Filed under: Rumors, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), Time Warner (TWX)

Valleywag reports that Fortune’s editor, Andrew Serwer, posted a blog entry October 19 about the wedding of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) co-founder Larry Page to his girlfriend Lucy Southworth. (Fortune and BloggingStocks share the same corporate parent, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX)).

But when Valleywag wanted to write about the post, it had disappeared from Fortune’s website. When Valleywag went to Google’s cache, the reference to the Page/Southworth wedding was gone. Fortunately for those interested in the details of the post, Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) had a copy of the original.

By the way, the Serwer post said that Page and Southworth were getting married on December 7, and those attending the blessed event will need passports, which suggests it will be outside the U.S. Valleywag now suggests that the wedding could be held on Richard Branson’s Necker Island. But one question remains unanswered: if you know why Fortune and Google removed this post from their sites, please comment below.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

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Filed under: Earnings reports, Other issues, Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America (BAC), Wachovia Corp (WB), Housing, Federal Reserve

With its quarter-percentage point cut Wednesday in the fed funds rate to 4.50% and the discount rate to 5.00%, the Fed appeared to tilt slightly against another interest rate cut in December.

In its statement, the Fed said “economic growth was solid in the third quarter” and that strains on financial markets had eased somewhat on balance. The Fed added that today’s action “combined with the policy action taken in September, should help forestall some of the adverse effects on the broader economy.”

Fed Analysis: The above suggests that Chairman Ben Bernanke and the Fed are laying the groundwork for an end to the Fed’s brief easing of monetary policy, if in fact the U.S. economy grows at an acceptable rate or inflation accelerates. The economy has slowed through 2007, but on Tuesday Q3 GDP unexpectedly accelerated to 3.9%, the U.S. Commerce Department announced, up from 3.8% in Q2. It’s quite likely Tuesday’s Q3 GDP statistic influenced the Fed — swiping away any notion of a half-percentage-point, or 50 basis point, reduction in short-term rates. Further, while monetary policy doves will argue that the sub-prime mortgage and sluggish housing sector headwinds remain, monetary policy hawks — or those who believe the Fed does not need to cut rates further — can argue that the Fed has two GDP data points, Q2 and Q3, which indicate that the U.S. economy is growing at a sufficient rate, and that the Fed can now keep interest rates where they are, absent new evidence of a slowing economy, in the quarters ahead.

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Filed under: Bank of America (BAC), Newmont Mining (NEM), Options, Commodities, S and P 500

Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM), the world’s largest non-hedged gold producer, recently up $4.13 to $50.59:

NEM reported third quarter earnings per share of 72 cents verses consensus estimates of 25 cents. Gold was recently up .95% to $795.30 according to Bloomberg. NEM call option volume of 68,640 contracts compares to put volume of 36,594 contracts. NEM November option implied volatility of 38 was above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price risks.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) recently up 21 cents to $48.22:

BAC call option volume of 13,902 contracts compared to put volume of 4,588 contracts. BAC November option implied volatility of 28 was above its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Volatility Index: VIX down 2.35 to 18.34, suggesting less risk after rate cut.

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

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Filed under: Bank of America (BAC), Newmont Mining (NEM), Options, Commodities, S and P 500

Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM), the world’s largest non-hedged gold producer, recently up $4.13 to $50.59:

NEM reported third quarter earnings per share of 72 cents verses consensus estimates of 25 cents. Gold was recently up .95% to $795.30 according to Bloomberg. NEM call option volume of 68,640 contracts compares to put volume of 36,594 contracts. NEM November option implied volatility of 38 was above its 26-week average of 32 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price risks.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) recently up 21 cents to $48.22:

BAC call option volume of 13,902 contracts compared to put volume of 4,588 contracts. BAC November option implied volatility of 28 was above its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Volatility Index: VIX down 2.35 to 18.34, suggesting less risk after rate cut.

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

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Filed under: Rants and raves, General Motors (GM), Marketing and advertising, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

In the race to claim the title as the “world’s largest automaker,” does the world really care? How about the stock market — do traders speculate based on a claim that’s meaningless? Do purchasing consumers give a thought to this claim either? With General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) trading this inane title in 2007, gossip and ego-bragging has apparently taken the place of, you know, actual profitability and growth prospects. At least in the media.

As many market pundits (and value investors) have been screaming forever, it’s the profit a company makes that should be at the top of investor and consumer minds, instead of something as meaningless as “the world’s largest” anything. Which is more important? Market share or making money? Sometimes the hand of luck graces a company with both (for a while, at least). But for others, blind chasing of market share eventually leads to their demise. Which is more important for the companies you stock in your portfolio?

If it’s market share, then you’re probably not scared by questionable corporate motives or jack-o-lanterns. GM and Toyota need to forget about this eventual baton-passing related to the “world’s largest automaker” statement and focus on making vehicles customers want, growing profit in an orderly fashion. Capturing market share should rank a distant third priority. It’s not nearly as exciting as all the meaningless hubbub that surfaces in the media about the “world’s largest” whatever, but it’s a guiding principle of any business, anywhere. Or at least, it should be.

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Filed under: Rants and raves, General Motors (GM), Marketing and advertising, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

In the race to claim the title as the “world’s largest automaker,” does the world really care? How about the stock market — do traders speculate based on a claim that’s meaningless? Do purchasing consumers give a thought to this claim either? With General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Toyota Motor (NYSE: TM) trading this inane title in 2007, gossip and ego-bragging has apparently taken the place of, you know, actual profitability and growth prospects. At least in the media.

As many market pundits (and value investors) have been screaming forever, it’s the profit a company makes that should be at the top of investor and consumer minds, instead of something as meaningless as “the world’s largest” anything. Which is more important? Market share or making money? Sometimes the hand of luck graces a company with both (for a while, at least). But for others, blind chasing of market share eventually leads to their demise. Which is more important for the companies you stock in your portfolio?

If it’s market share, then you’re probably not scared by questionable corporate motives or jack-o-lanterns. GM and Toyota need to forget about this eventual baton-passing related to the “world’s largest automaker” statement and focus on making vehicles customers want, growing profit in an orderly fashion. Capturing market share should rank a distant third priority. It’s not nearly as exciting as all the meaningless hubbub that surfaces in the media about the “world’s largest” whatever, but it’s a guiding principle of any business, anywhere. Or at least, it should be.

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Filed under: International markets, BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Oil, Stocks to Buy

Given the markets’ continued choppy/consolidation pattern, it’s best to consider a few defensive stocks, and with oil’s elevated price, BP (NYSE: BP) is worth a review.

In a sense, BP is the oil company that gets little respect. Sluggish recent oil production accounts for a considerable portion of analysts’ negative comments, but the important point here is that BP’s doldrums may be ending. A significant number of projects will come on line in 2008, with upstream production ramping that year, and likely increased production by 2H 2008 and in 2009. BP’s shares gained 35 cents to $76.98 in in mid-day Thursday trading.

Meanwhile, BP’s organic reserve replacement is adequate, costs are tolerable (if not low), and its marketing proficiency is well-documented. The net result? A strong argument can be made to get ahead of the investor crowd and buy BP. Further, that argument is reinforced by BP’s modest p/e of 13, which, given the era of elevated energy prices, represents a pretty good value. The Reuters F2007/F2008 EPS consensus estimates for BP are $5.96/$6.83.

Continue reading Getting ahead of the crowd with BP (BP)

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Filed under: International markets, BP p.l.c. ADS (BP), Oil, Stocks to Buy

Given the markets’ continued choppy/consolidation pattern, it’s best to consider a few defensive stocks, and with oil’s elevated price, BP (NYSE: BP) is worth a review.

In a sense, BP is the oil company that gets little respect. Sluggish recent oil production accounts for a considerable portion of analysts’ negative comments, but the important point here is that BP’s doldrums may be ending. A significant number of projects will come on line in 2008, with upstream production ramping that year, and likely increased production by 2H 2008 and in 2009. BP’s shares gained 35 cents to $76.98 in in mid-day Thursday trading.

Meanwhile, BP’s organic reserve replacement is adequate, costs are tolerable (if not low), and its marketing proficiency is well-documented. The net result? A strong argument can be made to get ahead of the investor crowd and buy BP. Further, that argument is reinforced by BP’s modest p/e of 13, which, given the era of elevated energy prices, represents a pretty good value. The Reuters F2007/F2008 EPS consensus estimates for BP are $5.96/$6.83.

Continue reading Getting ahead of the crowd with BP (BP)

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Filed under: Comcast Cl’A’ (CMCSA), Verizon Communications (VZ), Time Warner Cable (TWC)

If you want to understand the future of Cable TV from a technology perspective, you need to check under the hood at recent Israeli IPO, BigBand Networks (NASDAQ: BBND). Really interesting stuff, as I’ve written on previously.

In short, this company, complete with its stable of technologies and Tier 1 cable customers, is really a late stage venture company that went public a bit prematurely. After a recent IPO, management needs to run the company according to a certain operational maturity that the Street requires. Earnings have been really lumpy and the stock price has paid the piper.

Well, as I speculated in the aforementioned article, BigBand announced today that it will be shuttering a small division in Boston that works on its CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System) technology. This is part of a larger restructuring plan that will ultimately end in layoffs for about 15% of its staff. It’s a move that a Morgan Stanley analyst thinks is “the first step in the road to recovery.”

Continue reading The future of cable TV: BigBand (BBND) needs to tighten its act

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Filed under: Comcast Cl’A’ (CMCSA), Verizon Communications (VZ), Time Warner Cable (TWC)

If you want to understand the future of Cable TV from a technology perspective, you need to check under the hood at recent Israeli IPO, BigBand Networks (NASDAQ: BBND). Really interesting stuff, as I’ve written on previously.

In short, this company, complete with its stable of technologies and Tier 1 cable customers, is really a late stage venture company that went public a bit prematurely. After a recent IPO, management needs to run the company according to a certain operational maturity that the Street requires. Earnings have been really lumpy and the stock price has paid the piper.

Well, as I speculated in the aforementioned article, BigBand announced today that it will be shuttering a small division in Boston that works on its CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System) technology. This is part of a larger restructuring plan that will ultimately end in layoffs for about 15% of its staff. It’s a move that a Morgan Stanley analyst thinks is “the first step in the road to recovery.”

Continue reading The future of cable TV: BigBand (BBND) needs to tighten its act

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