Filed under: Rumors, Products and services, Insiders, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT)

The tech blogs are buzzing this week with heightened rumors of a Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) phone to be unveiled early next year. While these stories have percolated for months, more details that tend to give the rumor credence have emerged.

Our sister blog Engadget points to Google’s acquisition in 2005 of Android, a mobile software firm, and writes that this team has developed a Linux-based (as in, non-Windows) mobile device operating system that it is actively shopping to the industry. The OS would be a direct competitor to Symbian and the mobile version of Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows.

Crunchgear claims to have inside info that Google is working with HTC, the mobile device manufacturer, to assemble the Google Phone for a 2008 release. It speculates the phone will come equipped with Google Maps, built-in GPS, Google Talk for VOIP, and perhaps WiFi capability. This is especially interesting in light of Google’s pursuit of bandwidth in the upcoming 700-MHz auction.

What I find interesting is this progression –

1. Google launches on-line application suite
2. Google expands application suite to off-line use
3. Google unveils its own mobile OS
4. Google launches its own PC operating system

Is that the sound of breaking Windows I hear over my Google phone?

via paidcontent.org

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Filed under: Google (GOOG), DaimlerChrysler (DAI), Money and Finance Today, Countrywide Financial (CFC)

Richest & Poorest States in the Nation
Maryland is now the wealthiest state in the union, as measured by median household income, according to the latest stats from the Census Bureau. The typical Maryland household earned $65,144 in 2006, propelling it past New Jersey, which came in second with earnings of $64,470. Connecticut, Hawaii and Massachuetts round out the top five richest. Mississippi, West Virginia and Arkansas are the poorest states in the U.S.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/28/real_estate/wealthiest_states/index.htm

CEOs Make More in One Day Than You Do in One Year
The average CEO of a large U.S. company made roughly $10.8 million last year, or 364 times that of average U.S. full-time and part-time workers, who made $29,544, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the liberal Institute for Policy Studies and United for a Fair Economy.
CEO-to-worker pay appears to narrow - Aug. 29, 2007

Home Prices See Steepest Drop in 20 Years
U.S. home prices fell 3.2% in the second quarter, the steepest rate of decline since Standard & Poor’s began its nationwide housing index. 15 of the 20 cities in the S&P/Case-Shiller monthly survey saw home prices drop from a year ago.
Home prices: Steepest drop in 20 years; no recovery soon - USATODAY.com

From Cheap Stand-In to Shelf Star

Savvier marketing and better-tasting products are driving up sales of private-label food products. From Costco’s Kirkland products to Target’s Archer Farms, store brands are now a $50 billion business.
From Cheap Stand-In to Shelf Star - WSJ.com

Bottled Water Is Draining Your Bank Account
You don’t often think of bottled water along the same lines as smoking, drinking alcohol or gambling. But when it comes to wasting money, it’s just as bad a habit. Try tap water and save some $1,000 a year — and drink water that’s just as good.
Bottled Water Is Draining Your Bank Account -

Make the Most of Student Discounts
College-student status is the key to saving on computers, travel and more.
Making the Most of Student Discounts | SmartMoney.com

Head Overseas for 5-Star Care at Motel 6 Prices
A growing number of patients head overseas for more-serious procedures, such as hip replacements, heart bypasses and kidney transplants. Why travel halfway around the world for a medical procedure? Because you could pay a fraction of what you’d pay in the U.S.
Adventures in Medical Travel - Kiplinger.com

Return to Dress Code
Marketing students at Illinois State University’s College of Business face a choice — business casual attire for class or a zero for the day. It is the only public undergraduate business school in the country to implement a dress code for students.
Return of the Dress Code

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Filed under: Law, Wal-Mart (WMT)

In a corporate embarrassment moment that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) probably wants to forget, former and fired executive Thomas Coughlin is in the news again, more than a year after he was found guilty multiple instances of fraud against the world’s largest retailer.

Coughlin, who was sentenced to home detention as a result of his fraudulent actions, was not given an adequate sentence in light of his crimes. Therefore, he’ll need another sentencing hearing according to an appeals court yesterday.

The established sentence of 27 months home detention and 33 months of additional probation was too light, according to the appeals court. It still amazes me that a 28-year veteran of the world’s largest retailer rose to where he was in the company’s hierarchy only to see some unbelievably stupid actions cause him to be fired and charged with tax and fraud crimes.

One of the judges on the case dissented with the re-sentencing stance, stating that Coughlin’s poor health should dictate that his lenient sentence stand. Should health status or even age determine sentence severity? It can go either way. It did not in Bernie Ebber’s case, although his crimes were of a much more severe nature.

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Filed under: Industry, Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), Marketing and advertising, India, China, Genentech Inc (DNA), Eastern Europe, Tata Mtrs Ltd (TTM)

Ford Motor Co (NYSE: F) signed an agreement with the UGT Union in Spain today, according to the Associated Press. The agreement will allow Ford to build three new small- and mid-sized cars in its Almussafes plant in Spain, with an annual production target of 350,000 cars. The union has agreed to keep labor costs low in effort to keep the plant competitive with its European rivals.

The announcement comes at a time when automakers are doing everything they can to expand their global operations outside of the United States.

Continue reading Ford (F) expands Detroit’s foreign footprint

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Filed under: Yahoo! (YHOO), Options

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) implied volatility up on expectations of Alibaba, Yang & EPS.

YHOO is recently trading $22.58. Recently, Alibaba.com, China’s largest e-commerce company, hired NM Rothschild to advise it on a stock listing. YHOO has 40% ownership stake in Alibaba. YHOO is expected to report EPS on 10/16. YHOO over all option implied volatility of 38 is above its 26-week average of 35 according to Track Data, suggesting larger movement.

Rediff.com India Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ: REDF) volatility elevated as REDF trades near 52-week lows.

REDF, a provider of online consumer offerings, is recently up 30 cents to $15.07. REDF over all option implied volatility of 59 is above its 52-week average of 51 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price fluctuations.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

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Filed under: Competitive strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL)

Now that digital music leader Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is selling non-protected digital songs from its iTunes Plus music store, is the iPod maker extraordinaire setting itself up to have more competition in the digital audio player (DAP) marketplace?

After all, the whole customer-friendly integration between the company’s iPod and its iTunes music store is what kept customers coming back for more (and more). The iPod was the coolest DAP on the market (and still is from market share figures alone), and songs downloaded from iTunes could only be played on the iPod, just as Apple designed and intended, tech hacks aside.

But now that non-protected digital music files (in AAC format) can be downloaded from the iTunes music store at a more hefty $1.29 each, is Apple going to see its iPod market share slip since customers can now use any AAC-compatible DAP to listen to music from the iTunes Plus selection?

Remember that the still-protected iTunes music selections far outweigh the iTunes Plus non-protected music selections. I’m quite sure Apple will reign in the iTunes Plus selection to gauge customer response for at least a little while.

Continue reading iTunes’ unprotected downloads: Is Apple (AAPL) goading competition?

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Filed under: Launches, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Motorola (MOT), China, Smartphones

Hate your mobile phone? You’ve missed you chance to enter the 2007 World Cellphone Throwing Championship, held in Savonlinna, Finland last weekend. The winner in the men’s category was Mika Paajanen with a toss of 76.68 meters (212 feet), while Eija Laakso defended her title in the women’s category with a hurl of 44.49 meters. Not noted was the brand of phone throw. I’d have gladly contributed my Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) Razr, which has a battery life measured in nanoseconds, and I can’t even shave with it.

If tossing your cell phone doesn’t vent your rage, you might be interested in Redline Films‘ newest reality show. Office Fight offers co-workers the opportunity to lace up the gloves and have at it! The company is recruiting contestants, so email them the name of the person you’d like to knock around and the justification for the punishment, and perhaps you too can make your parents proud.

In case you’re thinking of investing in China because you believe they’ve entered the age of rational thinking, I point you to a story in this week’s Newsweek. According to Matthew Phillips, the Chinese government has banned Buddhist Monks in Tibet from reincarnating without permission. Evidently, they’ll have to apply for a license from the State Administration for Religious Affairs. No mention was made of the penalty for illegal reincarnation, but I bet it’s not a life sentence.

Think restaurant service couldn’t get worse? Think again. A new German restaurant has done away with waiters altogether, replacing them with a computer aided, gravity fed food delivery system. Patrons order from a touchscreen, and their meals are delivered from the kitchen via a rail system sans the touch of human beings. Welcome to the Jetson’s future.

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Filed under: International markets, Earnings reports, Forecasts, Indices, Economic data, DJIA, Housing

In the Concrete Canyon that is the financial capital of the world, there are data points, and then there are data points.

Thursday’s docket offers a “data point of significance” when Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) reports Q2 results. As one of two public, government-sponsored agencies formed to promote home ownership by increasing the availability of mortgage funds, any Freddie Mac report would be noticed by economists, analysts and traders alike, but this quarter’s report takes on added import in light of recent subprime mortgage and mortgage-backed asset defaults that have roiled the stock and credit markets in the world’s major developed economies and produced a credit crunch.

Moreover, the defaults were a major factor in the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s more than 10% retreat from its +14,000-level high earlier this summer and the concomitant housing sector’s slowdown that may cause the U.S. economy to slip from projected, below-trend GDP growth into a recession.

Among other FRE metrics, on Thursday Wall Street analysts will pay very close attention to portfolio and credit guarantee income, and the overall quality of its retained portfolio. FRE is expected to post a decline in Q2 2007 earnings per share, to 81 cents from $1.13 in Q2 2006, according to the Reuters consensus estimate. Freddie Mac’s shares were down 57 cents to $60.63 in Wednesday afternoon trading.

Still, just as significant, and perhaps more so, will be Freddie Mac’s statement and conference call comments: Wall Street will scrutinize any comments FRE may have on the scope of subprime charge-offs and defaults, overall mortgage credit quality (including delinquency rates), housing market conditions, and any comments FRE may have on its retained portfolio.

The aforementioned operational statistics would be noteworthy in a typical market. But in a market that’s now diligently (if belatedly) collecting and analyzing subprime and credit information in order to get a comprehensive picture of the scope of subprime defaults and overall mortgage market conditions, Freddie Mac’s Q2 report Thursday is, without question, a data point of the most pertinent sort.

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Filed under: Bad news, Law, Consumer experience

When E-ZPass, the electronic vehicle identification system, was invented to automatically charge commuters for their use of toll roads, motorists celebrated their freedom from toll booth hell (I’m talking to you, Chicago). For some, however, the joy was short-lived.

MSNBC’s Bob Sullivan reported recently about the “orphan exit” problem. About 1% of the time, the E-ZPass fails to detect a customer entering or exiting the limited access highway.The system therefore doesn’t know the parameters of the trip, and how much to charge. When this happens, the management of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and similar roads simply ding the user for an arbitrary amount. PA, for example, has a standing $5 “orphan exit” charge, even for drivers that in truth should have only paid $0.75.Think of it in diner terms — the waitress forgets to write down your pie and coffee order, then charges your credit card for a steak dinner, and you don’t find out until the statement comes a month later. Is that fair?

Continue reading SLE-ZPass no friend to motorists

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Filed under: Good news, Wal-Mart (WMT), Employees

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is currently getting some heat for apparently attempting to court customers of Mexican origin into stores to prop up its money-wiring service. But, don’t tell that to LATINA Style Magazine, which just named the world’s largest retailer to the “50 Best Companies for Latinas.”

This is the second year in a row that Wal-Mart has been selected to this list, and it signifies that is providing a solid commitment to hiring female workers of Hispanic origin. After surveying 800 companies nationwide, the retailer was selected to be placed among the very best in that group. Placement encompassed the gamut of employment practices for Hispanic women, from recruitment and procurement policies, employee benefits and advancement opportunities.

Wal-Mart is the largest private employer of Hispanics in the nation, with more than 154,000 employees of Hispanic origin. Add that to the fact that the 14-member company board includes two Hispanic citizens and it’s pretty easy to see that Wal-Mart is providing diversity among its workforce, even at the corporate board level.

Also connected with this story was the fact that the retailer does business with thousands of Hispanic-owned businesses, which is not that uncommon in the retail product industry. Although the retailer purchased more than $1.4 billion of products and services from Hispanic-owned businesses last year, that’s pretty much a drop in the bucket of its overall procurement dollars. But, it’s not bad.

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