Detroit on track?

We believe that GM and Ford will survive, in long term. Deutsche Bank made a contribution, in short term: General Motors and Ford led stocks higher on Friday. Both got a lift from a ratings upgrade from Deutsche Bank.

General Motors (up $2.06 to $35.86, Charts) and Ford Motor (up $0.29 to $8.84, Charts).

Ford: Mullaly is on track

Ford stock is developing a fine trend. Mulally is being accepted by the market.

If you have doubts, you can read on Toyota lips: Press (President of Toyota - USA) said the U.S. automakers will recover, adding that they are taking the right steps by reducing production in North America and reinvigorating their vehicle lineups.

Probably, Ford is trying to revive, like IBM made in the nineties with Lou Gerstner: focus, focus, focus, instead of trying to be big at any cost.

Oil & Gold

Have you ever read “The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century” from James Howard Kunstler?

Maybe the book is too negative about the future.

What do you think about it?

And, how about "Beyond Oil: The View from Hubbert's Peak" , from Kenneth S. Deffeyes?

His main concern is not our long-term adaptation to a world beyond oil but our immediate future: “Through our inattention, we have wasted the years that we might have used to prepare for lessened oil supplies. The next ten years are critical.”

Think about it!

Now you may understand this:

What’s coming next?

I'm pessimistic about future and optimistic about Gold.

Boston: strong wind

Boston Scientific is loosing today, almost 3%, and this occurs, because of this news: The medical device maker Medtronic is planning three major product launches this year including an implanted device meant to be an early warning system for heart disease patients.

Another "nervous" point for investors is: For 2007, the company has concluded that forecasting the rate of growth in the cardiac rhythm management market and the drug-eluting stent market will be difficult, given the events and volatility in both markets during 2006. Since these two markets are so significant to the company's forecasted results of operations in 2007, the company believes it is appropriate to provide guidance only for the first quarter.

We still believe in Boston.

Gold Outlook Positive

Gold still outlook positive, in spite of the lost of last two days.

Take a look about the opinion of Widmer and Hunter.

Michael Widmer, an analyst at Calyon Corporate and Investment Bank, said he would still expect the United States to lower interest rates.

Hunter, on the other hand, said he expected gold trading would continue to be volatile.

But, certainly, the market is shifting back its outlook to higher prices for the remainder of the year, and that trend remains intact," Hunter added.

You can read the entire article at Reuters “Gold recovers on bargain hunting, outlook bright”.

Today, Gold close at 648 (lost 0,43%).

Boston, again!

We like Boston Scientific. Things were not good, particularly after Guidant take-over. Market makers do not like poor performance, and Boston did not return properly, after Guidant purchase. Boston still is far away from good performance: I suspect they overpaid for Guidant, and their CFO was unhappy with the amount of leverage. Clearly, they need to fix the balance sheet and said they would do so. But that will take some time.

But, current situation is better: The observational study published in the Feb. 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, the company said, showed drug-eluted stents reduced the risk of myocardial infarction, or heart attack, and death by 23 percent and 32 percent, versus 3.7 percent and 4.7 percent in bare-metal stent patients.

Michael Dell strikes again

Michael Dell retook the helm, and he wants to prove its superior talent. Look to this statement: "We have great people...but we also have a new enemy: bureaucracy, which costs us money and slows us down," Dell wrote.

Reshaping Dell, Inc., top posts, it is its main tasks for now: Paul Bell, who now runs the company's European operations, will become top executive for the Americas operations that account for two-thirds of the company's revenue. Chief Financial Officer Don Carty will also take on more responsibilities, including human resources and investor relations.

But, some drawbacks still is around the corner: A class-action lawsuit filed this week in Austin claims that the company inflated profits with secret payments of about $1 billion a year from chip maker Intel Corp. (INTC).

Last of the Mohicans's strategy of GM and Ford

These are the titles today for the car industry about January, 2007 sales:

"Car sales shocker: Ford tumbles to No. 4
GM sales down 16.6%; Ford down 19%; DaimlerChrysler's up 3.2%"

Apparently there is no near recovery for Ford or GM. Simultaneously, Toyota rose to US's n.º 2 automaker. Even DaimlerChrysler is from mixed foreign origin (Germany). The Last of the Mohicans's strategy of american automakers of insisting on big cars, big power, big oil spenders, may, if the course isn't changed, lead to their death, alone and miserable.

Sorry, but maybe plain and words are necessary: "It's the ecology, stupids!".

Automakers: winners and losers

After the turmoil of US automakers, specially Ford and GM, we see the headlines on Nissan: Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. said Friday that profit tumbled 22.6 percent in the October-December quarter amid rising commodity costs, tougher competition and softening sales.

At the other side, the winners are: Toyota and Honda (Nissan, which was recently surpassed by Honda as Japan's third-largest automaker in terms of vehicle production).

The major problems for the losers are: US market (Nissan was "certain" to miss its global sales target of 3.73 million units for the business year ending on March 31 as it underperformed in the United States and Japan), energy and innovativeness (In the first half of the fiscal year, Nissan launched just one of 10 new products scheduled for introduction).

Finally this: Combined U.S. sales for January by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. outstripped those by GM and Ford combined.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force case

Aqua Teen Hunger Force device

MSNBC reported today the solution of the suspicious Aqua Teen Hunger Force case: a marketing plan...

"At least nine electronic devices planted at bridges and other spots in Boston threw a scare into the city Wednesday in what a cable network said was a marketing campaign for a late-night cartoon.
Highways, bridges and a section of the Charles River were shut down and bomb squads were sent in before authorities declared the devices were harmless.
«It’s a hoax — and it’s not funny,» said Gov. Deval Patrick before the objects were determined to be part of an ad campaign.
Turner Broadcasting, parent company of Cartoon Network, said the devices, which consisted of magnetic, blinking lights, were part of a promotion for the TV show «Aqua Teen Hunger Force.»"

Marketing is to blame for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force case?

Marketing is just a science for decision makers to apply, ruthless or pious. It's not the malign cause or devious principle responsible for unexpected consequences. But the market isn't prepared for marketing communications new techniques, that doesn't use common advertising media, and even use happenings to captivate media attention and exponential diffusion based on supposedly random behavior.

The new techniques have a variety of names and buzzwords, but are mainly based on word-of-mouth amplified by naïve media attention or organized leak. An indirect approach or media bait, using the enemy means and forces to strike deeply. From anonymous flyers to media campaigns like the "Old Boot" of the movie "Wag the Dog", culminating with the intriguing flash mob, marketing is changing from the classic, heavy and expensive, instruments to contemporary, light and cheap, campaigns which often reaches more people and have stronger, natural and legitimate, impact.

The world is flipping and the new coin (monere) is Knowledge.

ALTI. A positive MACD divergence.

Good signs for ALTI:

The price are above the 20 simple moving average, RSI indicator crosses to the upside the 50 line and we have a positive divergence between the MACD and the price movement. We have positive divergences when price levels fall to new lows but MACD fail to decline to a more negative area. At the beginning of January the price of ALTI fall to a new low but MACD fail to achive a new low.

Altought we have good signs, be careful with this one, because sometimes we have other low in price with a second MACD divergence. With favourable intraday evidence a possible trade is enter long with a stop loss near 2.55 usd.

Dell: Out

Michael Dell, the leader of the PC maker, that reinvented the supply chain of computers manufacturing, leads again Dell, after this: Dell also said its fiscal fourth-quarter results would be below the average of First Call Estimates for both revenue and earnings per share.

After-hours, Dell share is up +4.17%.

Look to this mess:

Federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25 percent

As expected the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at 5.25 percent

You can see more on the MarketWatch.

NYSE

After taking Euronext, the Stock Exchange of Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon, NYSE is taking Tokyo Stock Exchange: The pact between the two exchanges was confirmed by the Tokyo Stock Exchange late Tuesday, with details to be announced at a news conference Wednesday morning in New York.

Oil: let's go again!

Oil gained the most in 16 weeks yesterday and gasoline jumped 5.6 percent after a report showed U.S. consumer confidence neared a five-month high.

Are we in the up-side of the cycle, again? After touching 80 dollars a barrel, the down-side came until 50 dollars. Today we have witnessed to a significant up! Is the “ethanol Bush Plan” a clue to a new skyrocket oil price?

Fed Meeting Tomorrow

The U.S. Federal Reserve meeting tomorrow may determine the course of interest rates and direction of the gold metal.

So if you have gold stocks pay attention to these meet.

Another Icahn attack

When you see some blood bleeding, you'll see sharks, a lit bit later.

Carl Icahn, the famous raider, is again searching for another target: Motorola.

Read this: Motorola, the nation's largest cell phone maker, announced Tuesday that financier Carl Icahn is seeking a position on its board of directors.

Look to the Table, below, and you can understand the Icahn behaviour.

Greg McCoach's 2007 Gold Outlook

Beyond 2007, Greg McCoach's, believes that gold could march to levels most people wouldn't think possible. We are talking about values much higher than $1,000 an ounce.
See more on The Wealth Daily.

A egg in the nest

Citi bought the online bank Egg, from Prudential (UK): The deal will give the U.S. bank a substantial boost in the U.K. market, through the addition of Egg's 2.9 million card customers, who represent over 5% of U.K. credit card balances.

The market is not having a good answer: -0,38%.

Escape from Telcos

Deutsche Telekom is one of the biggest Telco Company of the world. The type of traditional ex-monopoly of European countries: big, present in every business, from fix lines to mobile, and internet. Today, they have also ex-Voicestream (actually T-Mobile). The picture is even darker if you think the German government still is a big shareholder.

Last week end, and again, shareholders from DT faced another disappointed figures: The Company said adjusted earnings last year were within its target range of 19.2 billion euros to 19.7 billion euros. Revenue was 61.3 billion euros, missing a target range of 61.5 billion euros to 62.1 billion euros.

DT CEO is on the job, from two months ago, and the strategy is not clear: ``We're confident that this year we'll be able to improve our market position in the broadband market,'' Obermann said yesterday. ``We must invest to safeguard our position. It's a difficult market''.

Get rid of Telco's! Specially, the ones with a "no focus" strategy.