Joan on Forbes.com
McMoran has many irons in the Gulf of Mexico Ultra Deep fire. Shareholders are awaiting overdue news on many fronts. Where's the missing press release?
To avoid further legal expense, Sirius XM has announced a settlement with those claiming it raised prices when it agreed to a three year moratorium when its merger was approved in 2008 which was to expire on July 28,2011. Does this portend an upcoming settlement also with Howard Stern who has asserted that Sirius has not honored its initial contract with him?
Decades ago Rajaratnam tried to peddle me inside information as a tech analyst. I told his firm to never again bring him to my office. I knew he was guilty before the jury was picked. Leopards don't change their spots and neither did this man.
Sirius XM stock price surpasses $2 as improved cash flow points to eventual share buybacks or possible dividend payments. Price increases coming in July, new 2.0 product in December. Possibility of a takeout occurs a year from now in May 2012.
P.T. Barnum had nothing on Donald Trump. In fact, we could argue that beyond being a promoter of the first order, Trump missed his true calling. It isn't rendering business advice on TV. It isn't building tall, gaudy buildings that will far outlast him. It isn't being a circus barker as Barack Obama called him recently in the flap about Obama's live birth certificate. Trump really is an illusionist when it comes to his net worth, just like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz.
As ATT and T-Mobile hope to merge, Sprint Nextel is forced to scramble fast to remain competitive. Clearwire is the only player who truly has serious excess spectrum to meet the demands of consumers and their new smart phones with rapacious demands for bandwidth. It's hard to believe that Clearwire will be freestanding a year from now.
Ultra Deep exploration in the Gulf of Mexico is like putting men on the moon. It is the cutting edge of today's technology as men drive deeper into the Earth to find oil and gas. It's not easy to control a drill bit that is 6 miles down from the rig platform.
Wind power player AMSC announced Tuesday night after the close that Sinovel, China's third largest manufacturer, has refused to accept recent shipments for this quarter and is also failing to make payments due to AMSC of $56 million for accepted goods from previous quarters. That means previously booked revenues will have to be reversed which were recorded in accounts receivable on the balance sheet.
It was at Howard Weil last year that MMR's Jim Bob Moffett laid out his dancing dragon concept of hydrocarbon deposits in the Gulf of Mexico. This year it will be a timely end of Q1 update on the 7 wells now drilling. Expect a good update too from Energy XXI (EXXI) which has been busy cleaning up its balance sheet after a billion dollar purchase of Gulf of Mexico assets from XOM. It's MMR's junior partner in the shallow water ultra deep drilling program that has already had some big announcements in the last 15 months. Here are some things to listen for during the presentations.
Howard Stern Asserts Sirius Screwed Him How funny is that? It seems that Howard, the king of dirty talk, isn't happy with the way he has been compensated by Sirius. In his suit, Howard states that during the time that Sirius was hurtling toward bankruptcy, he didn't want to pile on and make things look even worse by asserting his claims to money he felt he was owed. So he kept silent until now. Maybe he is jealous of the obscene $0.43 options the Board granted to CEOMel Karmazin and CFO David Frear who made decisions that almost put the company into bankruptcy. It seems that neither shareholders nor Howard Stern were given the opportunity to participate at such a deliciously low price. But then again we don't know about the Private Parts of Howard's contracts.
ATT Grabs T Mobile citing immediate need for more spectrum. Claims U.S. Market is highly competitive. The press release reinforces the value of spectrum for both Light Squared and Clearwire.
This little gem of a book is packed with excellent advice on how to become a superb manager. Just follow Martin Levin's 4 simple rules. Then just add hard work to succeed in your career.
T-Mobile is hemorrhaging subscribers. Sprint is financially weak. A merger makes great sense. If they merge. they are going to need all the spectrum they can get and that includes Clearwire, which is bereft of funds to complete its nationwide build-out. They all need each other and can become an effective competitor to AT&T and Verizon once merged.
T Mobile is hemorraghing subscribers. Sprint is financially weak. A merger makes great sense. If they merge. they are going to need all the spectrum they can get and that includes Clearwire which is bereft of funds to complete its nationwide buildout. They all need each other and can become an effective competitor to ATT and Verizon once merged.
Clearwire has a confusing story. It holds lots of cellular bandwidth but lacks the funds to build out the rest of the country beyond the 120 million pops it has already covered. One possible outcome is a merger between T-Mobile, Sprint and Clearwire that would forge a significant third U.S. cellular operator with a 30% market share to match similar shares controlled by ATT and Verizon.
Smartphones are driving those offering cellular telephony to upgrade their networks yet again. The real issue going forward is bandwidth to support streaming video to users of sports games, movies and television programs. Verizon and ATT each control a third of the marketplace. Others must now scramble to find the resources of bandwidth and capital to stay in the game.
Nokia was spanked by investors Friday for picking its only truly viable option for a new operating system. It faces myriad challenges but following others down the Droid path wasn't a truly viable choice. NOK is facing the same challenges now that Motorola faced 5 years ago. Hopefully it will face a brighter future because management is making wise choices now. Motorola has nothing left to sell that is unique besides its brand name which customers still value.
Deduced Reckoning refers to a navigators skills in getting his/her craft safely to its destination using all available tools. Sailing and Managing a portfolio require similar skills: getting your facts straight, assessing them with skill and using patience and insight to evaluate the best course of action. Boats and portfolios can both be tossed around by storms that overcome them. Wise judgment gets you to your destination safely and securely.
The moral to the story is that whether you invest at home or abroad, it's best to know what you are buying and why you are buying it.
It's all about autos, not Howard. In my view, there was really no place for him to go. You've also got to like that the company is not going bankrupt.
Drilling for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico is far from a dying business.
McMoran Exploration�‚�’s Jim Bob Moffett has pulled out all the stops on his shallow water Gulf of Mexico play.
For 28 years it's been hard to lose money in bonds but that's about to change.
The driller is finding plenty of hydrocarbon deposits in the Gulf of Mexico without going a mile down.
Goldman culture rewards hard-nosed aggressiveness and doesn't put the client's interests before those of the firm.
Auto sales could top 12 million this year, and many car buyers become satellite radio subscribers. It's not rocket science.
Along with its partner Energy XXI, McMoRan Exploration is still drilling deep into the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.
The president has shown himself to be no foe of socialist policies. Why not one that works?
Even though consumers still got hosed, at least this member of Congress tried to stick up for the little guy.
In maritime language a NUC is a vessel not under command. This sounds an awful lot like the USA.
It's been two years since Dell was supposed to shape up. Innovation happens elsewhere.
McMoRan and Energy XXI turn an old dry hole into something that could be well worth drilling.
Here's what to watch to find out if the economy and stocks have truly stabilized.
Clients are now convinced that selling anything is a big mistake. That's usually a good signal it's time to unload or at least lighten up.
The fundamentals of the economy have not changed substantially since last fall but optimism is carrying stocks higher.
An agonizing wait for merger approval in Washington and bad timing to refinance debt put this one in the tank. But it's still alive!
The genius and guile of Steve Jobs stands in stark contrast to what you get from many tech leaders.
Bernie Madoff paid meticulous attention to the finer points of scamming. You can, too, and here's how.
Barack Obama has a chance to put together the best and the brightest. Let's hope he avoids ineffectual figureheads.
Do not think it coincidental that Dell's business is dragging, and it has a dearth of women leaders.
Investors found their threshold of stock market pain on Monday and should be feeling much better fairly soon.
Top dog Goldman Sachs is not afraid to play grim profit reaper, but now it's the target of shorts itself.
Here are a few questions you might want to ask Mel Karmazin about Sirius if you meet him on the street.
Overseas is where all the action is, or so it seems, but it could be time for U.S. investors to come back home.
You have to feel a little sorry for the corporate raider who finds nothing to raid at a former tech titan.
Jim Bob Moffett is busy parlaying huge success in mining into building an energy empire.
The bumbling on the trading desks of big banks and brokers shows that most of these people should not manage your money.
The wages of financial sin seem to be bailouts, first by the Maestro and now by the Bearded One.
After beating back Carl Icahn, Motorola now needs to get competitive. Confidence from within is not high.
Sirius seems to be in a good position regardless of whether its merger with XM is consumated.
Motorola shareholders need somebody like Carl Icahn to join the board and help it do its job.
Some smart hiring and a renewed focus on the customer signal the makings of a successful turnaround.
With a top executive bolting for Dell, the situation at Motorola has gone from bad to worse.
After a roller coaster ride in 2006, shares of this carbon fiber company are on the ascent again.
Motorola's share price is not the only thing in decline at this one-time tech powerhouse. So is innovation.
Anybody who buys shares of Dell Computer should be prepared for potentially nasty surprises.
