Monthly Archives: November 2014

Bull Of The Day: Micron Technology

Micron has recently bounced back nicely after last month’s sell-off.  As analysts continue to raise their estimates ahead of its fiscal first quarter results, the stock could continue its positive momentum in the coming months.   Founded in 1978, Micron Technology (MU – Analyst Report) is a provider of advanced semiconductor solutions. They manufacture and market DRAM, NAND and…

A Flawed Analysis Of What Ails The Economy

A Popular Meme, that Remains as Wrong as When it Was First Conceived A recent article in the Guardian mocks JC Juncker’s latest scheme to produce some €300 billion in “investment” with a magical money multiplication scheme. Naturally, we agree that Juncker’s plan is deeply flawed, to put it as politely as possible. We have pointed this out…

Dividend Aristocrats In Focus Part 46: Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark (KMB) manufactures and markets disposable consumer products. The company owns five brands that do over $1 billion per year in sales: Kleenex, Kotex, Huggies, Pull-Ups, and Scotts. The company sells its products in over 175 countries and has grown to a market cap of over $42 billion. Approximately 25% of the world’s population uses Kimberly-Clark…

Initial Unemployment Claims Rolling Average Worsens. We Have Been

Blue Line 4 Week Average The market was expecting the weekly initial unemployment claims at 278,000 to 295,000 (consensus 286,000) vs the 313,000 reported. The more important (because of the volatility in the weekly reported claims and seasonality errors in adjusting the data) 4 week moving average moved from 287,750 (reported last week as 287,500) to…

The Biggest Tech Turkeys Of 2014

Technology companies can make our lives easier and even change the world. But just as often they can mess up. Spectacularly. And 2014 delivered ample proof that even smart people do stupid things. It was a year of extreme bad-boy behavior, from former RadiumOne CEO Gurbaksh Chahal being charged with battering his girlfriend to anonymous…

EU Announces Job Creation Scheme

According to the latest figures from Eurostat, a shade over 10% of the European workforce is idle. The figure for the 18 nations which use the Euro is slightly higher, standing at 11.5% (both figures from September 2014). This equates to 24.5 million European citizens are currently out of work. For comparison, a low of…