Paul Ausick

Recent Articles

EU Refinery Issues Impact Key Crude Oil ADRs (RDS-A, TOT, E)

By Paul Ausick

In 2008, refineries in northwest Europe enjoyed a $6.72/b refining margin. Within a year, the margins had fallen to $3.26/b, and are now about $3.55/b. At the 2008 peak, crude oil costs were dropping faster than pump prices, and refining was a big money-maker.

Cadmium-Tainted Shrek Glasses Recalled by McDonald’s (MCD, DWA)

By Paul Ausick

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) has effectively conducted dozens of so-called movie tie-ins where the store offers a branded item, like a drinking glass, that links the restaurants with a currently popular movie. These promotions are aimed at children, who then drag their hapless parents into the stores for burgers and fries and tchotchkes. That process just came to a grinding halt today, as McDonald's recalled 12 million drinking glasses tied to the latest Shrek movie from Dreamworks (DWA).

Retail Sales Barely Beat Reduced Estimates (TGT, COST, GPS, SKS, JWN, ANF, JCP, RAD, HOTT, WMT)

By Paul Ausick

Overall, about two-thirds of US retail stocks are showing some profit gains and about one-third are not. Some of the winners in the May same-store sales sweepstakes are Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Costco Wholesale Inc. (NYSE: COST), Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS), and Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN). The losers among retail stocks in May include Abercrombie and Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), J.C. Penney Co. Inc.(NYSE: JCP), Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO), and Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOTT).

Verizon Says No, Apple Says Maybe on iPhone (AAPL, VZ, DT, S, T)

By Paul Ausick

Will the iPhone from Apple Inc. (NYSE: AAPL) come to Verizon Wireless, the joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) and Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT)? That depends who you ask. A spokesman for Verizon Wireless said yesterday that his company had "no plan to carry the Apple iPhone in the immediate future." That may sound definitive, but is in fact pretty vague. The "immediate future" could be this week and "no plan" can turn into a big plan pretty quickly.

Steel Output Rises as Prices Fall (MT, NUE, AKS, FCX, X)

By Paul Ausick

ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT), Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE), AK Steel Holding Corp. (NYSE: AKS), Freeport-McMoran Copper and Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX), and U.S. Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) have all been touted as on the mend, but the worries about the global economy have cooled some of the enthusiasm for steel stocks in the past two weeks. Anticipating a recovery in the global economy, steelmakers have ramped up production since the beginning of the year. The recent troubles in Europe have caused expectations of a strong recovery to fade quickly and have generated concern that the supply of steel will outstrip demand and weigh down steel prices.

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