen, what's next for the precious metal, and where to find the smart investments given gold's fading luster. 

Looking for a contrarian play? Consider these names that show signs of institutional selling.

By MoneyShow.com Tue 12:31 PM

Arrow Down © ImageSource PictureQuestBy the staff at Kapitall.com


Fund managers always buy and sell stocks. But sometime, despite many of them having the same bearish sentiment on a stock, there's no apparent reason for the sentiment. So, within the industrial category, we looked for stocks that might not merit such a lack of confidence from fund managers. 


We further searched for data that suggest a more positive future, including evidence of undervaluation and positive returns on investment and assets.


Building the list 
We screened industrial goods stocks for bearish sentiment from institutional investors, with significant net institutional sales over the last quarter representing at least 5% of share float (MoneyShow.com). This indicates that institutional investors such as hedge fund and mutual fund managers expect these companies to underperform.

 

LeapFrog is initiated with an 'overweight,' and Beazer Homes is downgraded to 'neutral.'

By MSN Money Partner Tue 12:01 PM
fly logostock market comstockInformation provided by Theflyonthewall.com

Tuesday's noteworthy upgrades include:
  • American Tower (AMT) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie
  • BlackRock (BLK) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie
  • Cubist (CBST) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Cantor
  • IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie
  • T. Rowe Price (TROW) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein
 

As the season winds down, a few companies are still left to report financial results.

By Stock Traders Daily Tue 11:34 AM

Arrow Up © Photodisc PhotolibraryBy Billy Fisher, Stock Traders Daily


Even with the first quarter earnings season getting ready to wind down, there are still a host of prominent companies left to announce their quarterly results. This week, a couple of big names in the tech sector and numerous retailers will be unveiling their earnings. Here is what to watch for in the coming days.


Rally time for HP

After the market close on Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) will weigh in with its fiscal second quarter earnings. Analysts are calling for a 17.3% decline in earnings per share coupled with an 8.5% slide in total revenue.

 

The CEO's decision to take out the blogging site is about as unimaginative as it gets.

By TheStreet Staff Tue 11:12 AM

© Robert Galbraith/ReutersCaption: Yahoo logo is shown at the company's headquarters in Sunnyvale, CaliforniaBy Rocco Pendola


From the get-go, I strongly supported Marissa Mayer's tenure as Yahoo (YHOO) CEO. While I still believe in the legend of Mayer, I'm officially jumping off the bandwagon.


YHOO stock is up 70% since Mayer got the gig. If you have been long, get the hell out. Even if you miss a bit more upside, why be greedy?


It's not that I dislike Tumblr. It's a perfectly worthy fad among a whole slew of new entrants into the space, if we can call social microblogs a "space." It's just that a.) I do not see the sense in making the acquisition; b.) it makes me feel like Mayer has too few original ideas on how to rebuild Yahoo; and c.) everybody is on the bandwagon like a pack of blindfolded sheep.

 

Long-term investors should focus on high-quality companies with long histories of dividend increases.

By TheStockAdvisors Tue 9:38 AM

A bird nest full of money © David R Frazier Photolibrary Inc AlamyBy Kelley Wright, Investment Quality Trends


For the most part, our cash needs are met by a paycheck -- until you no longer have one. At that point you will need a pool of capital and a stream of income from that capital to meet your needs. That's why we invest -- to build capital and income to meet or augment current and/or future cash needs.


Our preferred strategy is through buying shares of very high-quality companies with long histories of dividend payments and dividend increases. Why? Because dividends represent the most basic and fundamental measure of return on investment.


Besides high quality and a long history of dividend payments and dividend increases, what is ultimately of most importance is that the shares be purchased when they offer good value.

 

The hate for this stock is just ridiculous.

By Jim Cramer Tue 9:02 AM
thestreet logo

If you really think Tumblr is worth $1.1 billion, then Facebook's (FB) stock is worth much more than it is selling for. That's because the goal of Yahoo (YHOO) is to monetize Tumblr on mobile and that's just what Facebook is doing with its products.

But that doesn't matter.


There was a fabulous discussion on Street Signs last week with Jon Steinberg, president of Buzzfeed, arguably the hottest site of its kind of the Web. Steinberg pointed out that Facebook rebutted almost every objection about its service -- from no longer hot, to not monetizing mobile, to not being an important platform -- and nobody cared. In fact, people continue to misstate the case of Facebook, point-blank twisting the facts as if it doesn't even matter.

 

With the dollar firming but gold lower, investors await Fed chief Bernanke's comments Wednesday.

By Benzinga Tue 8:31 AM

zurbar age fotostockBy Tim Parker


The markets ended Monday's trading session barely in the red on the back of a weak dollar and gold that started the day sharply lower but then rebounded.


On Tuesday, traders will watch for signs of follow-thru of Monday's pullback.


Here's what happened overnight:


Morning news

  • S&P 500 futures are down slightly to 1,661.75.

  • The EUR/USD was unchanged at 1.2881.

  • German 10-year government bond yields rose 1 basis point to 1.3%.

 

The Energy Department's conditional approval of liquefied natural gas exports could provide benefits for American energy, engineering and construction companies.

By Jim J. Jubak Mon 6:50 PM

Image: Natural gas (© Ron Chapple/Jupiterimages)On Friday, the U.S. Department of Energy approved what is only the second permit to export liquefied natural gas from the United States.


The permit went to the Freeport LNG project in Texas, a joint project of Freeport LNG Investments, ZHA FLNG Purchaser, Dow Chemical subsidiary Texas LNG Holdings and Turbo LNG, a subsidiary of Japan’s Osaka Gas. The permit will allow Freeport to export up to 1.4 billion cubic feet to gas a day. Subject to environmental review and final regulatory approval, Freeport plans to begin exports in 2017.


The permit went to Freeport, but I think the immediate profits will go to Chicago Bridge and Iron, the engineering company most likely to win the bulk of work on Freeport.

 

Bargain hunting gives silver a boost after a nasty dive in overnight markets. But worries about rising interest rates and a possible U.S. debt downgrade gives the metal a boost.

By Charley Blaine Mon 5:37 PM
Kerem Uzel/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesWhat to make of the violent trading in silver (-SI) on Monday. Silver opened higher late Sunday in electronic trading and then collapsed, finally finding a bottom at $20.25 an ounce.

Had that level held, the result would have been the lowest price since August 2010. The sell-off was so extreme that the CME Group, which operates the New York Mercantile Exchange where silver is traded, halted trading in the metal four times overnight.

But silver -- and gold (-GC) -- surged in late trading, settling at $22.58 an ounce, up 23 cents. Gold, which had fallen to as low as $1,336.30, settled at $1,384.10, up $19.40.

Both were surging in electronic trading late Monday -- a signal perhaps that the metals have bottomed after severe slumps this year. 

These companies are in the sweet spot of a major economic trend.

By StreetAuthority Mon 5:25 PM
Man adjusting room temperature © Tetra Images, Tetra images, Getty ImagesForget the old adage, "A penny saved is a penny earned."

When it comes to investments in energy efficiency, the payback can be 200% or even 400%, according to various studies. That's why there is a fresh push to step up our pace of energy efficiency investments, as I discussed in Part One of this two-part series.

The challenge for investors is to find companies that are squarely focused on the issue. In my first column, I noted that Johnson Controls (JCI), Honeywell (HON) and Ingersoll-Rand (IR) all offer a variety of efficiency-oriented products and services.

However, these companies aren't really pure plays, as they have considerable exposure to the auto industry, the defense sector and other niches that can dilute the gains they will see from rising spending on their energy efficiency gear.
 

In this edition of Investor Beat: Yahoo spends $1.1 billion for Tumblr. Will the blogging service pay dividends for shareholders?

By Motley Fool Investor Beat Mon 4:53 PM
Yahoo! (YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer announced the company has bought Tumblr for $1.1 billion.  It’s her boldest move yet since joining Yahoo last summer.

Even though she promised “not to screw it up,” the Tumblr acquisition has some observers wondering if Yahoo paid too much.  In our lead story, Motley Fool analysts Andy Cross and Jason Moser discuss the pros and cons of the deal -- and whether it will pay off for investors.
 

Both the incorrigibly unhampered DJIA and broader S&P 500 have been rocketing to record highs.

By Gene Marcial Mon 3:38 PM

There hasn't been any "May Day" calamity this month, as many skeptics had predicted. Instead, the market's barometers have been climbing to multiple new highs. So it's been a downer for the believers in the "Sell in May and Go Away" market strategy.

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been incorrigibly unhampered, posting its  221st record closing high this year at a majestic milestone 15,354.40 on May 17. The broader S&P 500 stock index also climbed to another record, at 1,667.42, and the NASDAQ composite index soared to its highest close since October 2000 at 3,498.97.

 

Time to worry? 

 

Stocks retreat this afternoon after hitting yet another life high earlier in the day.

By MSN Money Partner Mon 2:52 PM
Wall Street sign copyright Corbis, SuperStocklogoInformation provided by Theflyonthewall.com 


Yahoo (YHOO) confirmed it is buying social media platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion, as widely reported over the weekend, and promised "not to screw it up" in its press release to announce the deal.

Actavis (ACT) agreed to acquire Warner Chilcott (WCRX) in a stock-for-stock transaction valued at approximately $8.5 billion. The deal, which was approved by the boards of both companies, equates to a value of $20.08 per Warner Chilcott share based on Actavis' closing share price on Friday, the companies said. 
 

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[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 settled lower by 0.8% after early strength turned into afternoon weakness.

Today's headline event came in the form of Ben Bernanke's testimony before the Joint Economic Committee. During his remarks, Chairman Bernanke said premature tightening of monetary policy could stall the pace of recovery. This followed weeks of conflicting remarks from FOMC members, which sparked speculation regarding possible changes to the Fed's policy course.

However, ... More


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