Paul Ausick

Recent Articles

Lowe’s: Mortgage Defaults and DIY Caution for Sector (LOW, HD)

By Paul Ausick

Lowe's Q2 forecasts were lower than expected, perhaps due to the company's concern over 'strategic defaults.'

More Pre-Paid Wireless Customers Could Hit Profits (S, WMT, VZ, DT, AMX, T, AAPL, LEAP, PCS)

By Paul Ausick

Pre-paid revenues are harder for carries to predict, and churn rates are higher because pre-paid customers have no reason to stick with a carrier if a lower price is available elsewhere. The announcement that Sprint (S) is teaming up with Wal-Mart (WMT) to offer a new low-cost pre-paid plan could change that.

Retail Sales Continue to Grow but Demand Could Soften (JCP, DDS, JWN)

By Paul Ausick

For the seventh straight month, retail sales in the U.S. have risen, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Drill Rig Sinks Offshore of Venezuela (BP, RIG, STO, E)

By Paul Ausick

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez posted a message on Twitter this morning that a natural gas explosion in the Caribbean sank a semi-submersible drilling rig. The rig, called the Aban Pearl, was owned by India's Aban Offshore Ltd. and all 95 crew on board were safely evacuated according to Chavez. No cause was given for the explosion and Venezuelan officials say that the rig explosion poses no environmental risk. But the blast comes a little more than three weeks after a rig owned by Transocean Ltd. (RIG) and operated for BP plc (BP) exploded in the Gulf of Mexico leaving 11 workers missing and presumed dead, and leaking an estimated 5,000 b/d of crude oil into the Gulf.

Transocean Seeks to Limit Liability in Gulf Oil Spill (RIG, BP, HAL)

By Paul Ausick

The owner of the Deepwater Horizon that exploded in flames and sank in the Gulf of Mexico, Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), has filed a petition in the the US District Court in Houston seeking to limit the company's liability for the incident and asking the court to issue an injuction restricting lawsuits already filed in another jurisdiction. The explosion at a well being drilled for BP plc. (NYSE: BP) destroyed the semi-submersible Deepwater Horizon and killed 11 workers.

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