Trade Deficit and Unemployment Data Welcomed Good News for Investors
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Stocks continued to waiver up and down this week, but looked to end with a slight rise on Thursday as the dollar weakened against the euro, helping commodities and the shares of companies that do a lot of business overseas. Investors also were positive on a report that showed Commerce Department data, which said the U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in October, falling to $32.94 billion as the rise in exports from September of goods such as cars was slightly higher than the increase in imports. The number of Americans filing first-time claims for state jobless benefits rose to 474,000 in the week ended Dec. 5. That's up 17,000 from the prior week.
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The holiday shopping season is in full swing and we continue to monitor the sale trends and the hot products. Video games seem to doing well this year but who is actually making money and will that translate to a rise in stock prices? It's not an easy question, but we see one company that clearly is putting out great products and selling them. Our Bear pick this week is a well known internet name that has recently split from the parent company and will try to become profitable on its own. The problem is, it has serious obstacles to overcome and its membership base, once a core revenue stream has been losing members for close to 10 years. |
 Activision Blizzard, Inc. (ATVI) - The video game sector has not been good to investors, and the stock prices have not rebounded as the market indexes. That should change for a couple on companies that are the movers of the industry. With some of the biggest titles in gaming, Call of Duty, Guitar Hero and World of Warcraft, Activision should see a strong holiday season as the price of the gaming consoles have been cut dramatically.
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 AOL (AOL) - We have not been kind to IPOs in the past here, especially brand name companies looking to make a splash. This week's split of AOL and Time Warner is not exactly an IPO, but it’s getting the same type of hype. Although AOL does have some positives, such as MapQuest and Bebo, the landscape has changed since their market dominance of the late 1990s. Google and other free online entry portals have reduced their market share considerably and are simply more user friendly. Will AOL turn it around and become a leader again, it’s doubtful.
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