Filed under: Walt Disney (DIS), Small business

By the end of the year, Disney (NYSE: DIS) is going to ditch its mobile phone service. Basically, the company wants to rethink things.

Despite its mega brand, Disney realized that the competitive environment is extremely tough. Interestingly enough, it was last year that the company closed its ESPN mobile service (and took a charge for $30 million).

I talked to Daniel Neal, CEO and Founder of kajeet. His company has a popular cell service for kids. So how can this company succeed whereas mighty Disney has failed?

“At kajeet, we’ve set out to prove that there is a formula for success in focusing on a cell phone service for kids. Our singular focus is to super-serve our tween and teen customers with a totally customizable pay-as-you-go wireless service that addresses their unique mobile technology needs. Instead of building our own handsets, content or stores, We purposefully developed strong relationships with established partners that greatly appeal to our customers.”

Or, perhaps a better approach for Disney is just to buy kajeet.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

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Filed under: Management, Newspapers

Michael C. Jensen, a business professor, consultant, and speaker, was one of the early advocates of the larger-than-life compensation packages that have now become the standard fare of boardrooms everywhere.

But now he’s revising his thinking in his upcoming book C.E.O Pay and What to Do About It. Now Jensen wants boards to be tougher in negotiating pay packages with executives. But according to The New York Times, not everyone is buying it:

“Imposing the constraints that Michael Jensen has in mind,” said Margaret Blair, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School and a specialist in corporate governance, “runs contrary to the culture that has emerged in boardrooms over the last 20 years. Mr. Jensen himself is partly responsible for that culture.”

Mr. Jensen complains that too many executives are being paid for breathing, rather than for performance. Furthermore even an incompetent and, in many cases, unethical executive can’t be fired without a big severance package.

His proposals make a lot of sense, even if they seem unlikely to ever take hold. I eagerly await his book, as I think bad corporate governance is one of the most serious threats to American business today.

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Filed under: Rumors, Products and services, Yahoo! (YHOO)

Yahoo! Inc.’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) fortunes seem to have shifted in the last few months, with purchases like BlueLithium and Zimbra firming up the company’s strategy inside targeted consumer behavior (when it comes to online ads and purchases) and corporate email. In fact, those two acquisitions sound like knives in the collective backs of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), respectively. Google’s future revenue enterprise may rest on more efficiently connecting buyers and sellers, and Microsoft’s presence in the corporate email market with its Exchange product is huge.

So, when I hear of Yahoo! starting to possibly de-emphasize the premium services that former CEO Terry Semel trumpeted from the top of his lungs back in 2002, it just shows how things have changed in the internet portal marketplace. No longer are customers willing to pay to receive services they can get elsewhere for free. Add that on top of the Google-led shift to advertising as a sole revenue source and away from a paid-customer model, and Yahoo! seems to finally be acknowledging that it may need to follow suit.

First up is the Yahoo! Music business, which runs a music subscription model (monthly paid service) that, according to sources, is not doing too well. With so many other competitors in the market for downloadable music, this comes as little surprise. I have to wonder how many resources have been dumped into Yahoo! Music thus far, or if it has ever made money? Marketing dollars and headcount will be moving into other strategic areas it appears, and I’ll surmise that Yahoo! Music won’t be the only premium (paid) service to come under the microscope soon.

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Filed under: Law, Internet, Scandals, Personal finance

Liz Pullman Weston writes that “Some of the credit card industry’s most egregious practices are finally getting the regulatory and congressional scrutiny they so richly deserve. Consumers this month have the opportunity to weigh in on Federal Reserve reforms and on legislation that could make credit cards a lot more fair.”

Everyone knows about the egregious practices Weston is referring to: universal default, “fixed” rates that are about as fixed as the levees were in New Orleans, and just generally insane terms that very few people can understand.

While there is debate about specific changes that should be made, there is one universal principle that should be applied to the financial services industry, and it’s the same principle that is used in the medical field: Informed consent. The financial services industry should adopt the following as its motto for disclosure — perhaps the Fed can give them a nudge:

All consumers should be given enough information to make a decision about whether a certain financial decision is right for them. This information should be presented in a way that is easy to understand, and no information that could influence the consumer’s decision should be withheld.

To me, that just about covers every single egregious practice in the banking/lending industry. If a person were told at the point of sale that that stick of a gum he is putting on his debit card could cost $15.69, not $.59, would he still buy it? Since most people wouldn’t, this information should be made available.

The financial services industry needs to be held accountable for its deceptive practices — and the payday lenders need to stop being used as scapegoats. They’re the least of our worries.

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Filed under: Market matters, Personal finance, Stocks to Buy, Videos

Ready to make some serious money? Wall Street Warrior Timothy Sykes isn’t playing around — he wants to make you rich. In this edition of StockWatch: Between the Bells, the MSN Money host and author of An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund riffs — and dances — on a fistful of market strategies.

Tim has three daring tips for you. Digital content storage provider Isilon Systems (NASDAQ: ISLN) is sitting at an all-time low, more than 70% off its high at the start of the year, and looks priced to buy. Genetics biotech Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is currently trading around $52; Tim sees ILMN climbing to $60. Sound a little too risky? Tim suggests checking out The Bruce Fund (BRUFX), a mutual fund focusing on domestic common stock, convertible bonds and zero-coupon government bonds.

Considering a short-selling strategy? Tim calls out China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL), which has jumped more than three-fold in little more than a week and looks set to slide.

Jamba Juice (NASDAQ: JMBA), meanwhile, is giving Tim fits — revenues are up while same-store sales are slipping. He advises to stay away from JMBA.

Enjoy the clip, and let us know which of your favorite stock gurus you’d like to hear from in the next StockWatch: Between the Bells!

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Filed under: Walt Disney (DIS), Small business

By the end of the year, Disney (NYSE: DIS) is going to ditch its mobile phone service. Basically, the company wants to rethink things.

Despite its mega brand, Disney realized that the competitive environment is extremely tough. Interestingly enough, it was last year that the company closed its ESPN mobile service (and took a charge for $30 million).

I talked to Daniel Neal, CEO and Founder of kajeet. His company has a popular cell service for kids. So how can this company succeed whereas mighty Disney has failed?

“At kajeet, we’ve set out to prove that there is a formula for success in focusing on a cell phone service for kids. Our singular focus is to super-serve our tween and teen customers with a totally customizable pay-as-you-go wireless service that addresses their unique mobile technology needs. Instead of building our own handsets, content or stores, We purposefully developed strong relationships with established partners that greatly appeal to our customers.”

Or, perhaps a better approach for Disney is just to buy kajeet.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Filed under: Rumors, Products and services, Yahoo! (YHOO)

Yahoo! Inc.’s (NASDAQ: YHOO) fortunes seem to have shifted in the last few months, with purchases like BlueLithium and Zimbra firming up the company’s strategy inside targeted consumer behavior (when it comes to online ads and purchases) and corporate email. In fact, those two acquisitions sound like knives in the collective backs of Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), respectively. Google’s future revenue enterprise may rest on more efficiently connecting buyers and sellers, and Microsoft’s presence in the corporate email market with its Exchange product is huge.

So, when I hear of Yahoo! starting to possibly de-emphasize the premium services that former CEO Terry Semel trumpeted from the top of his lungs back in 2002, it just shows how things have changed in the internet portal marketplace. No longer are customers willing to pay to receive services they can get elsewhere for free. Add that on top of the Google-led shift to advertising as a sole revenue source and away from a paid-customer model, and Yahoo! seems to finally be acknowledging that it may need to follow suit.

First up is the Yahoo! Music business, which runs a music subscription model (monthly paid service) that, according to sources, is not doing too well. With so many other competitors in the market for downloadable music, this comes as little surprise. I have to wonder how many resources have been dumped into Yahoo! Music thus far, or if it has ever made money? Marketing dollars and headcount will be moving into other strategic areas it appears, and I’ll surmise that Yahoo! Music won’t be the only premium (paid) service to come under the microscope soon.

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Filed under: Walgreen Co (WAG), Palm Inc (PALM), Options

Walgreen (NYSE: WAG) implied volatility Flat into 10/1 EPS & Outlook. WAG will report EPS on 10/1. WAG October option implied volatility of 20 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional risks.

Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) October volatility Elevated into full EPS on 10/1. PALM is recently up .36 to $16.76. PALM introduced the Palm Centro, a smart device, priced at $99 on 9/27. PALM will announce full financial results on 10/1 after pre-announcing EPS on 9/19. PALM’s new handset operating system for its Treo product line is expected to be released in late 2008. PALM October option implied volatility of 54 is above its 26-week average of 37 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Option update provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

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Filed under: Market matters, Personal finance, Stocks to Buy, Videos

Ready to make some serious money? Wall Street Warrior Timothy Sykes isn’t playing around — he wants to make you rich. In this edition of StockWatch: Between the Bells, the MSN Money host and author of An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund riffs — and dances — on a fistful of market strategies.

Tim has three daring tips for you. Digital content storage provider Isilon Systems (NASDAQ: ISLN) is sitting at an all-time low, more than 70% off its high at the start of the year, and looks priced to buy. Genetics biotech Illumina Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) is currently trading around $52; Tim sees ILMN climbing to $60. Sound a little too risky? Tim suggests checking out The Bruce Fund (BRUFX), a mutual fund focusing on domestic common stock, convertible bonds and zero-coupon government bonds.

Considering a short-selling strategy? Tim calls out China Precision Steel (NASDAQ: CPSL), which has jumped more than three-fold in little more than a week and looks set to slide.

Jamba Juice (NASDAQ: JMBA), meanwhile, is giving Tim fits — revenues are up while same-store sales are slipping. He advises to stay away from JMBA.

Enjoy the clip, and let us know which of your favorite stock gurus you’d like to hear from in the next StockWatch: Between the Bells!

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Filed under: Options

The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) volatility elevated as MOS at record high into EPS.

MOS, a producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients, was spun out of Cargill in 2004. MOS is recently up 10 cents to $53.35. MOS is expected to report earnings per share (EPS) on October 9th. MOS October option implied volatility of 52 was above its 26-week average of 40 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Potash Corp./Saskatchewan (USA) (NYSE: POT) volatility elevated as POT at record high on grain price rally:

POT, the world’s largest fertilizer enterprise, by capacity, was recently up $1.43 to $105.58. SBSH says “Potash shortages possible in 2008.” SBSH goes on to say “we think high prices for wheat and corn will send a signal to farmers in developing countries like China to increase Potash application rates.” POT over all option implied volatility of 46 is above its 26-week average of 39 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Option update provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

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