Paul Ausick

Recent Articles

Nokia Stock Tumbles on Dreary Earnings Forecast (NOK, AAPL, RIMM, MOT, GOOG, PALM)

By Paul Ausick

Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) makes and sells more smartphone handsets than any other stock in the world. But Nokia faces two problems: it doesn't compete with high-end smartphones like the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) BlackBerry, or even the Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) Droid where prices and margins are high. Second, price competition from low-cost makers is eroding the Nokia's industry-leading market share on smartphone sales.

FedEx Earnings – FDX Stock Outlook for Fiscal 2011 Softens

By Paul Ausick

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) reported earnings this morning that beat analysts' expectations, but quarterly sales and profits are not the focal point for investors. FedEx reported EPS of $1.33, a penny better than earnings estimates on sales revenue of $9.43 billion, substantially better than FDX sales estimates for of $9.04 billion. FedEx Corp. leaders noted that volume growth drove the better-than-expected results for the shipping stock.

British Sky Broadcasting BSkyB Rejects $11.5B News Corp. Buyout (NWS, DISH, DTV)

By Paul Ausick

British Sky Broadcasting Group, or BSkyB, rejected a News Corp. buyout worth $11.5 billion. However, BSkyB but would like to see another merger or buyout prompted by NWS stock execs. British Sky Broadcasting, a satellite company akin to DirecTV (DTV) and Dish Network (DISH) is already 39% owned by News Corp before the buyout offer.

Cablevision Buyout Nets 300,000 New Subscribers (CVC, ASCMA, TWC, CMCSA)

By Paul Ausick

Cablevision Systems Corp. ( CVC) announced today that it was acquiring Bresnan Communications for $1.365 billion. Bresnan has more than 300,000 customers in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah, and the company's wires pass more than 630,000 homes in the four states it serves. Ascent Media Corp. (NASDAQ: ASCMA), Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC), Charter Communications, Suddenlink Communications, and private equity firm TPG Capital were also said to be bidders for Bresnan. Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) was apparently not interested, even though it owned 30% of Bresnan.

For-Profit Education Stocks Under the Microscope (WMT, APEI, APOL, CECO, DV, STRA)

By Paul Ausick

American Public University which is owned and operated by American Public Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: APEI) was recently in the news when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced that it was starting a program to help its 1.4 million US employees gain a post-secondary education. Wal-Mart employees who participate in the program will get a grant from the school to meet 15% of their tuition costs, and Wal-Mart will pay up to $50 million over the next three years for tuition assistance and other costs.

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