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Earnings Preview For AutoNation (AN)

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:31:50 GMT

AutoNation (AN) will release its sales and earnings results for the third quarter ended Sep 30, 2009, on Thursday, Oct 29, 2009, before the market opens. The Florida-based automotive retailer reported earnings of $55 million or 31 cents per share in the second quarter of 2009. This was above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 24 cents per share despite a difficult industry environment. The company believed its cost reduction initiatives, lower interest expense, disciplined operating model and inventory management helped it to maintain the profits during the quarter.[More...]

Rebuilding Corporate Image In The Post TARP Era

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:55:00 GMT

Austerity must follow profligacy, more so when liquidity and solvency of companies is tied to tax payers’ billions.[More...]

Is GM's Money-Back Guarantee Good News?

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:10:44 GMT

Last week General Motors (GM) announced their new program that further attempts to boost consumer confidence in their vehicles. The money-back guarantee states that you can return the vehicle for any reason, no questions asked, up to 60 days[More...]

Notable Bankruptcies Of 2009: Q2

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:29:00 GMT

In January I predicted (see Notable Bankruptcies of 2009: Q1) that “major” bankruptcies in 2009 would challenge the 383 mark set in 2001 (the high-water mark after the dotcom bubble). I even suggested that it was possible that we could exceed 400 “major” bankruptcies in 2009. According to Bankruptcydata.com, there have been 156 “major” filings thus far in 2009. Assuming that bankruptcies are equally distributed throughout the year, this puts us on pace for 312 bankruptcies. That is tracking well shy of my prediction. In fact, bankruptcies were down significantly from Q1 to Q2, as there were 90 bankruptcies in the first quarter but only 66 in the second. That stylized fact begs the question: Is that a “green shoot”[More...]

Guess The Federal Bailout, Win Money

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:33:00 GMT

It appears we are back to 2008 type trading; guess what the government is going to bailout next, and place your bets. The only irony in watching these stocks soar is knowing people in the supplier industry and these companies themselves and realizing what shape they are in, while their stocks surge. As we said last week, (Jun 4, 2009: Detroit's Woes Wound an Army of Suppliers) there will be a lot of fallout in the multi thousand supplier base but as with banks, it appears the government will protect the largest. And this is exactly the type of information having a bevy of friends from Goldman Sachs within government provides - you know exactly where to place your chips. Not that this type of thing ever happens. And we wonder how Goldman had only 8 losing days on their trading desk in all of first quarter 2009. (talent of course, not information flow) If you want some[More...]

Auto Companies Suppliers Next In Line For A Bailout

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:31:37 GMT

The black hole that is the auto industry needs to suck in more cash. The parts suppliers are once again lining up for federal aid. From the WSJ: U.S. auto-parts companies plan to ask the Obama administration for as much as $10 billion in new aid as the General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC bankruptcies deepen the suppliers’ troubles. Trade (...) [More...]

Would You Want A Piece Of GM?

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 22:33:25 GMT

Not too many investors want to own a stake of General Motors Corporation these days. And if they could invest in Chrysler - which they can’t, since it was never publicly traded - I doubt they’d be any more thrilled about the prospect. But a lot of Americans aren’t any more happy about the government owning 60% of GM and 8% of Chrysler, especially since expert opinion just emerged last week that confirmed what we already knew… There’s no way that the companies will be able to pay back all of the taxpayer money the government loaned them. Four people who have taken special issue with the Obama administration’s handling of the U.S. automaker industry, are Senators Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, Robert Bennett of Utah and Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, all Republicans. The way they figure, since they’re in a position to actually do something about their grievances, they’re going to propose their own[More...]

Bernanke Testimony Translated

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:52:28 GMT

When the Chairman of the Fed testifies before Congress, it is always a good idea to pay attention. Even if you do not agree with his assessment of the economy, it is an important insight into what the Fed is likely to be doing in the near future. Below are excerpts from his prepared testimony, with my interpretation and commentary interspersed. ? "The U.S. economy has contracted sharply since last fall, with real gross domestic product (GDP) having dropped at an average annual rate of about 6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of this year. Among the enormous costs of the downturn is the loss of nearly 6 million jobs since the beginning of 2008. The most recent information on the labor market -- the number of new and continuing claims for unemployment insurance through late May -- suggests that sizable job[More...]

The Significance of GM's Bankruptcy

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:35:46 GMT

U.S. auto giant General Motors filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, ending a period of U.S. dominance in automotive manufacturing that began when the first Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line in Detroit.[More...]

Four Ways To Profit From The Expected Surge In Commodity Prices

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:43:42 GMT

In normal recessions, commodities prices fall - and stay down for the count - as mines, farms and oil wells continue to expand production, even as demand is flattened by the economic malaise.[More...]

Real estate expert sees good and bad going forward

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:49:00 GMT

Dec. 5--If you're shopping for a home under $500,000 in Southern California, "now is the time to buy."
Real-estate consultant Al Gobar's confidence in the housing market is surrounded by a cloud of uneasiness over the economy because of the federal government's massive intervention to prop things up -- namely the hundreds of millions of dollars injected into Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The owner of Anaheim-based Alfred Gobar Associates, a real-estate and economics consulting firm, sees Southern California real-estate prices flattening between now and the end of 2010, or possibly into 2011, before starting a very slow rise.

: iStockAnalyst.com Symbols Feed

Earnings Preview For AutoNation (AN)

Rebuilding Corporate Image In The Post TARP Era

Is GM's Money-Back Guarantee Good News?

Notable Bankruptcies Of 2009: Q2

Guess The Federal Bailout, Win Money

Auto Companies Suppliers Next In Line For A Bailout

Would You Want A Piece Of GM?

Bernanke Testimony Translated

The Significance of GM's Bankruptcy

Four Ways To Profit From The Expected Surge In Commodity Prices

Real estate expert sees good and bad going forward

Microturbine adds juice to clean-energy car

Suzuki Motor to withdraw from Canadian joint venture with GM

Automakers pushing smaller, cheaper, greener at L.A. Auto Show

Morning biz update: Change coming to NBC and GM

Chart: November auto sales

Let bank bailout plan expire

Utah employment projected to pick up: High-tech industries seen as key to 9th-best growth rate.

EDITORIAL: The Ransom of AIG

EDITORIAL: Let bank bailout plan expire

AUDIO from Medialink and General Motors: New GM Technology Prevents Dangerous High Speed Pursuits Before They Start

SmallCapSentinel.com Releases Report for Investors of Motorsports Companies

VIDEO from Medialink and General Motors: Getting Back on the Road

VIDEO from Medialink and General Motors: On the Road to Electrification

VIDEO from Medialink and General Motors: U.S. Automakers Close Gap With Overseas Competitors

GMAC Financial Services Statement on Continuation of Direct Business With GM

Delphi Reaches Agreements to Emerge From Chapter 11 Reorganization

Fitch Downgrades General Motors to 'D'; Unsecured Recoveries Minimal

GMAC Financial Services Statement on General Motors Chapter 11 Filing

Magna Announces Continuing Involvement in Proposed Opel Solution

Form 4 BORST WALTER GERHARDT For: Jun 05 (10K)

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Form 4 STEPHENS THOMAS G For: May 19 (10K)

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Form 4 LUTZ ROBERT A For: May 19 (10K)

Form 4 SZYGENDA RALPH J For: May 08 (10K)

Form 4 STEPHENS THOMAS G For: May 11 (10K)

Form 4 LUTZ ROBERT A For: May 08 (10K)

Form 4 Forster Carl-Peter For: May 08 (10K)

Form 4 COWGER GARY L For: May 08 (10K)