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Shares drop over 9% after $43.3 million weekend premiere, but strong word of mouth could be sparking the film.

By TheWrap Mar 30, 2010 6:12PM

It’s a tough market, even for fire-breathing dragons.


Share prices for DreamWorks Animation (DWA) Tuesday were flat, a day after tumbling more than 9% amid Wall Street’s disappointment about the weekend opening of the studio’s latest 3D animated film, "How to Train Your Dragon."



The movie grossed $43.3 million over the three-day weekend period at 4,055 theaters, 2,178 of them equipped with 3D.


The opening could have been much worse.

 

The U.S. Postal Service wants to cut Saturday mail delivery, taking one more day out of Netflix's lineup.

By Kim Peterson Mar 30, 2010 4:23PM
Netflix DVD. Credit: (© Paul Sakuma/AP)Will Netflix (NFLX) suffer if the post office cuts Saturday delivery? Probably not, although The Big Money makes it sound like the end of the world for the company.

The video rental company passed 12.3 million subscribers last year, most of whom get their movies through the U.S. mail. It's stock price has tripled since 2005 to $75, and it now brings in more movie rental revenue than rival Blockbuster (BBI), writes Ethan Epstein.

But what happens to Netflix if the Postal Service cancels Saturday mail? Could Netflix "suffer a serious blow," as Epstein writes? 

Energy Transfer Partners benefits from low interest rates, and a jump in earnings is likely.

By Jim J. Jubak Mar 30, 2010 3:31PM

Jim JubakEnergy Transfer Partners (ETP) has hit my $47 target price just about on schedule. But I don't see any reason to sell these master limited partnership units out of Jubak's Picks quite yet.


As I wrote in July 2009, “the longer the Federal Reserve promises to keep interest rates low, the more valuable Energy Transfer Partners is and the longer I want to hold it.” 


The Fed's target for shorter interest rates is still at 0% to 0.25%, and the promise is still to keep rates at that level “for an extended period.”

 

Users will spend $1,548.75 to buy the top iPad model and use it for two years. That amount could buy more than an ounce of gold or 38 shares of Barrick Gold.

By TheStreet Staff Mar 30, 2010 1:43PM

TheStreetBy Alix Steel, TheStreet

 

There are better ways to spend the $1,548.76 an Apple (AAPL) iPad costs.

 

The iPad will hit stores Saturday and preliminary reports indicate that people plan to buy the tablet computer. Apple has sold out of its pre-ordered inventory as consumers plop down $499 to $829 for the device. Morgan Stanley (MS) expects 6 million units to be sold this year.

 

Apple's top iPad model, which will cost $829, will offer 64 gigabytes of memory and wi-fi and 3G network capabilities. Although AT&T (T) isn’t forcing users to sign up for a two-year contract, plans with unlimited data cost $29.99 a month, which comes out to $719.76 for the same duration, bringing the grand total for an iPad to $1,548.76.

 

What else can you buy for $1,600? Gold, for starters.

 

There is money to be made in adult entertainment. How about adult entertainment stocks?

By Jamie Dlugosch Mar 30, 2010 12:47PM

Boys will be boys.

 

Despite being the party of family values, the Republican National Committee spent $2,000 at a West Hollywood adult entertainment club featuring near-naked women and simulated bondage activities.

 

Let’s face it: There is a large market for adult entertainment and even some of those supposedly against such vices partake in their availability.

 

 

Clearly, there’s money to be made in the category.

 

Two thousand dollars at one club is a lot to spend. Imagine the dollars flowing through these clubs?

 

In India, the Yum! Brands franchise has just one store but its brisk business signals the potential of this red-hot emerging market

By InvestorPlace Mar 30, 2010 12:12PM

taco bell indiaFirst, India goes wild over Domino’s Pizza (DPZ). Now, Yum! Brands (YUM) is seeing runaway success in the region with its Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut chains.

 If you’re confused by the fact that an American versions of Mexican and Italian food selling well in India, you’re not alone. But one thing that’s plain as day is the big revenue stream these brands are tapping into. India’s GDP slowed to “only” a 6.1% annual rate in 2009, and consumer spending is rising steadily there even as Western markets struggle.

 

This has created a big opportunity for companies in many sectors, not the least of which are fast-food restaurants.

 

Apple's darling status has kept many investors from buying shares. It's not too late to catch the upswing.

By TheStreet Staff Mar 30, 2010 10:11AM

By Jake Lynch, TheStreetTheStreet

 

Apple has climbed 11% in March on positive iPad sales forecasts and increased consumer spending. Still, some investors shun Apple because they expect the shares to drop or consider the stock too expensive.

 

Here are five inhibitions that could be hurting your returns.

 

5. Aversion to groupthink: The technology bubble of the late '90s and the credit bubble of 2006 have stoked skepticism among investors. They avoid popular stocks because they've been burned by fast-growing names in the past. Apple repels many investors who question why shareholders are so emotionally attached to the company and its products. As long as you're buying shares based on investment fundamentals, not emotion, Apple is a safe bet.

 

Fiat bought Chrysler for the distribution, but an inefficient network and still-falling sales could spell doom for this 85-year-old car brand.

By Louis Navellier Mar 30, 2010 9:29AM

A recent Edmunds.com auto sales report offers further proof for an already obvious trend: Chrysler is far from recovery, and there is a very real chance the brand could become all but a memory in 2011.

 

The numbers showed a continued erosion of the former auto giant’s market share last month. Edmunds.com estimates March sales for Chrysler were down more than 10% from last year, the only major automaker that saw a sales decline compared to 2009. By comparison, Ford (F) saw sales up almost 50%. Even worse is that Chrysler sales are sliding even as auto sales in general pick up. March's seasonally adjusted sales rate will be 12.4 million vehicles, up dramatically from 10.3 million in February 2010.

Getting a smaller piece of a bigger pie is a big problem for this ailing Detroit giant. But weak sales mark only the first of many problems for Chrysler right now.

 

Reasons to check out this biotech stock

By Wall Street Media on MSN Money Mar 29, 2010 6:12PM
Written by Douglas Estadt

Delcath Systems is a biotech stock that does pose some risk, but with Phase III results just around the corner, we couldn’t help but take a look and ended up buying.  Here’s why:

 

  • Their PHP system is in phase III trials and allows physicians to deliver higher doses of chemotherapy directly to the liver (100x as much as IV doses)
  • They offer minimally invasive approach to targeted areas that can be repeated for follow up treatment.
  • We’re anticipating release of Phase III data in April for their leading candidate.
  • Delcath is also developing the technology to treat other organs or areas of the body that are affected by cancer.
  • Experienced management team, orphan drug status, and manufacturing being put in place are all positive signs.

 

To hear more about DCTH watch the video below

 

Coach diversifies its price points and takes other steps to keep sales strong.

By Jim J. Jubak Mar 29, 2010 5:25PM

Jim JubakLet it run!


Coach (COH) hit my October 2010 target of $40 last week, but the numbers on the U.S. economy look good enough in the short run and the momentum of U.S. stocks is strong enough right now that I'm going to keep this money on the table. (For more on why the U.S. stock market is likely to be the best performing stock market in the world in the next three months or so, see this post).


I think Coach has done a great job of navigating through the economic slowdown by shifting its price points and managing the mix between its full-price and outlet stores so that sales stayed strong but margins didn't take too much of a beating.

Now, Coach gets to reap some of the reward for handling the downturn so well.

 
Tags: Jim Jubak

Best Buy will be the sole launch partner for Apple's iPad when it hits stores Saturday.

By TheStreet Staff Mar 29, 2010 1:06PM

TheStreetBy Jeanine Poggi, TheStreet

 

Best Buy (BBY) will sell Apple's (AAPL) iPad in most of its stores when the device launches Saturday.

 

Apple said in a statement the electronics retailer will be its sole iPad launch partner. Piper Jaffray also boosted its price target on Best Buy shares to $53 from $51, following its fourth-quarter earnings release last week.

 

"While economic recovery is starting to be assumed for other retailers, we believe skepticism remains on Best Buy's sales and gross margin rates," Piper Jaffray wrote in a note.

 

Tobacco companies look to profit from smokeless products that look and feel like candy.

By Jamie Dlugosch Mar 29, 2010 12:06PM

Corporations have no shame. They will do anything, and I mean anything, for a profit.

 

How else do you explain the latest development from the tobacco industry?

Reynolds American (RAI), the maker of Camel cigarettes, is hoping a new line of smokeless products will help stem the tide of declining sales from tobacco.

 

 

The idea is to capitalize and mass-market products designed to help smokers break the addiction with an oral delivery system that doesn’t involve lighting up.

 

Garanimals is a featured line for the world's biggest retailer, and Buffett's Berkshire owns this eco-friendly brand

By InvestorPlace Mar 29, 2010 11:41AM

By Jim Woods

 

walmart wmt stockWhen it comes to “going green,” the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t children’s toys.  But Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) want to change that.  According to a recent report by Bloomberg News, sales of green toys may balloon to $1 billion, which represents about 5% of the total toy sales over the next five years. 

That’s a whole lot of real cash green spent on green toys, but what do Wal-Mart and Warren Buffett have to do with the potential boom in green toy sales?

 

Major League Baseball is getting creative to draw financially unstable sponsors and frugal fans.

By TheStreet Staff Mar 29, 2010 11:08AM

TheStreetBy Jason Notte, TheStreet

 

With Major League Baseball's opening day a week away, the league faces a potential attendance decline, financially unstable sponsors and increasingly frugal fans. What's the game plan for 2010?

 

Swing for the fences.

 

Despite amassing a record $6.6 billion in revenue in 2008, up 1.5% from a year earlier, attendance dropped nearly 6.6% as a third of teams reported losses and half drew 60% of their capacity or less for the season. As a result, clubs are increasing promotions, expanding facilities and amenities and taxing their marketing teams' creativity to lure both fans and corporate partners alike.

 

Let's cut through the hype and look at the numbers

By Jim Van Meerten Mar 27, 2010 10:18AM
On Financial Tides I start every weekend by taking a reflective moment to clear my head of all the hype and use Barchart to see where the market really ended up. I use the Value Line Index as my proxy for the market and although it was up 3 days and down 2 we ended up .82% for the week. Let's review my other yard sticks.

Value Line Index -- Contains 1700 stock giving a much broader view that the S&P 500 or narrower Dow 30 -- Very slight gain.
  • Index up for the week .82%
  • Index closed above its 20, 30 and 50 day moving average
  • Buy signals from 10 of the 13 Barchart technical indicators for an overall buy rating of 80%
 

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[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks entered the weekend on a mixed note as the S&P 500 shed 0.1% while the Dow ended with a gain of 0.1%.

The major averages began the day on a lower note as nine of ten sectors saw losses of more than 0.5%.

The consumer staples sector was the lone exception as the group spent the entire day in positive territory thanks to the relative strength of Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG 81.89, +3.19). The second-largest staple stock advanced ... More


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