Month: June 2012

Bloomberg reports that several foreign airlines, including ones in Singapore and Australia are experimenting by replacing the in seat television sets with $15 Ipad rentals. These Ipads will come preloaded with games, movies, shows, and other forms of entertainment, including web browsing. The elimination of in seat television sets will greatly reduce the carrying weight of planes, increasing flight speed and economize fuel consumption. On a Boeing 777, for example, shedding the screens saves 7% weight–even after adding 40% more seats. In a harder translation, airplanes without screens stand to be able to carry over a ton more fuel than the same planes with screens. US airlines seem a bit more hesitant to make such drastic changes. Delta is reportedly experimenting with dollar or less downloads of movies and games for passengers to use on their personal computers and devices. Some downloads may cost up to six dollars for more premium content, and it would be removed after the flight is over. Indian Airlines have started actually expanding their screens adding the touch screen technology of today’s smart phones, so I can’t say that the Ipad move marks a trend, yet. Current screen manufacturers like Panasonic haven’t shown concern over the fad yet, but with rising fuel costs, competing technology for alternative fuel sources(which necessitates lighter vehicles), will demand airline entertainment reform.

Nokia jumped as much as 11% intraday on takeover speculation and this is the largest upside move in 7 months. Market is flooded with chatter that Finland based phone maker Nokia will receive an offer from either Microsoft or Samsung Electronics, so let’s talk about it.There is no tangible evidence any bidding is happening. The Korea based Samsung is a pioneer in making smart phones and Nokia doesn’t complement what it does. Microsoft, on the other hand, might be looking for a handset partner for the Windows Phone 7, but Nokia is probably not first one it reaches out to.Nokia share prices declined 41% YTD. Its market share has been eaten away by the iPhone since 2007, and later was further attacked by other smart phones running Google’s Android software, so unfortunately, it’s no longer a competitive producer.For those of you trading this space, I’d like to hear from you. You can send in your comments to our show or tweet me (@juliasun_onair). I’m Julia Sun for the Financial News Network.

This twenty third trading week of 2012 comes to a close with investors monitoring events in Greece and Spain while investment banks and exchanges continue to point fingers and answer tough questiosn about the Facebook (FB) IPO. Hi.

Here’s what’s to watch, Friday, June 8th. Topping our news today, NASA puts their interstellar creativity to the test as top scientists hold bake sales to protest the proposed $300 Million cut being weighed buy congress. Senator Rand Paul announced his endorsement of Mitt Romney for president, but added the caveat that he really preferred his father, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, to have been nominated. Samsung billionare Chairman Lee Kun Hee is being sued by his two siblings for an $850 Mill stake in the corporation, this after a $237 Billion of revenue last year. Apple products find their way into a new market, the airline industry, as some airlines weigh the options of light ipad rentals versus heavy wiring and components needed for back of seat displays. And finally, also taking to the air, the first transcontinental solar powered flight. All this and more will be in the news today on the Financial News Network.

Bemis (BMS) was upgraded today by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (BAC) to buy from underperform with a $36 price target, as defense stocks are attractive given the current outlook. Shares are higher by about 1.6 percent.

Bargain hunters are wise to pay careful attention to insider buying, because although there are many various reasons for an insider to sell a stock, presumably the only reason they would use their hard-earned dollars to make a purchase, is that they expect to make money. Today we look at two noteworthy recent insider buys.

Tri Continental Corporation (TY) announced its quarterly dividend of 15 cents per share, an increase of about 43% over its prior dividend in March of 10.5 cents. The ex-dividend date is June 15, 2012.

Men’s Warehouse in trouble after posting disappointing earnings yesterday. The men’s clothing retailer posted an EPS of $0.52, below the average analyst estimate of $0.55 a share.Revenue for the quarter rose slightly 1.1% to $586.6 million, also below estimates of $ 593.9 million.The company attributes the drop to a timing issue in their UK operations. Instead of rolling out products like they did last year, they are waiting until the second half of this year. They also added that sales in corporate apparel, which dropped in the first quarter, would be picking up in the third and fourth quarters.The second quarter doesn’t look much better than the first though. Men’s Warehouse expects EPS between $1.12-$1.13 a share, below the $1.22 analysts are expecting.Men’s Warehouse fell drastically at the open and has stayed there into mid-morning trading. Its shares are down over 16% to $29.60.

In trading on Friday, hospital & medical practitioners shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.9%. Leading the group were shares of Molina Healthcare (MOH), up about 22.6% and shares of Centene (CNC) up about 9% on the day.

McDonald’s (MCD) announced that global sales at stores open at least 13 months rose 3.3 percent in May. However, sales fell 1.7 percent in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa region.