Tom Brokaw, one of the most trusted and respected figures in broadcast journalism, is an author and special correspondent for NBC News. Hired by the network in 1966, he anchored the “TODAY” show and was the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News” for 21 years. Appearing in more than 30 documentaries, Brokaw has reported on subjects ranging from race, AIDS, the war on terror, health care, Los Angeles gangs, Bill Gates, literacy, immigration and the evangelical movement. In addition, he collaborated with NBC's Peacock Productions for Discovery's Emmy-winning documentary "Global Warming: What You Need to Know with Tom Brokaw," and History Channel's two-hour documentaries, "1968 with Tom Brokaw" and "KING."
He has received numerous honors and is credited with a series of journalistic “firsts,” including an exclusive U.S. one-on-one interview with Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, the first and only anchor to report from the scene the night the Berlin Wall fell, and the first American anchor to travel to Tibet to report on human-rights abuses and to conduct an interview with the Dalai Lama. Brokaw also became a best-selling author with the book “The Greatest Generation” and later wrote "The Greatest Generation Speaks," "An Album of Memories," "A Long Way from Home" and "BOOM! Voices of the Sixties."
Fears over the UK's reliance on imported energy have been fuelled after a report claimed Britain was just six hours away from running out of stored gas in March.
May 24 - Banker turned baker Tom Molnar tells Reuters how his working life changed after leaving his financial job in London. Reuters' Angeline Ong takes a tour of his successful artisan bakery.
Futures drop ahead of durable goods data Stock market futures fall on Friday ahead of durable-goods orders data that are expected to show continued sluggishness, and as volatility continued for Asian stocks. Investors also may be heading to the sidelines ahead of the long holiday weekend. RegMed equities have been “sputtering” – there’s a lot [...]
DETROIT DTE Energy Music Theatre announced Thursday morning that Aretha Franklin's show, planned for June 22, was rescheduled to 8 p.m. July 27 at DTE Energy Music Theatre "due to a minor medical situation." The venue said the postponement was at the advice of her physician, who told her to postpone all appearances in June.
The old guard is back at Procter and Gamble, your frequent flier miles may not have the benefits they once did, and Sears lost most money last quarter.
Delta’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Anderson, discusses the industry, mergers, passenger fees, and why Delta thinks its about to have its most profitable year ever.
TODAY: Popular social network banned; Memorial fights foreign agent label in court; Alyokhina refused parole; Bolotnaya protesters’ apartments raided; no recession, but insufficient growth; Lebedev witnesses admit they were pressured; business students want Gazprom jobs. Vkontakte, a popular social network with over 210 million users, has been banned from distributing content across Russia, thought to [...]
May 24 - Western tipples have long been a hit with Chinese. But now China wants to give back. Backed by global beverage giants, the fiery traditional spirit baijiu could be coming to a cocktail bar near you.
May 24 - Europe's sick man not so long ago, Germany's fortune's have changed -- and its soccer resurgence has a lot in common with its economic renaissance, says Breakingviews.
Book Summary Zag talks about how to zig when everyone else zags. In other words, how do you create a brand that is truly different than the competition? How do you make the competition irrelevant Zag gives a clear 17-point checklist for creating a truly innovative business. Right-click here to download the mp3 Who Should [...]
May 24 - European Central Bank President Mario Draghi says at a speech in London that European countries should strengthen their ties, and that the euro zone is more stable than a year ago.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prepares to woo Myanmar with newly-minted yen, and the country braces for key monthly data. Reuters’ Wayne Arnold tells us what to look for in a crucial week ahead for Japan.
Shares in Asia have been recovering after global markets got the jitters yesterday. Was the slip a blip, or a warning we shouldn't ignore? As Nissan becomes the latest company to launch a major product recall, just how many people actually listen to advice and return faulty products? And there's no shortage of budding entrepreneurs across the UK - but are they holding themselves back?
May 24 - Another volatile day in Japan, where market "bubbles" are set to deflate further, says BONY Mellon's Simon Derrick. But Europe and the US calmer. Draghi back in London, Lego's X-Wing lands in NY.
It’s a very interesting concept: I absolutely believe that energy innovation will help the U.S. economy tremendously over the coming years.
Under that vast umbrella of energy innovation, alternative energy has the potential to become a genuine economic engine that can revolutionize personal transportation and the economic landscape.
There is excitement surrounding automaker Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ/TSLA). This company just doubled on the stock market in a little over a month.
I haven’t driven any of Tesla’s vehicles, but the company’s new four-door sedan looks fantastic, and the quality of the paint job really stands out.
I definitely see more “Chevrolet Volts” around. According to General Motors Company (NYSE/GM), it delivered 5,550 Volts in the first quarter of 2013, up 3.2% comparatively. The company is likely employing new sales incentives.
Virtually every automaker is getting in on the electric vehicle action. Even Porsche has a new electric “supercar.” The company is bringing to market the “918 Spyder,” which has a 4.6 liter V8 engine and two electric motors. The two electric motors provide an additional 218 horsepower on top of the more than 500-horsepower V8. The car can operate on its batteries alone, but I suspect the range would be extremely short.
Trucks and SUVs are bread-and-butter for domestic automakers. But the migration to electric vehicle production (a loss leader right now) is all about range and economies of scale. A $40,000 compact Chevy sedan is a misnomer.
While insider ownership with a company like Tesla is high and its valuation is extreme, the company would be an attractive takeover candidate for a successful automaker. The illusion can become real. BMW AG (XETRA/BMW) perhaps?
Range, costs, and availability of charging stations are obvious barriers for electric automakers.
But there’s been a sea of change with Tesla after so many electric vehicle and alternative energy failures. (See “Why These Old Economy Stocks Aare Absolutely Crucial.”) The company just raised another $1.0 billion from new shares and debt, and it has cashed in on the stock market’s renewed interest.
A close friend of mine who has in-depth knowledge of domestic automakers thinks the whole electric vehicle trend is a bust. Without question, the business case for it is not profitable at this time. (Tesla is even selling its California zero-emission tax credits to other automakers to boost its bottom line.)
But that doesn’t mean that innovation within the industry is not worthy of pursuit—not at all.
There is the issue regarding utility consumption. If electric vehicles become more prevalent, the demand for electricity will go up. The consumer is always on the short end of the stick.
We all know that McDonalds Corporation (NYSE/MCD) is the reigning king of the fast food sector and one of the top performers over the past decade, based on my stock analysis.
In fact, my stock analysis suggests that McDonalds’ rivals are trying to emulate what is working at the company rather than compete against the seller of the iconic “Big Mac.”
Burger King Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE/BKW) may be pursuing a similar strategy to McDonalds’ by diversifying its menu offering with new items and value-conscious options, based on my stock analysis.
Yet while Wall Street focuses on McDonalds and its burger-oriented rivals, my stock analysis reveals that a stock that I feel offers better valuation and potential upside is Denny’s Corporation (NASDAQ/DENN). With a market-cap of $552 million, Denny’s is dwarfed by the $102-billion market cap of McDonalds, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a buying opportunity with Denny’s, based on my stock analysis.
In fact, Denny’s is up 50% over the past 52 weeks and has easily outperformed the S&P 500’s advance of 26.8% and McDonalds’ 11.8% gain, according to my technical analysis.
Chart courtesy of www.StockCharts.com
Denny’s is best known for its “Grand Slam” breakfast offerings. The company has gone through a major structural reorganization in which it sold many of its stores to franchisors, thereby reducing its own operating costs and collecting fees instead. As of March 27, 2013, 1,525 of the company’s 1,689 restaurants were franchised. The end results have been stronger operating numbers and a steady rise in the company’s share price, according to my stock analysis.
About 98 restaurants are situated in Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Guam, Curacao, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and New Zealand.
And in an aggressive and bold move, Denny’s has been looking at expanding into the highly competitive Chinese market, where the top players are McDonalds and YUM! Brands, Inc. (NYSE/YUM)—owner of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Taco Bell brands. The company’s deal with Great China International Group was recently cancelled, likely due to some poor results from the top players in China, based on my stock analysis.
On the operations end, Denny’s reported adjusted earnings of $0.08 per diluted share in its first-quarter earnings season, up 48.4% year-over-year and a penny above the Thomson Financial consensus earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates. It was the third straight quarter of outperformance.
On a comparative valuation basis, Denny’s trades at 1.16X trailing sales and has a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.92, versus 3.71X sales and a PEG ratio of 2.04 for McDonalds.
Now, don’t get me wrong; I still believe McDonalds will continue to be the top player in the restaurant and fast foods sector going forward. (Read ... Read More
The following stocks have recently increased their dividends. This is the sign of a good company and could be the sign of an improving economy. MidSouth Bancorp (MSL) announced a 14% dividend increase over the previous quarter's dividend. NetApp (NT...
Microsoft this week introduced the XBox One, its whole new game console since it unveiled the XBox 360 in 2005. The story is today's TECH TALK. (Magid, self-ID)
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