[WallstCheatSheet] DealerTrack Holdings Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet - Exceeds Forecasts with Boost of Profit Rise

DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRAK) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the third quarter. DealerTrack Holdings is a provider of on-demand software and data solutions for the automotive retail industry in the United States.

DealerTrack Holdings Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Third Quarter

Results: Net income for DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. rose to $5.4 million (13 cents per share) vs. $1.2 million (3 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This is a more than fourfold rise from the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 51.8% to $95.8 million from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: TRAK reported adjusted net income of 34 cents per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of 18 cents per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $88.5 million.

Quoting Management: Mark O’Neil, chairman and chief executive officer of DealerTrack, commented, “We are very pleased with our record revenue and non-GAAP earnings results for the third quarter as our transaction businesses continue to benefit from the improvement in auto credit availability, an increase in car sales year over year, the addition of new lenders to our network, and the performance of DealerTrack Processing Solutions. Additionally, our subscription business benefitted from our recent eCarlist acquisition.”

Key Stats:

Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue increased 43.8% to $89.1 million in the second quarter. The figure rose 35.9% in the first quarter from the year earlier and climbed 16.4% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter.

The company has now topped analyst estimates for the last three quarters. It beat the mark by 2 cents in the second quarter and by 18 cents in the first quarter.

Looking Forward: Over the p! ast nine ty days, the average estimate for the fourth quarter has fallen from 16 cents per share to 15 cents, indicating that analysts are growing pessisimistic about the company’s performance next quarter. For the fiscal year, the average estimate has moved up from 63 cents a share to 69 cents over the last ninety days.

Competitors to Watch: Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP), Openwave Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:OPWV), Equifax Inc. (NYSE:EFX), ModusLink Global Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:MLNK), SourcingLink.net, Inc. (SNET), Solera Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SLH), Keynote Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:KEYN).

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

 

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[The Street] Google Gets a Letter; HP Hires Help - Deals to Watch

Google(GOOG) said in a post today on its corporate blog that its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility(MMI) has come under increased scrutiny by antitrust enforcers at the U.S. Department of Justice.

In the post, Google Senior Vice President Dennis Woodside said that as part of the merger process they have been talking to the Department of Justice since the merger was announced in August and that "Today we received what is called a "second request," which means that the DOJ is asking for more information so that they can continue to review the deal."

Woodside's post indicated that the deal to buy Motorola Mobility, the Schaumburg, Illinois based handset maker bought to continue Google's mobile communications push, may be delayed. When announced in August, the acquisition was expected to close later this year or at the beginning of 2012. According to Woodside, "this means we won't be closing right away, we're confident that the DOJ will conclude that the rapidly growing mobile ecosystem will remain highly competitive after this deal closes."

Woodside did call the second inquiry "routine" and mentioned that the Mountain View, California- based company has gotten similar requests from the DoJ before.

In 2010, Google received a second request from the Department, of one of the U.S.'s antitrust authorities along with the Federal Trade Commission when acquiring travel-data software company ITA Software for $700 million. Though the acquisition was opposed by Expedia(EXPE), Travelocity, Kayak.com and Microsoft's(MSFT) Bing, regulators gave the deal approval this August contingent on Google's continued licensing of ITA's products to other travel search competitors on "commercially reasonable terms."

Antitrust enforcers evaluate corporate! mergers to see if they make markets too concentrated and limit competition, if they can foster unfair pricing advantages to consumers or suppliers, or if they create an overall consumer harm.

Recently, Google has also faced increased anti-trust scrutiny for its core search functions. Currently Google is the world's largest online search provider with over a 60% market share. Second-largest search provider currently commands less than 20% of the overall search market.

In today's blog post explaining the increased antitrust scrutiny of the Department of Justice, Woodside said, "we're confident that this deal will be approved. We believe very strongly this is a pro-competitive transaction that is good for Motorola Mobility, good for consumers, and good for our partners."

In a 8K filing with the Securities and Exchanges Commission, Motorola Mobility said, "The companies intend to cooperate fully and respond expeditiously to the DOJ. The transaction is currently expected to close by the end of 2011 or in early 2012."

Hewlett Packard(HPQ) said yesterday that it has hired Goldman Sachs(GS) to help it defend itself from hostile takeovers and activist shareholders. The hiring of a takeover defense team was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The company is currently reorganizing after firing CEO's Mark Hurd and Leo Apotheker in the past year. Apotheker, earlier in the summer, put together an ambitious plan for the world's largest P.C. maker to spin its computers division and acquire British software giant Autonomy for $11.7 billion in a move towards a software services oriented business model. After the board approved the plan, last week it ousted Apotheker and replaced him with former Ebay(EBAY) CEO Meg Whitman. The extent of H.P.'s new strategy to spin its computers and handset's divisions ! in favor of Autonomy's software capabilities or revert back to its traditional operating structure is yet to be fully determined under Whitman's leadership.

Hiring investment bankers like Goldman can help a struggling company like H.P. ward off acquirers, while it implements a new or more effective strategy. After BP's(BP) Macondo Oil spill in 2010, it was reported that the British oil giant hired Goldman to provide takeover defense while managing the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Goldman has also found takeover defense work from Yahoo!(YHOO), Airgas(ARG) and Potash(POT).

Goldman may help in warding off a hostile bid for the Palo-Alto based computer maker, but it won't be as effective in stopping an activist shareholder from buying an equity stake in the company to influence its strategic direction, be that Apotheker's plan, a return to P.C. based operations or potential business sales. To ward off a hostile investor, H.P. could enact a shareholders rights plan, more widely known as a "poison pill" to make it tough for an investor to add enough of a new stake in the company to influence its direction.

Its board could also reject nominations of hostile shareholders as Clorox's(CLX) did with a slate of directors nominated by activist investor Carl Icahn earlier this week.

Last week, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL) enacted a poison pill to fend off activist shareholder Sadar Bilgari, its largest shareholder, from increasing his stake in the company.

Shares of H.P. have fallen more than 40% over the last 12 months and it's the worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average this year.

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[WallstCheatSheet] Larry Ellison Uses Jedi Saber on Salesforce’s CEO

Oracle Corp��s (NASDAQ:ORCL) OpenWorld conference added some drama to its agenda after Salesforce.com (NYSE:CRM) Chief Executive Marc Benioff’s speech was deleted from Wednesday’s schedule.

Check Out: Microsoft: The War is On with Cable and Satellite Providers.

Benioff, a former Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) executive, has a love-hate relationship with Oracle’s eccentric CEO, Larry Ellison. The two have been at odds before and after the speech debacle, the situation turned into a He Said, She Said moment. Oracler released a statement that said Benioff’s speech had been moved to Thursday while Benioff scheduled his remarks for today away from the conference and added a news conference.

And just to get the last word in, Benioff said, “Sorry, Larry, the cloud can��t be stopped�� in reference to Salesforce.com’s (NYSE:CRM) success as the market leader in cloud computing.

Oracle��s (NASDAQ:ORCL) stock is up 2.80% to $29.50. Shares are down 5.78% year to date. The stock has traded in a 52-week range between $24.72 and $36.50.

Super Hot Feature:?Apple Cheat Sheet: iPhone Event Recap.

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[WallstCheatSheet] Stocks Attracting Traders Attention on Wall Street October 5th

As the Dow Jones trades at 10,892 and the S&P 500 trades at 1,137, here are the hottest?stocks that have hit our trading screens today:

1. Monsanto Company?(NYSE:MON): Shares of Monsanto Company are trading?higher?today after the company released its latest quarterly earnings report. Monsanto Company provides agricultural products for farmers. The Company’s business segments are seeds and genomics. Monsanto produces a wide range of seeds and develops biotechnology traits that assist farmers in controlling insects and weeds as well as provides other seed companies with genetic material and biotechnology traits for their seed brands.
2. Eastman Kodak Company?(NYSE:EK): Shares of Eastman Kodak Company are trading?higher over 10%?today. Shares remain volatile as bankruptcy rumors were squashed this week, but questions surrounding the company’s financials are still relevant. Eastman Kodak Company develops, manufactures, and markets imaging products. The company provides professional and consumer digital cameras, laser images for radiologists, and photographic films for professionals and amateurs. Kodak also provides digital services for cinematographers, document scanners, aerial images, digital printers for commercial customers, and flat panel displays.
3. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F): Shares of Ford are trading higher over 3% today after Deutsche Bank upgraded the company’s stock to a Buy rating and issued a $15.50 price target.?Ford Motor Company designs, manufactures, and services cars and trucks. The Company also provides vehicle-related financing, leasing, and insurance through its subsidiary.
4. Marriott International (NYSE:MAR): Shares of Marriott are trading higher over 2.5% today as the company prepares to release its latest quarterly statement.?Marriott International, Inc. operates and franchises hotels and related lodging facilities throughout the wor! ld.

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[Investor Place] The stock's uptrend should continue

The market experienced a tremendous selloff last week, which automatically makes some traders think of bearish strategies. There are still strong bullish stock candidates out there — it just may take more time to filter them out.

Dollar Tree (NASDAQ:DLTR) looks like a strong play for playing bullish call options. It��s a pretty sound fundamental stock, and the retailer��s return on equity has improved in the past five years.

Technically, the stock has been in a nice uptrend for most of 2011, and it managed to go higher when the market sold off last week, which shows some strength. The area of support to watch is $74. If DLTR moves much below that support level, the trade can be exited. Its previous high was right around $78, which it should have no trouble moving above. Buying the November call will give?this position extra time to profit.

The trade: Buy the November 77.5 calls for $3.70 or less.

The strategy: The trade profits when the stock rises, and the call premium increases as the option moves more ��in the money�� and beyond. The maximum profit is unlimited, because DLTR can continue to rise, while the maximum loss is $3.70 if DLTR finishes below $77.50 at November expiration.

Traders who are unwilling to risk the whole amount can always use a stop-loss strategy.

 

 

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[Fool] Is International Paper the Right Stock to Retire With?

Now more than ever, a comfortable retirement depends on secure, stable investments. Unfortunately, the right stocks for retirement won't just fall into your lap. Let's figure out what makes a great retirement-oriented stock, then examine whether International Paper (NYSE: IP  ) has what we're looking for.

The right stocks for retirees
With decades to go before you need to tap your investments, you can take greater risks, weighing the chance of big losses against the potential for mind-blowing returns. But as retirement approaches, you no longer have the luxury of waiting out a downturn.

Sure, you still want good returns, but you also need to manage your risk and protect yourself against bear markets, which can maul your finances at the worst possible time. The right stocks combine both of these elements in a single investment.

When scrutinizing a stock, retirees should look for:

• Size. Most retirees would rather not take a flyer on unproven businesses. Bigger companies may lack their smaller counterparts' growth potential, but they do offer greater security.
• Consistency. While many investors look for fast-growing companies, conservative investors want to see steady, consistent gains in revenue, free cash flow, and other key metrics. Slow growth won't make headlines, but it will help prevent the kind of ugly surprises that suddenly torpedo a stock's share price.
• Stock stability. Conservative retirement investors prefer investments that move less dramatically than typical stocks, and they particularly want to avoid big losses. These investments will give up some gains during bull markets, but they won't fall as far or as fast during bear markets. Beta measures volatility, but we also want a track record of solid performance as well.
• Valuation. No one can afford to pay too much for a stock, even if its ! prospect s are good. Using normalized earnings multiples helps smooth out one-time effects, giving you a longer-term context.
• Dividends. Most of all, retirees look for stocks that can provide income through dividends. Retirees want healthy payouts now and consistent dividend growth over time -- as long as it doesn't jeopardize the company's financial health.

With those factors in mind, let's take a closer look at International Paper.

Factor	What We Want to See	Actual	Pass or Fail?
Size	Market cap > $10 billion	$10.1 billion	Pass
Consistency	Revenue growth > 0% in at least four of five past years	4 years	Pass
?	Free cash flow growth > 0% in at least four of past five years	2 years	Fail
Stock stability	Beta < 0.9	2.20	Fail
?	Worst loss in past five years no greater than 20%	(61.8%)	Fail
Valuation	Normalized P/E < 18	8.62	Pass
Dividends	Current yield > 2%	4.6%	Pass
?	5-year dividend growth > 10%	(6.9%)	Fail
?	Streak of dividend increases >= 10 years	2 years	Fail
?	Payout ratio < 75%	23.9%	Pass
?	?	?	! ?
?	Total score	?	5 out of 10

Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. Total score = number of passes.

With five points, International Paper rolls out part of what conservative investors like to see in a stock, but it isn't a perfect fit. A healthy dividend and attractive valuation are points in its favor, but the stock has been extremely volatile in recent years.

International Paper makes a variety of paper products, ranging from copier paper and packaging materials to paper towels and plates. After a long rough patch, industry conditions have improved lately, with International Paper and MeadWestvaco (NYSE: MWV  ) seeing strong year-over-year jumps in profits. Fellow competitor Boise (NYSE: BZ  ) has also seen profitability rise over the past two years.

Nevertheless, the industry is competitive, and consolidation has become an important trend. Earlier this year, RockTenn (NYSE: RKT  ) bought fellow packager Smurfit-Stone. In an attempt to compete more efficiently, International Paper made a bid for shipping-box maker Temple-Inland (NYSE: TIN  ) earlier this year. After a series of back and forth moves, the companies finally agreed to the combination, which could bring synergy advantages worth $300 million annually by 2013. Some investors, including value investor Prem Watsa, thinks that AbitibiBowater (NYSE: ABH  ) could be the next acquisition target.

For retirees and other conservative investors, the real sticking point may be the company's dividend, which International Paper cut by 90% at the worst of the financial crisis two years ago. Since then, the company has pushed its ! most rec ent quarterly payouts above its pre-crisis level, and if that trend continues, then it should make shareholders happy. Still, the stock's major volatility makes it clear that you need to have a tolerance for risk to include International Paper in your retirement portfolio.

Keep searching
Finding exactly the right stock to retire with is a tough task, but it's not impossible. Searching for the best candidates will help improve your investing skills, and teach you how to separate the right stocks from the risky ones.

Add International Paper to My Watchlist, which will aggregate our Foolish analysis on it and all your other stocks.

If you want to retire rich, you need to be confident that you've got the basics of your investment strategy down pat. See if you're on track by following the "13 Steps to Investing Foolishly."

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[Small Stocks] 3 Small-Cap Gambling Stocks with Big Potential

Earlier in October, the gambling industry held one of its main conferences of the year in Las Vegas, The Global Gaming Expo, or G2E. The event gives gaming professionals the opportunity to see the new products industry suppliers are selling, as well as talk with the companies and their management teams in person.

As an attendee, I had the opportunity to talk to a few industry executives and was able to get a picture of how this industry really works. Below are the three smaller firms that should stand out to investors because of their appealing businesses and growth potential. In fact, I have closely followed two of these companies for a while now, as I detailed back in January.

I truly believe the gaming industry is still in the early stages of what should be a sustained recovery back closer to levels before the financial crisis. This is why I think right now is the best time to get in on this growing market.

1. Gaming Partners
Business: Casino game chips, tables, equipment
Market Capitalization: $54 million
P/E ratio: 10.3

Gaming Partners (Nasdaq: GPIC) sells game equipment to casinos across the globe, such as gaming chips used at blackjack, poker and baccarat tables; as well as playing cards, gaming tables and furniture. It also sells roulette wheels and dice. Last year, it reported $60 million in total sales, with just more than half stemming from the United States.

The majority of the company's products are certainly mundane, but its sales are stable and highly profitable. Last year, it generated $7.7 million in free cash flow o! ff the $ 60 million in sales, representing a profit margin of almost 13%. This is much more than it needs to maintain and grow the company. As a result, cash has accumulated on the balance sheet, which, as of the end June, stood at $9.8 million.

Given the current market cap of $54 million, backing out the cash means investors are placing a value on Gaming Partner's operations of only $27 million, or only 3.5 times free cash flow -- an incredibly low multiple for such a consistent business. In addition, there is significant upside with the development of gaming chips with embedded RFID (radio frequency identification device) technology that can help casinos detect counterfeit chips and ensure payouts are accurate.

To boost organic growth even further, management has worked on an acquisition strategy of companies, products and technologies that can help it diversify and grow its products and services. For example, in July, Gaming Partners purchased OMC Industries, a French manufacturer of plastic-injection molds, giving the company greater control over its chip-manufacturing process.

2. TransAct Technologies
Business: Transaction-based printing, receipts, tickets
Market Capitalization: $73 million
P/E: 13.5

TransAct Technologies (Nasdaq: TACT) helps companies print receipts, tickets and related transactions. It serves a number of industries, including the banking and financial segments, but has targeted the gaming industry as its primary growth driver. This is due to its latest Epic 950 printer model, which is intended to print targeted promotions on slot-machine payout tickets. For the most part, casinos have replaced physical coins by paper-ticket receipts that can be exchanged for real money at a casino's cashier.

TransAct seeks to add significant new revenue drivers for casino operators. These include comps, coupons and other specials that will send gamblers into stores,! restaur ants and casino entertainment to supplement gaming revenue. These days, Las Vegas earns about 60% of its sales from nongambling sources. TransAct's latest offering could help boost its fortunes in this sales segment.

TransAct's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is reasonable, given it's a highly-profitable firm with solid growth potential. Net profit margins came in above 11% in the past year, as management has been able to cut costs and subsequently sell its printers at a higher margin. It is also conservatively managed and has no long-term debt. CEO Bart Shuldman said this gives the company an edge over rivals, because it can offer more lenient payment terms to customers. Growth in the gaming space rose from 30% of 2009 sales of $58.4 million to 41% of 2010 sales of $63.2 million and should continue to push total company sales and profits forward in the future.
 
3. Shuffle Master
Business: Casino supplies, digital games, slot machines
Market Capitalization: $543 million
P/E ratio: 17.8

As its name indicates, Shuffle Master's (Nasdaq: SHFL) roots stem from an array of devices that help casino dealers shuffle cards more efficiently. These include a current product line consisting of the i-Deal and Ace shufflers that mix decks of cards on casino games, including the company's Three Card Poker and Ultimate Texas Hold 'em games. These games form the backbone of Shuffle Master's current growth initiatives, which are to develop and sell its own table games and a growing selection of games that use a virtual dealer to emulate the look and feel of real-life games. The company presented many of its new games at G2E, which looked to be well received by many of the conference attendees.

Table and electronic games now constitute more than 60% of sales, or roughly $123 million of last year's total sales of $201.3 million. This is up from sales of only $7! 5 millio n back in 2006, less than half of the $164 million in sales Shuffle Master reported. Net income is up considerably during this period, and stood at $23.1 million ($0.43 per share), up from $1.9 million ($0.06 per share) in 2006. This has to do with management's other main focus, which is to control costs while boosting gaming capabilities. Analysts project nearly 11% sales growth this year for total sales in excess of $223 million and earnings per share of $0.57, which would spell an impressive profit growth of 32.6%.

Risk to Consider: The Las Vegas gambling market is the largest in the United States and continues to struggle with low levels of tourism and high unemployment. However, many states, including Illinois and New Jersey, continue to look at gambling as a way to increase tax revenue. Additionally, overseas growth, especially in Asia, has been rapid, though this has been uneven and depends on individual approvals from countries such as China, Singapore and Vietnam.

Tips>> Gaming Partners continues to look like the biggest value play in the gaming supply space. Shuffle Master has arguably the most growth potential, given its aggressive moves into developing and selling its own games.

Tags: 2012 Healthcare Stocks ,ETFs ,FSLR ,Healthcare Stocks ,Solar stocks ,Top Stocks of 2012 ,Top Stocks To Watch 2012 ,Short-term outlook for this sector is cloudy

[Investor Place] Months after Fukushima disaster, nuke funds are powering up

It��s hard to miss the fact that nuclear stocks — which were skunks at the garden party as recently as Labor Day — are now on a tear. But if the nuclear sector is beginning to come back from the brink, what��s the best play for the income investor to minimize risk and maximize reward? How about nuclear exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which lower individual stock risk, pay out solid dividends and offer exposure to a sector that��s emerging from the wilderness.

With volatile oil prices and a strong business case for clean, domestic energy sources, investors kicked off 2011 with high hopes that the ��nuclear boom�� would pay off big. Then came Japan��s earthquake and tsunami in March, which led to a nuclear disaster. Shares of nuclear stocks and funds were pummeled by fallout from the disaster at Tokyo Electric Power��s Fukushima I reactors.

In the aftermath of a disaster worse than Three Mile Island, many investors gave up the nuclear industry for dead, focusing on clean energy alternatives like solar and natural gas. But as InvestorPlace Editor Jeff Reeves sagely pointed out days after the Fukushima crisis: ��But as with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, it is important for investors to remember that one disaster cannot — and should not — kill an entire industry.”

Time proved Reeves right. After months of decline, nuclear stocks are starting to bounce back from the brink, rising 30% to 66% in the past month as investors gain confidence that the nuclear industry��s fortunes are not on the verge of meltdown.

It also didn��t hurt that solar stocks took a hit over the Solyndra scandal and allegations of China��s ��dumping�� of solar panels into the U.S. solar industry at artificially low prices. New environmental concerns over the controversial shale gas exploration method known as ��fracking�� demonstrates that there��s no risk-free way to replace oil.

So with nuclear energy still a strong option ! for ener gy, here are four nuclear ETFs that could be poised for a comeback:

1. Global X Uranium ETF (NYSE:URA): URA is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of Solactive Uranium Index. With a market cap of $191.2 million, the ETF has a current dividend yield of about 4% and is down more than 50% year-to-date. In the past month, however, URA is up about 20%. At $9.79, it��s trading more than 33% over its 52-week low of $7.06 last month. The ETF��s major holdings include Coalcorp Mining, Uranium One and Paladin.
2. Market Vectors Uranium & Nuclear (NYSE:NLR): NLR looks to replicate the price and yield of the DAX global Nuclear Energy Index, a modified market-capitalization index. With a market cap of $120.1 million, it has a current dividend yield of 5.7% and a negative year-to-date performance of nearly -28%. In the past month, its return is about 7%. At $18.54, the ETF is trading more than 14% above its 52-week low of $15.74 last month. The ETF��s major holdings include utilities Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG) and Exelon (NYSE:iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy20" onclick="javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackEvent','outbound-article','http://studio-5.financialcontent.com']);">EXE), as well as Paladin.
3. iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy (NASDAQ:NUCL): NUCL seeks to match the price and yield performance of the S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index. With a market cap of $13.55 million, the ETF pays a dividend yield of about 4% and is down about 21% year-to-date. In the past month, its performance is 4.4%. Major holdings include energy construction firm McDermott International (NYSE:MDR) and utilities Exelon and First Energy (NYSE:FE). At $34.57, NUCL is up 14% from its 52-week low of $30.35 last month.< /li>
4. PowerShares Global Nuclear Energy Portfolio (NYSE:PKN): PKN tracks the performance of the WNA Nuclear Energy Index. With a market cap of nearly $16.5 million, PKN has a current dividend yield of 4.3% and is down 23% year-to-date. Its one-month performance has improved to 6.6%. At $16.67, PKN is up 11% over its 52-week low of $14.19 last month. Holdings include nuclear reactor manufacturers Areva and Shaw (NYSE:SHAW).

As of this writing, Susan J. Aluise did not own a position in any of the aforementioned stocks.

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[Investor Place] Domain name skirmish just the latest row Apple has had with porn

On Thursday, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) once again butted heads with the pornography industry. Apple has filed a claim under ICANN’s Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy to try to gain control of iPhone4s.com and six other URLs, including porn4iphones.com and iphonexxxforce.com, all of which redirect to hardcore pornography websites offering content formatted specifically for Apple’s popular smartphone.

The complaint itself, while it sounds unusual, isn’t. Apple has had to wrestle away control of domain names referring to its products numerous times in the past. The company finally gained control of iPhone4.com this July — 13 months after the first iPhone 4 model was released.

This broad complaint marks the latest skirmish in a quiet war that Apple has been waging specifically against pornography. The popularity of Apple’s portable devices like the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch has placed hundreds of millions of Internet-connected devices in consumers pockets — Apple is expected to sell 107 million iPhones alone in 2012 — and with an estimated 370 million pornographic websites online, you’d think keeping Debbie Does Dallas off iDevices would be a Sisyphean task. But that hasn’t stopped Apple from trying.

Apple flat-out barred porn from the App Store when it opened for business in 2008, but intrepid app makers continuously sneaked nudity into apps throughout the store’s first two years. In February 2010, Apple began removing apps from its App Store containing “overtly sexual content” that had gotten around censors, even those containing only partial nudity. The company went one step further in March, sending a cease-and-desist order to company MiKandi simply for marketing itself as the “world’s first mobile porn app store.” Apple took umbrage with the phrase “app store” being used (something the company ! is infam ously prickly about).

The anti-porn policy went all the way to the top at Apple, too. In an email t��te-��-t��te with Gawker‘s Ryan Tate, the late Steve Jobs claimed that the iPad was a revolutionary device precisely because it gave web surfers “freedom from porn.” The celebration of creativity, life, relationships and art that the iPad and iPhone sell themselves as in advertisements apparently doesn’t include sex as part of that equation.

As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at?@ajohnagnello?and?become a fan of?InvestorPlace on Facebook.

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[Money Show] Beware of Oil for Income

Befitting the nature of the industry, only a few plays on the crude production side aren’t so volatile as to be dangerous to a principled income investor, writes Josh Peters of Morningstar DividendInvestor.

Until now, our exposure to the energy industry has largely been confined to pipeline operators. Given that our strategy stresses reliable dividend returns above all else, it’s been easy to focus on the stable businesses that move energy commodities around over those that find and pump them out of the ground

Over the years, I’ve started to nurture the notion that any long-term investment portfolio could use some participation in energy production—even if only as a hedge.

Oil is a unique commodity in that it is a critical input for just about every other form of economic activity. It’s also a major item in ordinary household budgets, either directly (at the gas pump) or indirectly (utility bills, packaging, chemicals, the transport of everything else we buy, and so on).

If the price of oil goes up and takes the cost of living with it, so also should the value of a sound E&P firm. A falling oil price might not be good for an E&P stock in the short term, but at least the hit can be offset by relief on the cost-of-living front. In a sense, it seems to me that we are short oil unless we can have some investment in it.

Being short oil could be a dangerous position for the long term. I’m fond of the work of Jeremy Grantham, Wall Street’s high priest of mean reversion in asset prices. When he calls out a new paradigm (an asset that has left past statistical trends in the dust), I think it’s worth taking notice.

Grantham has lately gone much further than the widely popular theory of peak oil—that idea that global production will soon top out and start declining even with all the gigantic efforts and resources being thrown at the problem. He now worries that we’re runn! ing out of everything.

I won’t go that far, and I’m not enough of an expert in petroleum engineering to stake real money with or against the peak oil theory. That said, I am increasingly persuaded that the era of cheap oil is over. In late 1998, I can recall filling my pickup truck for just 77 cents a gallon. I should have saved and framed the receipt.

There are areas where oil that has already been found is still inexpensive to extract—Saudi Arabia, for instance. But in any commodity market, the price eventually reflects the marginal cost of production, not the lowest cost or even the average cost. Nobody is going to bother to find (much less extract) oil that costs $100 a barrel if it sells for only $50.

As the cheaper reserves are depleted, they are being replaced with far more costly supplies such as oil sands, shale oil, deep-water offshore, Arctic drilling, and so on.

Our view is that the cost of finding and extracting the marginal barrel of oil is now $95, and while we expect this price will continue to rise along with inflation, the political risks tied to an ever-growing share of the world’s supply mean that long-term risks are probably to the upside.

Tags: 2012 Good Stocks ,Bonus Stocks ,Good Bonus Stocks To Invest In ,Good Stocks For 2012 ,Good Stocks To Invest In ,G-20 Pledges to Support Economic Relief Efforts

[WallstCheatSheet] The Wendy’s Company Third Quarter Earnings Sneak Peek

The Wendy’s Company (NYSE:WEN) will unveil its latest earnings on Wednesday, November 9, 2011. Wendy’s Arby’s Group is a quick service restaurant company, which is comprised of the Wendy’s and Arby’s brands.

The Wendy’s Company Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet

Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for profit of 4 cents per share, a decline of 20% from the company’s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. The average estimate is the same as three months ago. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate was unchanged. It also has not changed during the last month. For the year, analysts are projecting net income of 15 cents per share, a rise of 7.1% from last year.

Past Earnings Performance: The company has missed estimates in the last two quarters. In the second quarter, it missed the mark by one cent as a result of reporting profit of 5 cents against an estimate of net income of 6 cents per share. In the first quarter, the company fell short of forecasts by one cent.

Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $619.3 million in revenue this quarter, a decline of 28.1% from the year ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $2.43 billion for the year, a decline of 28.5% from last year’s revenue of $3.4 billion.

Analyst Ratings: Analysts seem relatively indifferent about Wendy’s Company with 10 of 17 analysts surveyed maintaining a hold rating.

A Look Back: In the second quarter, profit rose 4.9% to $11.3 million (3 cents a share) from $10.7 million (3 cents a share) the year earlier, but fell short analyst expectations. Revenue fell 29% to $622.5 million from $877 million.

Key Stats:

Wendy’s Company’s profit last quarter followed losses in the three previous quarters. The company reported a loss of $1! .4 milli on in the first quarter, a loss of $10.8 million in the fourth of the last fiscal year and a loss of $909,000 in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.

Revenue fell in the second quarter after seeing a rise the quarter before. In the first quarter, revenue rose 1.2%.

Competitors to Watch: McDonald��s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), Good Times Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ:GTIMD), Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TAST), Tim Hortons Inc. (NYSE:THI), Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK), Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ:PNRA), Chipotle (NYSE:CMG), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Nathan��s Famous, Inc. (NASDAQ:NATH).

Stock Price Performance: During August 10, 2011 to November 3, 2011, the stock price had risen 89 cents (19.6%) from $4.53 to $5.42. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between June 10, 2011 and June 21, 2011 when shares rose for eight-straight days, rising 12.9% (+58 cents) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between May 31, 2011 and June 10, 2011 when shares fell for nine-straight days, falling 10.2% (-51 cents) over that span. Shares are up 86 cents (+18.9%) year to date.

 

Tags: 2012 Rising Stocks ,FOMC ,Top Stocks To Buy ,Top Stocks To Buy For 2012 ,Top Stocks To Invest In 2012 ,The New Gold/US Dollar Relationship 

[The Street] Dollar Ignores Economic Implications Of NFPs, Looks For More Risk

By John Kicklighter, Currency Strategist

• Dollar Ignores Economic Implications of NFPs, Looks for More Risk
• Euro Passes Another Hurdle with Greece Confidence Vote, What Next?
• British Pound: Should We Expect Anything from the BoE Next Week?
• Canadian Dollar’s Reaction to Employment Surprise Doesn’t Stop with Volatility
• Swiss Franc : SNB FX Holdings Unexpectedly Drop in October
• Japanese Yen Decline Lacking Momentum, Risk of Rebound Growing
• Gold Slowing Advancing as ETF, Speculative and Central Bank Holdings Advance

Dollar Ignores Economic Implications of NFPs, Looks for More Risk

Despite the chopthrough the second half of this past week, the Dow Jones FXCMDollar Index (ticker = USDollar) closed out its firstweekly advance in five. It also happened to be thegreenback’s best performance (in a 2.6 percent rally) sincethe series of swells through October 2008. The comparison inperformance should represent an easy bridge to fu! ndamenta ls. Threeyears ago, the market was dealing with the worst financial crisisand economic recession the world had seen in generations. Thedollar’s safe haven status under extreme conditions onceagain shows through. However, upon review, the troubles faced thispast week didn’t seem to match the sheer panic that hadseized the markets during the Lehman Brothers / Subprime fiasco.So, where did this drive come from?

The first consideration (and the source of the Dollar Index’s extreme reading) is manipulation. The Japanese Finance Ministery’s effort to forcibly drive the value of its own currency down led to an incredible 3.2 percent rally for USDJPY. Manipulation (outright in intervention or indirect through policy) is now common place. Efforts by Japan and Switzerland to push their own currencies lower are obvious; but they aren’t necessarily the most influential. Direct intervention rarely meets lasting success because it fights far more elemental demands for yield or safe harbor. Much more problematic is consistent policy efforts. In the comparison between the US, Japanese and Swiss currencies – all safe havens – we note that the greenback is the weakest of the group. Part of the reason is that the Fed has embarked on an unprecedented stimulus program. This in turn offers a nudge to risk appetite global and set’s the requirement for risk aversion to drive the dollar that much higher.

The more active driverfor the dollar this past week - which will likely determine thecurrencies bearing and pace next week and through the rest of thisyear – was the spread of financial trouble from Euro-areasovereigns to the US shores. The fall of MF Global (once a FedPrimary Dealer) was triggered by a large and bad bet on Europeangovernment debt. This was an outright speculative move; and thebigg! er playe rs in the US are unlikely to have extended themselvesthat far on a speculative position for the troubled region; butthere is certainly exposure. Should European banks (who are parkingmore capital with the ECB and Fed while demanding more dollars)meet another crunch, it could easily spill over to State-side.Should Italian government yields surpass 7 percent and fall, wewill see more US banks with exposure issues. There are seriousissues in the background; but it is the catalysts that bring it theheadlines and speculators’ attention. So that is what we needto watch.

Related: Discuss the Dollar in the DailyFX Forum, John’s Video: Euro Will React to Greek Vote but Traders Looking to Larger Risks

Euro Passes Another Hurdle with Greece Confidence Vote, What Next?

Well after the closeFriday, the Greek Parliament finally tallied up the confidence vote for Prime MinisterPapandreou. With a final margin of 153 to 145, the threat of animmediate government dissolution was avoided. This was the outcomethat best promotes stability; and was therefore the one that themajority had projected. With these results, it is expected thatPapandreou will step down after creating a unity government thatcan pass the austerity measures that came along with the October26th pact that delivered a50 percent haircut on Greek debt among other things. This is farfrom a long-term solution to Greece’s squ! eeze bet weenausterity and recession; but it does remove the immediate threat ofa Euro-region and currency crisis. We will no doubt see volatilityrelated to this particular issue in the coming week; but it is nowseen as a catalyst for December. In the meantime, regional banks,Italian sovereign yields and Irish/Portuguese/Spanish austeritywill compete for headlines.

British Pound: Should We Expect Anything from the BoE Next Week?

The sterling gainedground against all its major counterparts except for the US dollar.That is remarkable given the pound’s inherently unfavorablebearing on monetary policy and economic health. We will be remindedof these conditions next week; and with the rest of the market notimmediately threatened by larger drivers, this could lead thecurrency to undermine its own health. Top event risk is without doubt theBoE rate decision – though we shouldn’t expect toomuch. Fresh off a 75 billion pound hike to its stimulus, they willlikely hold; but look for guidance.

Canadian Dollar’s Reaction to Employment Surprise Doesn’t Stop with Volatility

As expected, theCanadian employment report was the most market moving event for thefinal 24 hours of this past trading week. As a mirror to theSeptember reading, the October figure showed a remarkable 54,000jobs lost – the biggest monthly drop since February 2009.This reminds that Canada will not avoid the global tides; but the uptick inunemployment (to 7.3 percent); doesn’t really dent thelong-term decline.

Swiss Franc : S NB FX Holdings Unexpectedly Drop in October

With the Swiss National Bank actively holding a floor on EURCHF; we would expect their FX holdings as they actively try to keep the exchange rate elevated (purchasing euros). Yet, we learned from the bank’s monthly report that holdings actually dropped 14 billion francs to 242.7 billion. This suggests that the threat of a floor is enough to keep back the tide. However, the market will continue to test this theory.

Japanese Yen Decline Lacking Momentum, Risk of Rebound Growing

Despite the JapaneseFinance Ministry’s remarkable efforts this past Monday todrive its currency lower; the yen recovered most of its ground against the bulk of itscounterparts. The one that most interests Japanese officials thoughis USDJPY. Hovering just above 78, a serious souring of riskappetite threatens to push this pair back to record lows. If thathappens, expect more fireworks as officials firefight.

Gold Slowing Advancing as ETF, Speculative and Central Bank Holdings Advance

Gold may have put in a modest performance this past week (rising 0.6 percent); but there is something happening in the backdrop – a steady build in interest. We are seeing news that central banks reported 206 tons of purchases in September, ETF holdings have risen 1.8 percent from September’s three-month low and COT figures show a jump in net speculative interest from near three-year lows. Interesting is building.

ForReal Time Forex News, visit: http://www.dailyfx.com/real_time_news/!

**For a full list ofupcoming event risk and past releases, go to www.dailyfx.com/calendar

ECONOMIC DATA

N ext 24 Hours

GMT	Currency	Release	Survey	Previous	Comments
23:01 (Sun)	GBP	Lloyds Employment Confidence (OCT)		-67	Confidence survey could improve on new BoE easing
23:30 (Sun)	AUD	TD Securities Inflation (YoY) (OCT)		2.8%	Inflation expectations may weaken
23:30 (Sun)	AUD	ANZ Job Advertisements (MoM) (OCT)		-2.1%	Gauge of employment fluctuating during change of seasons
(Sun)	JPY	Tokyo Avg Office Vacancies (%)(OCT)		8.64	Demand continues to be sluggish
4:00	JPY	Coincident Index (SEP P)		107.6	May improve on new policies
5:45	CHF	U nemployment Rate (OCT)		2.8%	Swiss labor markets seen stable, not large concern for Swiss National Bank
5:45	CHF	Unemployment Rate s.a. (OCT)		3.0%
7:15	CHF	Consumer Price Index (MoM) (OCT)		0.3%	Swiss consumer prices may remain stable despite SNB peg and intervention
7:15	CHF	Consumer Price Index ! (Yo Y) (OCT)		0.5%
7:15	CHF	CPI - EU Harmonised (MoM) (OCT)		0.3%
7:15	CHF	CPI - EU Harmonised (YoY) (OCT)		0.2%
8:30	EUR	Euro-Zone Sentix Investor Confidence (OCT)		-18.5	Lower index could continue
9:00	EUR	Euro-Zone Retail Sales (MoM) (SEP)		-0.3%	Still expanding retail sales creating pressure on ECB to pursue price stability and raise rates
9:00	EUR	Euro-Zone Retail Sales (YoY) (SEP)		-1.0%
10:00	EUR	German Indus Prod n.s.a. and w.d.a. (YoY) (SEP)		7.7% !	Industrial production seeing headwinds on lower demand
10:00	EUR	German Indus Prod s.a. (MoM) (SEP)		-1.0%
19:00	USD	Consumer Credit (SEP)		-$9.501B	Weak change seen on low flows
23:01	GBP	BRC Sales Like-For-Like (YoY) (OCT)		0.3%	British retail continues to weaken
23:01	GBP	RICS House Price Balance (OCT)		-23%	House prices may be helped by BoE asset plan, rates pushed lower
23:30	AUD	Trade Balance (Australian dollar) (SEP)		3100M	Trade balance not expected to be market moving during this month
23:30	AUD	NAB Business Confidence (OCT)		! -2	Confidence levels trying to find pivot level amidst uncertainty
23:30	AUD	NAB Business Conditions (OCT)		2

SUPPORT AND RESISTANCE LEVELS

CLASSIC SUPPORT ANDRESISTANCE -18:00GMT

!

Currency	EUR/USD	GBP/USD	USD/JPY	USD/CHF	USD/CAD	AUD/USD	NZD/US! D	EUR/JPY	GBP/JPY
Resist 2	1.4250	1.6445	81.50	0.9300	1.0675	1.1080	0.9020	112.00	131.00
Resist 1	1.4000	1.6100	79.50	0.9150	1.0675	1.0770	0.8750	109.35	128.30
Spot	1.3841	1.6045	78.03	0.8766	1.0076	1.0421	0.7951	108.01	125.21
Support 1	1.3600	1.5900	77.50	0.8500	0.9950	1.0150	0.7500	105.00	122.35
Support 2	1.3350	1.5700	75.50	0.7800	0.9750	1.0000	0.6850	102.00	116.00

CLASSIC SUPPORT AND RESISTANCE

EMERGING MARKETS & S CANDIES CURRENCIES 18:00 GMT

Currency	USD/MXN	USD/TRY	USD/ZAR	USD/HKD	USD/SGD		Currency	USD/SEK	USD/DKK	USD/NOK
Resist 2	16.5000	2.0000	8.5800	7.8165	1.3650		Resist 2	7.5800	5.6625	6.1150
Res! ist 1	14.3200	1.9000	8.1025	7.8075	1.3250		Resist 1	6.5175	5.3100	5.7075
Spot	13.3895	1.7514	7.8663	7.7677	1.2650		Spot	6.5646	5.3767	5.5830
Support 1	12.6000	1.6500	6.5575	7.7490	1.2000		Support 1	6.0800	5.1050	5.3040
Support 2	11.5200	1.5725	6.4295	7.7450	1.1800		Suppo rt 2	5.8085	4.9115	4.9410

INTRA-DAY PIVOT POINTS 18:00 GMT

Currency	EUR/USD	GBP/USD	USD/JPY	USD/CHF	USD/CAD	AUD/USD	NZD/USD	EUR/JPY	GBP/JPY
Resist 2	1.3982	1.6180	78.30	0.8939	1.0278	1.0601	0.8072	109.04	126.21
Resist 1	1.3912	1.6112	78.16	0.8853	1.0177	1.0511	0.8011	108.53	125.71
Pivot	1.3784	1.5995	78.03	0.8807	1.0116	1.0357	0.7909	107.55	124.81
Support 1	1.3714	1.5927	77.89	0.8721	1.0015	1.0267	0.7848	107.04	124.31
Support 2	1.3586	1.5810	77.76	0.8675	0.9954	1.0113	0.7746	106.06	123.42

INTRA-DAY PROBABILITY BANDS 18:00 GMT

\ Currency	EUR/USD	GBP/USD	USD/JPY	USD/CHF	USD/CAD	AUD/USD	NZD/USD	EUR/JPY	GBP/JPY
Resist. 3	1.4061	1.6218	78.86	0.8913	1.0210	1.0615	0.8102	109.95	127.11
Resist. 2	1.4006	1.6175	78.65	0.8876	1.0176	1.0567	0.8065	109.47	126.63
Resist. 1	1.3951	1.6131	78.44	0.8840	1.0143	1.0518	0.8027	108.98	126.16
Spot	1.3841	1.6045	78.03	0.8766	1.0076	1.0421	0.! 7951	108.01	125.21
Support 1	1.3731	1.5959	77.62	0.8692	1.0009	1.0324	0.7875	107.04	124.25
Support 2	1.3676	1.5915	77.41	0.8656	0.9976	1.0275	0.7837	106.55	123.78
Support 3	1.3621	1.5872	77.20	0.8619	0.9942	1.0227	0.7800	106.07	123.30

v

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--- Written by: JohnKicklighter, Senior Currency Strategist for DailyFX.com

To contact John, email jkicklighter@dailyfx.com. Follow me on twitter athttp://www.twitter.com/JohnKicklighter

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DailyFX is the forex news and research arm of FXCM, Inc (NYSE: FXCM), which provides currency trading and brokerage services and is an advertiser on TheStreet websites. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information is provided as general market commentary, and does not constitute investment advice. Dailyfx will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information. Currency t! rading i nvolves significant risk of loss. Individual authors may hold positions in the currencies discussed in the article.

Original Article: http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/fundamental/daily_briefing/session_briefing/daily_fundamentals/2011/11/05/Dollar_Ignores_Economic_Implications_of_NFPs_Looks_for_More_Risk.html

Tags: Growth Stocks 2012 ,Growth Stocks For 2012 ,Growth Stocks To Invest In 2012 ,Growth Stocks To Watch ,Russell 2000 Flashes Bullish Signals