| Economic News: What's Ahead Prieur du Plessis submits: The video clips below provide a handy summary of the reports expected on the economic, financial and corporate front around the globe during the week ahead. US: Employment, autos, ratesComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |
How Toyota Can Get Its Mojo Back Rick Newman submits:By now, the irony is obvious: The automaker that trounced rivals with top-tier quality and reliability is embroiled in a series of massive recalls to fix problems other vehicles don't have. All told, Toyota (TM) has recalled about 4.5 million vehicles in the United States since last fall—and nearly twice that number worldwide—for at least three distinct problems involving gas pedals and braking systems. The recalls affect top models like the Camry, Corolla, RAV4, and Prius, and there's no guarantee that the worst is over. But there's plenty of room for Toyota to recover. Sales have tanked and its reputation has suffered, but Toyota remains filled with engineering and management talent. Plus, it's not broke the way General Motors and Chrysler were before declaring bankruptcy last year. And most of its customers still like their cars. "Toyota is in a very difficult position right now," says Jack Nerad of Kelley Blue Book, "but it also has a big bank of goodwill and an excellent reputation with American consumers." Regaining their trust, however, depends on what the company does next. Here's how Toyota can get its mojo back:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Toyota Continues With Incentives as Sales Keep Rolling Zacks.com submits: Toyota Motor (TM) has decided to continue with its big promotions for auto sales until May 3, 2010. The automaker is overwhelmed by the huge response to its incentives, which includes cheap leases, zero-percent financing for 5 years and free maintenance for 2 years for return customers on most of its line-up.The incentives have pushed Toyota’s sales up 41% to 186,863 vehicles in March despite its largest ever safety recall of 8.5 million vehicles in recent months. The automaker saw strong sales of even its recalled models, Corolla, Camry and RAV4. Sales of RAV4 more than doubled, while that of Corolla rose 33% and Camry jumped 41%. The automaker grabbed a market share of 17.5% during the month, up from 15.5% in the year-ago month.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
AutoNation, Inc. Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript AutoNation, Inc. (AN)Q2 2010 Earnings Call TranscriptComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Is It Time to Short the Airlines? Stone Fox Capital submits:Listening to CNBC's 'Airline Profits Take Off' feature Friday morning, made me think it's about time to go short. Anytime people get bullish on the airlines, it's time to get out or go short. U.S. airlines have historically lost money and nothing has stucturally changed. Sure they charge a bunch of extra fees now, but that only offsets the lower ticket prices. Their biggest issues continue to be that everybody wants into the industry. And every time CNBC does a feature on profits, the unions automatically line up for their portion. Airlines can lose billions for 5 straight years and the unions will want new contracts the year they make $50. Reading through this article in the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram just reminds me of even more reasons you don't want to invest in domestic airlines. The CEO and upper management of American Airlines (AMR) is heavily engaged in discussing contracts with the various unions instead of working on developing and implementing a profitable growth plan. Any company engaged in such discussions can never be anything other then a trading buy. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |