Intertape Polymer Group Inc.
The Intertape Polymer Group Inc. is the leader in the packing industry. The company has rightfully gained the spot through the advanced technologies they use to manufacture their products. The products that the Intertape Polymer Group Inc. has under its name include polyolefin plastic and paper-based packing products. They also make customized orders for commercial and retail use. Distribution of the company’s products is also well-organized since they operate in nineteen locations. This is their main advantage over their competitors because this arrangement allows a lower cost for their consumers. The company was established in 1981 and has its headquarters in Quebec and Florida.
Buying shares of stock is not recommended at this time. The most appropriate trading action that one can make do of at the moment is to hold. This is because the prices of the stocks are currently trading even so it is better to play safe than sorry. The Intertape Polymer Group Inc. is also second among its competitors yet has been steadily earning over the years.
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Cascade Corporation
Cascade Corporation directs the conduct of its business towards the manufacture and distribution of devices designed to handle load and its respective replacement parts. These devices are primarily used in the lift truck industry. It is also utilized by the construction industry worldwide. The company was founded in 1943 and has its main office located in Fairview, Oregon.
The products that the corporation carries under its brand name are those lift truck related products that are designed to handle loads with or without pallets. Specialized attachments are also being produced by the company to answer the need of being able to handle different types of load such as paper rolls, carpets, textiles, drums, bricks, appliances, masonry blocks, plywood and lumber. In the construction industry, the name Cascade is known for its construction attachments and other related products that allow construction vehicles like wheel loaders and backhoes to move materials. The products made by the corporation are only available through a distribution channel.
The company started to offer common stocks to the public in 1965 and has since faced several market fluctuations due to the rise and fall of the demands of the farm and construction machinery industry. The company places second among its direct competitors in the industry yet still continue to be profitable. At present, the recommendation to be followed is to hold stocks owned in the company and wait for a more positive time when prices will again rise. Tracing the ups and downs of the market prices of stocks in the Cascade Corporation can be done with a stock trading software.
Stocks finish narrowly mixed after economic reports, ahead of next week’s data
Wall Street closed out a winning week with a narrowly mixed performance Friday after the government reported that Americans’ spending rose in April to keep pace with rising costs.
Investors who sent stocks higher for three straight sessions turned cautious after the Commerce Department said personal spending rose 0.2 percent last month and personal income rose 0.2 percent. The department also said inflation at the personal spending level, after stripping out food and energy costs, ticked up in April by a tame 0.1 percent.
The readings were in line with the market’s expectations, and supported the notion that high commodities costs are not yet causing a sharp pullback in spending or lifting prices for other goods. Meanwhile, the technology sector got a lift after computer maker Dell Inc. and chip maker Marvell Technology Group Ltd. posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
But Wall Street’s concerns about the economy and inflation are far from erased, despite the stock market’s healthy gain this week. Although the government estimated Thursday that first-quarter gross domestic product grew by nearly 1 percent, Americans still face rising costs for necessities such as groceries and gasoline. Furthermore, crude oil remains near record highs — a serious drag on consumer spending which accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy.
Investors will get a clearer picture next week when a number of key economic reports will be released. Analysts believe strong data on job growth and manufacturing will boost stocks — or, if the reports are disappointing, deliver a setback to the markets.
“It is now all about the economy, and I think we’re going to get numbers that might be a requiem for the recession forecasters,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at New York-based brokerage house Avalon Partners. “Not to say the numbers will be great, but not as bad as people might have anticipated. That will give the market a lift.”
He said some investors were adjusting their positions Friday ahead of the data. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 7.90, or 0.06 percent, to 12,638.32.
Broader stock indicators edged higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 2.12, or 0.15 percent, to 1,400.38, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 14.34, or 0.57 percent, to 2,522.66.
All three indexes finished higher for the week, recovering from the previous week’s sharp losses. The dollar stabilized and oil prices pulled back from record highs during the past four sessions, giving investors some relief as they parsed data suggesting that the economy is weak but not technically in recession.
The Dow rose 1.27 percent, the S&P 500 gained 1.78 percent and the Nasdaq picked up 3.19 percent.
Government bonds edged up Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.06 percent in late trading from 4.08 percent on Thursday.
The energy markets continued to weigh on investors, however, with oil prices down from record levels but threatening to surge again. Crude oil futures settled up 73 cents at $127.35 a barrel in erratic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“We’ve hit a level where you’re starting to see demand destruction,” said John Massey, portfolio manager at AIG SunAmerica Asset Management.
The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.
Wall Street will look for signs of how rising inflation is affecting the economy in several reports due next week. The Institute for Supply Management will release an index of conditions in the manufacturing sector on Monday and its services sector report on Wednesday.
The Labor Department on Friday will release its May employment report, one of the most closely-watched indicators of economic health.
In corporate news, the technology-dominated Nasdaq got a boost after Dell, the world’s second-largest seller of personal computers, issued a profit report late Thursday that was stronger than analysts expected due to growth in Asia and robust sales of notebook computers.
Dell shares jumped $1.25, or 5.7 percent, to $23.06, and injected some optimism into Wall Street that foreign economies are helping many companies weather the weak U.S. market.
Marvell Technology swung to a larger-than-expected profit in the quarter ended May 3, and its revenue also beat analyst forecasts. Shares rose $3.28, or 23.3 percent, to $17.36.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 2.73, or 0.37 percent, to 748.28.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 3.72 billion shares, compared to 3.81 billion shares on Thursday.
Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average closed up 1.52 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.24 percent, Germany’s DAX index advanced 0.59 percent, and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.77 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week up 158.69, or 1.27 percent, at 12,638.32. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished up 24.45, or 1.78 percent, at 1,400.38. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week up 77.99, or 3.19 percent, at 2,522.66.
The Russell 2000 index finished the week up 24.18, or 3.34 percent, at 748.28.
The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index — a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 U.S. based companies — ended Friday at 14,260.76, up 306.28 points, or 2.19 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 15,441.30.
Microsoft: New talks for alternative Yahoo deal
Microsoft Corp. is once again trying to team up with Yahoo Inc. to challenge Internet search and advertising leader Google Inc., although at this point the renewed talks haven’t escalated to another attempt to take over Yahoo.
The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker disclosed the revived discussions Sunday without providing any specifics about the nature of the deal being explored except to say it involved bolstering the companies’ position in the online search and advertising markets.
“There of course can be no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions,” the statement said.
In a statement late Sunday, Yahoo said its board is exploring several “value maximizing” alternatives and “remain open to pursuing any transaction which is in the best interest of our stockholders.”
Microsoft emphasized that it hasn’t resurrected a $47.5 billion takeover bid that its chief executive, Steve Ballmer, withdrew May 3 after Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang — acting on behalf of Yahoo’s board — demanded an additional $5.5 billion.
But Microsoft left open the possibility that it might dangle another buyout offer of Yahoo, depending on how the discussions progress between the two companies and their respective shareholders.
Yahoo is facing intense pressure from its shareholders to reopen sales negotiations, with activist investor Carl Icahn threatening to replace the Sunnyvale-based company’s entire board unless a deal can be working out before Yahoo’s July 3 annual meeting.
Although Microsoft hasn’t been in touch with Icahn yet, the software maker reached out to Yahoo after the billionaire revealed his plans Thursday to lead a shareholder mutiny, according to two people familiar with the current status of the discussions. These people requested anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak on behalf of the companies.
Microsoft’s latest talks with Yahoo could be aimed at providing an alternative to a search advertising partnership that Yahoo has been exploring with Google as part of its attempts to remain independent.
Last month, Yahoo completed a two-week test that allowed Google to use its superior technology to sell ads alongside a sliver of Yahoo’s search results. Since then, the two rivals have been mulling a long-term alliance that would likely raise antitrust concerns because the two companies combined control more than 80 percent of the U.S. search advertising market.
While Google’s help probably would provide Yahoo with a short-term lift, it might hurt Yahoo in the long run by making Google even stronger, according to some analysts.
Ballmer already has said Microsoft will be less interested in Yahoo if it cedes control of search advertising to Google. Icahn has urged Yahoo’s board not to enter into any deals, such as a Google partnership, that might diminish the company’s value to Microsoft.
Nevertheless, some analysts believe a formal partnership between Google and Yahoo could happen any day.
The mere acknowledgment that Microsoft and Yahoo are at least talking again will likely cause more investors to conclude it’s only a matter of time before the two sides work out an amicable deal.
The theory that Microsoft would eventually renew its takeover attempt helped cushion the blow to Yahoo’s stock since Ballmer withdrew an oral offer of $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, after Yang held out for $53 billion, or $37 per share.
Yahoo shares ended last week at $27.66, down by just $1, or 3 percent, since Ballmer walked away from the discussions. They were trading at $19.18 when Microsoft announced its initial bid of $31 per share Feb. 1.
Despite the intensifying pressure from Icahn and some of Yahoo’s major shareholders, Yang and Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock reiterated last week that they won’t sell the company for less than the board believes it’s worth.
While Yahoo’s board has set a $37-per-share target, many analysts believe Microsoft could probably seal a deal by offering $34 or $35 per share.
Most analysts believe Microsoft needs to make a dramatic move, such as buying Yahoo, to slow Google’s rapid rise as the Internet reshapes the way people interact with computers. The shift is weakening Microsoft’s core franchise of providing software tethered to the individual hard drives of personal computers.
“We continue to maintain our view that there is no other company that needs Yahoo as much as Microsoft and Microsoft does not have compelling plan-B without Yahoo,” Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal wrote in a research note last week.
Although it still ranks as technology’s richest company, Microsoft’s Internet expansion efforts have been largely ineffectual. Since the end of the company’s fiscal 2005, Microsoft’s online operations have lost $1.5 billion.
“The fact is that we are not where we want to be in this business yet and we’ve been in this position longer than we’d all like,” Kevin Johnson, the head of Microsoft’s online division, wrote in a Sunday e-mail to employees. Even if Microsoft can’t work out a deal with Yahoo, Johnson assured “we will be accelerating elements of our core strategy, and breaking ground in new areas.”
Microsoft’s latest advances in Internet advertising and search will be outlined in a conference this week, Johnson said.
Once the Internet’s kingpin, Yahoo was overtaken by the more nimble and innovative Google several years ago. With Yahoo’s profits shrinking and revenue growth decelerating, Yahoo lost about half its market value — more than $25 billion — in the two-year period leading up to Microsoft’s initial bid.
Yang, a Yahoo founder who became CEO 11 months ago, maintains the company is on the cusp of a turnaround that will boost net revenue by at least 25 percent in 2009 and 2010. That would be a dramatic improvement from the company’s recent net revenue gains of about 12 percent.
Microsoft first broached the possibility of forming a business alliance with Yahoo in late 2006, according to a letter that Ballmer released in February. In early 2007, Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo for about $40 per share, according to a person familiar with those discussions. The person didn’t want to be identified because that bid was never publicly disclosed.
AOL sheds its brand to draw specialty audiences
Unless you’re looking carefully, you’ll likely miss the fact that the new Asylum Web site for young men is a creation of Time Warner Inc.’s AOL. Same for WalletPop on personal finance, Spinner on indie music and StyleList on fashion.
The AOL brand is taking a back seat as the company long associated with dial-up Internet access for the masses quietly launches dozens of sites targeted at specialized audiences.
AOL figures that to grow its audiences — and draw additional advertising the company crucially needs to offset plunging revenue from its shrinking base of Internet access subscribers — it must break from a one-size-fits-all model and let its specialty sites set their own designs and editorial tone, shedding the AOL brand when necessary.
Bill Wilson, AOL’s executive vice president for vertical programming, said the company has been retaining the AOL name for some sites — AOL Body is one, after research showed women 25 and up respond well to the brand.
And the brand isn’t completely invisible even if AOL isn’t part of the site’s name. There’s usually a small AOL logo somewhere, along with links to other AOL sites. The right mix, Wilson said, is the product of research on what makes the most sense for consumers.
Take Asylum, which has grown into a leading site for young men since its December launch. The name was chosen partly to convey humor and irreverence.
“If we put it out as AOL Men, we got the feedback it wouldn’t connect,” said Mike Rich, a senior vice president who oversees Asylum and other specialty sites. “People just didn’t connect this type of content with the AOL brand.”
Wilson said AOL’s unbranding can help potential visitors know that the site isn’t part of its subscription service, which AOL started breaking down in late 2004 in favor of free, ad-supported sites.
AOL parent Time Warner was more blunt in a regulatory filing:
“If AOL cannot effectively build a portfolio of alternate brands that are appealing to Internet consumers, AOL may have difficulty in increasing the engagement of Internet consumers on its Web products and services. AOL believes that the `AOL’ brand is associated in the minds of consumers with its dial-up Internet access service.”
AOL is by no means alone in promoting alternative brands.
Google Inc. has its homegrown Orkut social-networking service alongside its Picasa photo products and YouTube video-sharing site, both brands that came in through acquisitions. On the other hand, the Keyhole brand disappeared when Google bought the mapping concern, which became Google Earth.
Yahoo Inc., meanwhile, has Flickr photos and recently launched Shine for women.
Microsoft Corp. has a slew of brand names, including MSN, Hotmail and Live.
But unbranding represents a reversal for AOL after it tried to make its Moviefone and Netscape acquisitions more AOL-like. Type in “Moviefone.com,” for instance, and you’re automatically redirected to “movies.aol.com.”
“AOL currently implies legacy. It implies old. It implies out of date,” said Rob Enderle, an industry analyst with the Enderle Group. “If you want to attract a new, young audience to a site, attaching ‘AOL’ is probably a kiss of death. They are wise to use the new individual property brands.”
