| Cash 4 Clunkers and the Law of Unintended Consequences Todd Sullivan submits: This is what happens when gov’t meddles in the market. Now, I am torn because C4C did help our AutoNation (AN) holding. But I fear its effect will be short term and leave potential buyers of new cars sitting, waiting for the next gov’t program before they go buy. Basically a short term gain and detrimental longer term effects. Anyway, the ugly result… From the WSJ:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
LoJack: Do Repeated One-Time Charges Make a Pattern? Saj Karsan submits:LoJack (LOJN), a provider of hi-tech products that help recover stolen vehicles, is one of those companies with strong earnings potential. Before the recession bludgeoned new car sales, LoJack was earning EPS of about $1 annually (the company's share price is around $4 today). There may also be reason to believe there is some persistence to this level of earnings, as LoJack has integrated its systems with law enforcement agencies, has several regional networks in place to detect/find stolen assets once a unit has been reported stolen, and uses its FCC licensed radio frequency and proprietary technology that can find vehicles that are hidden from view (unlike GPS systems).Furthermore, the company is leveraging its existing infrastructure as it creates products to find not just vehicles but construction assets, laptops and even people with cognitive disabilities. Investing in complementary products to expand markets may help grow sales for years to come, and is one of the 15 things to look for in a stock according to Philip Fisher, whose book is in the process of being summarized here. The company also has more cash than debt, suggesting it can and will emerge from this downturn unscathed.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
February Auto Sales Data: A Preview Wall Street Strategies submits:We are slated to receive February's auto sales tomorrow, and it will definitely be a month of two extremes.On the one hand, we have Ford (F) and General Motors, which are expected to post strong monthly sales. We have modeled for sales of Ford to be up approximately 27%, with sales from GM to be up approximately 22%. These figures should be taken with a grain of salt, as during February of 2009 GM and Chrysler were teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and auto sales continued to tank as Armageddon feelings were all around the auto market.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
June Railtime Indicators Report Shows Further Strength in Rails The Pragmatic Capitalist submits: From the AAR: U.S. freight railroads riginated 1,153,675 carloads in May 2010, an average of 288,419 carloads per week. That’s up 15.8% from May 2009 (which is the second highest percentage gain ever, behind April 2010 — see chart below right) but down 11.8% from May 2008. U.S. railroads averaged 294,758 carloads per week in April 2010 and 288,793 in March 2010. Thus, May 2010’s average was actually down slightly from those months (see chart below left). One month does not a trend make, but it would obviously be worrisome if the decline continued. In May 2010, 18 of the 19 major commodity categories saw carload gains compared to May 2009, but just one saw carload gains compared to May 2008. Commodities with the largest carload gains included coal (up 32,081 carloads, or 6.8%), steel and other primary metal products (up 19,641 carloads, or 96.6%), and motor vehicles and parts (up 19,138 carloads, or 58.1%). The tables and charts beginning on page 5 have much more commodity-level detail. U.S. railroads originated 867,516 intermodal trailers and containers in May 2010, an average of 216,879 per week (see chart top of next page). That’s the highest average since October 2008, up 18.9% from May 2009, and the largest year-over-year monthly gain since AAR records begin in 1990. Intermodal volume has risen in absolute terms for three straight months. As was the case in April 2010, the big year-over-year percentage gains in May 2010 U.S. rail traffic were partly a function of easy comparisons (May 2009 was a miserable month for rail traffic) and partly a function of real traffic growth. Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Standard Motor Products, Inc. Q2 2010 Earnings Call Transcript Standard Motor Products, Inc. (SMP)Q2 2010 Earnings Call TranscriptAugust 2, 2010 11:00 am ETComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |