Halina Zakowicz

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• Is Martha Stewart Living?

  By Halina Zakowicz - September 8, 2012 | Tickers: JCP, MSO

  Just about all of us have watched Martha Stewart on TV or read her magazine publication Martha Stewart Living by now. And almost all of us have envied her ability to create the perfect batch of scones while simultaneously finding a way to repurpose the spent eggshells into decorative tomato seed planters. While you're dreading the thought of making four dozen cupcakes for your daughter's troop meeting and more »

• What Facebook Can Learn from Digg

  By Halina Zakowicz - July 20, 2012 | Tickers: FB, GOOG, NWSA, YHOO

  If there's one thing that the recent Digg Inc. sale can teach us, it's that fortune and fame in the land of Silicon Valley are fleeting. Digg, a social media start-up founded in 2004, rose quickly to stardom on the venture capital of investors like Greylock Partners (Facebook investor) and Reid Hoffman (founder of LinkedIn). At one point, Digg was reportedly valued at $200 million by Google, Inc more »

• Facebook's Next Challenge: Getting Mobilized

  By Halina Zakowicz - July 17, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, FB, GOOG

  Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) made a concerning revelation in its May 2012 S-1 securities amendment filing: The company does not "generate any meaningful revenue from the use of Facebook mobile products, and [its] ability to do so successfully is unproven." This has become a big issue since, in just one year's time (March 2011 to March 2012), mobile monthly average users (MAUs) increased from 288 to 488 million, or more »

• Amazon Should Buy Nokia

  By Halina Zakowicz - July 11, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, BBRY, MSFT, NOK

  Last Friday, many news organizations reported that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is looking to enter the smartphone marketplace by releasing its own device. The company would collaborate with Foxconn to build the hardware, much as it did while building the Kindle e-reader. Incidentally, Foxconn also provides the hardware for Apple iPhones. The Amazon smartphone would function on the company's own Android-based operating system. Once released, the new device more »

• Is Groupon Bad for Business?

  By Halina Zakowicz - June 26, 2012 | Tickers: GOOG, GRPN |

  Groupon's merchants are posting horror stories about dealing with the business. Groupon customers are giving its merchants lower ratings over time. Is Groupon good for local businesses?

• How to Fix a Broken Business Model

  By Halina Zakowicz - June 6, 2012 | Tickers: P, SIRI

  Pandora Media (NYSE: P) has not been having an easy time on the markets since its IPO in June of 2011. The stock tumbled to under $8 a share at one point, way down from its starting price of $16. Currently, the online radio company trades at $10 a share, but experts estimate that its price will head into single digit territory in the coming months. This is in spite more »

• Why Amazon is Headed for a Fall

  By Halina Zakowicz - May 21, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, AAPL

  The online e-tailer Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has certainly been one of Wall Street's darlings in the past three years, moving from a bottomed-out price in the high 50's to its current position at $225/share. Of course, the company's skyrocketing market capitalization is the reward of years of hard work and forethought; as early as 1998, Amazon expanded its product offerings from just books to CDs and more »

• Blaming the Packers is Not a Great Idea, Roundy's

  By Halina Zakowicz - May 14, 2012 | Tickers: FDO, RNDY, WFM

  For those of you who don't live in the Midwest and specifically Wisconsin, Roundy's Inc. (NYSE: RNDY) may not be a familiar name to you when it comes to grocery shopping. However, for folks like me who live in America's Dairyland, Roundy's is synonymous with my local Copp's and Pick 'n Save stores, which I frequent at least twice a week during their Double Daze more »

• Why You Should Not Buy Facebook's IPO

  By Halina Zakowicz - May 8, 2012 | Tickers: PACB, P, YNDX

  Facebook's (FB) IPO is coming and that IPO may debut as soon as May 18. However, you won't be seeing me hankering after fresh-off-the-SEC FB stock shares. Not only will I not be claiming my shareholder stake in social media's newest empire, but I'm highly advising other ordinary Joes/Janes to steer clear as well. Why? Here are my top 7 reasons:

  1. You won't more »

• Why Stock Dividends are Sexy Right Now

  By Halina Zakowicz - May 2, 2012 | Tickers: CVX, CBRL, XOM, GK, RGR

  Stock dividends are getting sexier by the day and are no longer the domain of aging baby boomers and retirees. According to a report by Silverblatt, a grand total of 401 S&P 500 companies will be paying $279 billion in dividends in 2012. This beats the record set in 2008, when a total of 372 S&P 500 companies paid out $248 billion in dividends to their shareholders. Furthermore more »

• Sturm Ruger Shows Up with Guns Blazing

  By Halina Zakowicz - May 2, 2012 | Tickers: SWHC, RGR

  My first gun was a double action .357 Magnum Ruger Security Six revolver, which was given to me as a Christmas gift by my partner Michael. It was certainly one of my more unusual Christmas gifts. Later on that year, we argued about my inclination to name our new dog Ruger. Suffice it to say, Sturm, Ruger & Company (NYSE: RGR) holds a unique place in my heart as well as more »

• Why Netflix Woes are Far from Being Over

  By Halina Zakowicz - April 25, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, CSTR, NFLX, VZ, WMT

  Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) shares have taken quite a tumble this week, thanks in part to the company's recent earnings loss report of $0.08 per share. However, things could arguably have been a lot worse for the DVD and Internet streaming services company; analysts had predicted a loss of $0.27 for this past quarter. Furthermore, Netflix Inc. still posted its total quarterly revenue to be $870 million, on more »