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Kyle Metivier

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  • 3D, It's Not You, It's Me

    By Kyle Metivier - September 4, 2012 | Tickers: DDD, WPRT

    I hate it when people say, “I told you so.” I have yet to conduct a scientific study, the likes of which placed CNN and USA Today securely on the polling platform, but I’m almost certain even the people that utter those words hate hearing them, as well. I presented a stock on three different occasions, probably posted well before they were actually syndicated by my esteemed editors, but more »

  • Defensive Stocks with Hope Against Alzheimer's

    By Kyle Metivier - August 28, 2012 | Tickers: BAX, BMY, LLY, JNJ, PFE

    It’s customary for portfolios to have some form of “defensive” stock, which typically offers a tasty yield to help cure any market malaise or even all-out meltdowns. Many investors often flock to popular pharmaceutical companies for shelter during Wall Street storms. In prior posts, I mentioned that during last year’s S&P pancake performance, I took a decent position with Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), primarily for that succulent more »

  • How Much is Your CEO Worth?

    By Kyle Metivier - August 28, 2012 | Tickers: CHK, COP, PSX

    “Well, ladies and gentlemen we're not here to indulge in fantasy but in political and economic reality.America,  America has become a second-rate power. Its trade deficit and its fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. Now, in the days of the free market when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the stockholder. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men that built this great industrial empire more »

  • Time to Consider Fertilizer for Drought Relief?

    By Kyle Metivier - August 22, 2012 | Tickers: AGU, CF, POT, MOS

    Corn is up over 33%. Soybeans are up over 15%. The drought of 2012 has been compared to the Dust Bowl in the Dirty Thirties, the worst since 1956, covering over two-thirds of the United States, sending corn prices over $8 a bushel. The water levels along the mighty Mississippi River are so low that barges are currently forced to carry 25% less of their normal cargo so that the more »

  • Is Wal-Mart Taking up Office Space?

    By Kyle Metivier - August 22, 2012 | Tickers: ODP, OMX, SPLS, WMT

    “The thing is, Bob, it’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care.” – Peter Gibbons, Office Space

    Recently, Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), shares dropped after dismal earnings results. I can recall three times in the past two years that I have stepped foot in an Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), or a Staples. I even remember each reason for the ventures into the specialty stores, and more »

  • The Mobile Wallet: Investing in the Way We Pay

    By Kyle Metivier - August 10, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, AUTH, INTC, SBUX, V, VOD

    Progress Report:  Visa (NYSE: V), mentioned on numerous occasions, most recently February 28, 2012 (“Visa Mobilizes”) when trading around $117 per share, currently around $130 per share:

    I tend to get distracted by technology from time to time, much like my dogs are with squirrels, and my subscriptions to the fine folks at cnet and ZDNet don’t help one iota. But this morning’s technology rodent that buzzed across more »

  • Are Dell, HP and Netflix on the Endangered Holdings List?

    By Kyle Metivier - August 9, 2012 | Tickers: DELL, HPQ, NFLX

    “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.” – James P. Lewis

    There are several occasions where I punch myself for not paying attention to my own advice. There are even a few instances when I follow my advice and walk into a stinking mess. And then there are those sublime moments when I do absolutely nothing, because I don’t like more »

  • Phillips and Marathon Outperforming their Parents

    By Kyle Metivier - August 5, 2012 | Tickers: COP, MRO, MPC, PSX

    Progress Report:  ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), mentioned 12/30/11 trading around $73 per share, currently trading around $54-$55 a share. Looks like a typical analyst recommendation for 2012, right? Not so fast, if you’ll recall the company spun-off their refining arm earlier this year.

    The result of the spin-off comes in the form of Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), and it is currently trading close to “all-time” highs (it more »

  • For-Profits Profiting Short Sellers

    By Kyle Metivier - August 2, 2012 | Tickers: APOL, BPI, COCO, DV, STRA

    “Please, try to understand. I don't have the background for this. I mean, the high school I went to, they asked a kid to prove the law of gravity, he threw the teacher out the window!” – Thornton Melon, Back to School

    Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, will release a Gore Vidal-worthy report on the for-profit education industry. As a reminder, and more »

  • Ryder Driving Home Dividends and Returns

    By Kyle Metivier - July 26, 2012 | Tickers: CGI, FDX, R, UPS

    Progress Report: Celadon Group Inc. (NYSE: CGI), mentioned April 5, 2012 with a closing price at $15.84, is currently off around $2 at $13.88 (July 26, 2012).

    United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS) reported a second quarter earnings miss and subsequently cut the company’s earnings outlook, so the stock is taking a bit of a beating, down as much as 4% (just under $75, July 26). UPS is more »

  • Daredevil Dividends, ABM and Diebold

    By Kyle Metivier - July 24, 2012 | Tickers: ABM, DBD

    “A man can stand almost anything except a succession of ordinary days.” – Johann von Goethe

    In a desperate attempt to refrain from even thinking the words, “Europe,” “fiscal cliff,” “Congress,” “Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke,” or the dreaded, “QE3,” I am most assuredly guaranteeing myself nothing in the way of reads, hits, ratings, or anything in the way of lovers, haters or comments of any sort. I will continue to more »

  • Growth a Great Cure for IPO Burns

    By Kyle Metivier - July 20, 2012 | Tickers: FB, FIVE, URBN

    What did I tell you kids about IPOs? Facebook (NASDAQ: FB), is trading around $10 off the IPO price and almost $18 off the high it enjoyed for all of about 134 seconds the day it was made available for trading to you, me and anyone else willing to part with some hard-earned dollars. Apparently, the great “Facebook Fiasco” scared away the folks at Kayak, which began trading this week more »

  • Cummins Good News/Bad News

    By Kyle Metivier - July 16, 2012 | Tickers: CMI, WPRT

    “I made a killing on Wall Street a few years ago…I shot my broker.” – Groucho Marx

    An artist at her gallery opening asked the gallery owner if anyone had inquired about purchasing her artwork. The gallery owner said that someone had, but he had good news and bad news for the artist. “Well what’s the good news?” the artist asked. The gallery owner said a man interested in more »

  • Ballmer's Bravado Benefits Us All

    By Kyle Metivier - July 13, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, MSFT

    “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger and you don’t mess around with Jim.” – Jim Croce, Don’t Mess Around With Jim

    I know I have had some fun with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), in the past, absorbing more than my fair share of slings and barbs from the MS Message more »

  • Don't Go Shopping for Dividends at Supervalu

    By Kyle Metivier - July 12, 2012 | Tickers: SVU, TGT, WMT

    Supervalu (NYSE: SVU), shares fell as if Goldman Sachs made an after-hours call to shanghai the stock. The company that owns seemingly sustainable supermarkets such as Albertson’s, Sav-A-Lot and similar grocery chains reported a 45% decline in net income for the first quarter. Citing increased competition from market stalwarts, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), and Target (NYSE: TGT), as well as myriad dollar stores, beating the stock down more than 25 more »

  • Goldman Victory on a MAKO Miss

    By Kyle Metivier - July 10, 2012 | Tickers: GS, MAKO

    If I ever buy so much as a single share of stock in a company based on the recommendation from a Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), analyst, I would request that you punch me in the stomach repeatedly, once for every dollar spent (plus commissions). If I ever make a suggestion to anyone of you, or ever rationalize any sort of position because someone from Goldman Sachs mentioned it, you have more »

  • Growth and Refreshing Dividends

    By Kyle Metivier - June 27, 2012 | Tickers: KO, PEP

    “Sailin’ ‘round the world in a dirty gondola… Oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola!” – Bob Dylan, When I Paint My Masterpiece

    Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO), has announced intentions to share their tasty beverages once the U.S. issues a license allowing American companies to conduct business in the country of Myanmar, also known as Burma, or the folks that gave us one of the most delectable appetizers more »

  • If Jack Bauer Were CEO, Could He Save Nokia?

    By Kyle Metivier - June 19, 2012 | Tickers: MSFT, NOK

    I thought of several analogies in an attempt to describe the dreadfully dire situation with Nokia (NYSE: NOK), and how the whole nonsense is being handled. We could work the ever-popular sports angle: if Nokia were drafting in the NBA, they would select Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. If it were the NFL draft, Ryan Leaf over Peyton Manning. Perhaps a cartoon reference: if Nokia were Wile E. Coyote, they more »

  • Real Housewives Reality Show Considering Wall Street?

    By Kyle Metivier - June 14, 2012 | Tickers: SIRI, STRZA

    “…keep your friends close but your enemies closer.” – Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part II

    This is almost reality show worthy. I definitely think one of the business “news” channels should have someone in their creative departments considering this. If not, I’m going to require a finder’s fee for my new show, “The Real CEOs of New York City.” Just have a few camera crews follow a select group more »

  • Sorry, Jamie Dimon, Only Congress Can Make Mistakes

    By Kyle Metivier - June 13, 2012 | Tickers: JPM

    “I’ve listened very carefully to your answers to three or four different senators today about valuation. And, frankly, I still don’t quite understand.” - Senator Michael D. Crapo, R-Idaho, to the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner

    JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), CEO, Jamie Dimon  testified before a Senate Banking Committee, on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 (your tax dollars at work). He has been characterized in the past as blunt more »