Filed under: Earnings reports, Level 3 Communications (LVLT)

This morning, Level 3 Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) confessed to a second-quarter loss of $134 million, or 8 cents per share, roughly tripling its year-ago loss of $42 million, or 3 cents per share. Revenue for the period slipped 12% to $942 million. The results were mixed, as far as analysts’ expectations were concerned; Wall Street was looking for a slightly wider quarterly loss of 9 cents per share on more robust revenue of $959.4 million.

“The economy continued to be challenging in the second quarter for wireline service providers,” said James Crowe, the company’s CEO. “As expected, sequential revenue pressure continued in the second quarter, although at a significantly moderated rate. We did see improvements in sales and churn, however, they were not as much as we expected.”

Continue reading Level 3 Communications stumbles after slashing guidance

Level 3 Communications stumbles after slashing guidance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Via [bloggingstocks]

Share This

There is nothing harder than helping someone who doesn’t think they need help. That statement is certainly true for borrowers and debt relief. We live in such a crazy consumerist society that sometimes we don’t realize when we are living beyond our means and are in need of urgent help. Like an anorexic teenager we can look into the mirror and see a financially healthy person while we are really killing ourselves. How can you tell if you are in serious need of debt relief?

We are going to mention a number of signs that will tell you that you need urgent help. Obviously these are not set rules but more like a general ballpark of financial safety you must try to stay within.

1) You have no savings. We live in a spend first pay later culture, not a save now buy later culture. This mentality increases the chances of financial problems and reduces the value of things that can be purchases on a whim and on which we must often pay interest for years. Many governments are trying to fight this attitude by encouraging people to save. A good rule of thumb is to save at least 10% of your income.

2) You only make minimum payments on your credit cards. Uncontrolled spending on credit cards can be one of the fastest routes to bankruptcy. Spending money you can’t see and don’t have to pay back in a hurry is a great recipe for financial bankruptcy. It is important to pay for your credit cards before they accrue interest or to use credit cards as an emergency ONLY and use other financial products like loans, equity loans and other options for borrowing. Paying minimal credit card payments is a silly path to everlasting loans that you end up never paying.

3) You don’t check your statements and don’t know exactly how much you owe. As we mentioned in our previous article fear often breeds on ignorance and when we are fearful we sometimes hide behind our ignorance as if it were a shield. Understanding our situation is the first step to fixing it.

4) You have more than 3 major credit cards. There is really no need for various credit cards when you are not leaving beyond your means, one or two are more than enough. It is a slippery slope when we start relying on credit cards to get to the end of the month, buy things we can’t afford and eventually to pay the interest of other credit cards.

None of these situations is final or hopeless. However action is required to avoid the problems that bad financial habits can cause you. Finding the right advice and sticking it can be the difference between bankruptcy and financial security.

Share At:

Hide Sites

Related posts:

1. Credit Cards, Debt Relief And Bad Choices
2. Common pitfalls of debt consolidation you must avoid.
3. So What Is A Debt Consolidation And Is It A Good Idea For You?

Related posts:

1. Credit Cards, Debt Relief And Bad Choices
2. Common pitfalls of debt consolidation you must avoid.
3. So What Is A Debt Consolidation And Is It A Good Idea For You?

Source [blownmortgage]

Share This

Filed under: International markets, Coca-Cola (KO), China, Newsletters, Stocks to Buy

“Not surprisingly, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has been placing particular emphasis on China, where there is plenty of untapped potential,” says Paul Tracy in his StreetAuthority Market Advisor.

“Like most companies that have been around for well over a century, Coca-Cola operates in a relatively mature industry.

“Domestically, per-capita soft-drink consumption has plateaued and domestic volume growth is generally tough to come by.

“The story is quite different for many overseas markets, which now account for about 75% of the firm’s sales. Coke isn’t the world’s most recognized brand for nothing — consumers in 200 countries around the globe gulp down about 1.6 billion servings of its beverages every single day.

Continue reading Coca-Cola (KO) targets China

Coca-Cola (KO) targets China originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Via [bloggingstocks]

Share This

Via [bloggingstocks]

Share This

Filed under: Forecasts, Consumer experience, Middle East, Money and Finance Today, Oil, Recession, Financial Crisis

When we looked at oil prices yesterday, we noted that the market was going to pay close attention to today’s inventory report from the Depart of Energy.

Oil was already weak after yesterday’s report on consumer confidence, and today’s oil inventory report showed a much larger than expected increase in oil inventories, pushing prices sharply lower.

Continue reading Oil prices drop sharply on inventory report

Oil prices drop sharply on inventory report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Via [bloggingstocks]

Share This

The media organizations are abuzz with bad information this morning.

• CNN: Home price index up for 1st time in 3 years
• Wall St. Journal: Home Prices Post Monthly Increase
• Financial Times: US home prices rise in May

What they all said was that month-to-month prices rose 0.5%, according to Standard & Poor’s and Case-Shiller. Coming on the heals of yesterday’s stories about a third straight month of increased home sales, this would seem to be very important. And it would have been – if it had been true.

When Case-Schiller reports they first put out a raw set of numbers and then a seasonally adjusted set (sales go up in the fall, down in winter, etc.). I suspect these stories were based on the first set of numbers. In the non-adjusted number, the 20-city composite index actually went up 0.6%! Unfortunately adjust for the seasons and they decreased by 0.22% Seasonally adjusted prices fell in 12 of the 20 Case-Shiller cities.

(While the WSJ did update its story, it hasn’t changed the headline – leading to very confusing reading.)

The fact that even a half-a-percent improvement in prices caused reporters to get all hot and bothered shows exactly how desperate we are for anything resembling good economic news. Look at how CNN tried to put lipstick on this pig: “On an annual basis, home prices in the 20 cities fell 17.1%, but it was the fourth straight month that the year-over-year decline lessened.” Break out the champagne!

While it is undoubtedly a good time to buy a house, it is still a very tough time to sell one and no amount of spin will change that.

Share At:

Hide Sites

Related posts:

1. Case-Shiller shows no end to home price declines
2. Is drop in home values nearing terminal velocity?
3. Finally some good news for home sellers

Related posts:

1. Case-Shiller shows no end to home price declines
2. Is drop in home values nearing terminal velocity?
3. Finally some good news for home sellers

Source [blownmortgage]

Share This