• H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:00am on Tuesday.
• InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) to give operational update.

• Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) to report Q1 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
• Texas Instruments (NYSE:TXN) to discuss enhanced financial reporting structure at 11:00am.
• Ford (NYSE:F) to report June sales at 1:00pm; General Motors (GM) to report June sales at 2:00pm.
• Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 5:00pm.
  

• Family Dollar (NYSE:FDO) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10:00am.
  

• Corel Corp (NASDAQ:CREL) to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 8:00am.
• Stolt-nielsen to report Q2 earnings; conference call at 9:00am.

• Markets closed for Fourth of July holiday.
  

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) needs to build up its little Ask.com franchise before it is spun out in a breakup of the parent company. Ask.com is an "also ran" in the search engine fight which includes Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO).

In an attempt to turn a loser into a contender, IACI is buying Lexico, which owns Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Lexico sites drew about 15.6 million unique U.S. visitors in March, according to comScore Inc., compared with 55.4 million for Ask and an array of affiliated sites."

Even if the price of the new addition is low, the Lexico sites are not likely to do much good for the Ask.com franchise. It has already fallen so far behind the three search leaders that it almost certainly cannot catch up. Internet users have already set their preference in this part of the online market. Owning a dictionary site is not going to help that.

IACI's Ask.com can't come from behind and buying additional reference sites is not going to change that.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and the author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 newsletter.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

MAJOR PAPERS:

• In a move to help turnaround its troubled business, General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) will sell or divest its appliance division, and could expect to receive between $5B and $8B for the unit, according to the Wall Street Journal. Potential buyers appliance makers BSH Bosch & Siemens Hausger of Germany and Haier Group of China, as well as private equity firms and Controladora Mabe, GE's partner in Mexico.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) will acquire Plaxo, a networking Web site, in an effort to increase its range of services. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• To help improve its Ask.com search engine, the Wall Street Journal reported that IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) will buy the Lexico Publishing Group, which owns Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com and Reference.com.

• Citing the New England Journal of Medicine, Bloomberg reported that migraine headache medicines, including Merck & Co Inc's (NYSE: MRK) Maxalt and GlaxoSmithKline Plc's (NYSE: GSK) Imitrex caused potentially fatal reactions in at least 11 people. The Journal said people using "triptans," an older class of migraine drugs, could develop serotonin syndrome, which may cause fever, shock, vomiting and rapid heartbeat.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) reported its fifth straight quarterly loss and lowered its outlook.
• Anadigics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAD) beat Q1 expectations and raised its Q2 guidance.
• AuthenTec Inc. (NASDAQ: AUTH) Q1 revenues jumped 67% on new product offerings.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) posted better-than-expected Q1 results and raised its dividend.
• Cognex Corp. (NASDAQ: CGNX) beat Q1 expectations and lifted its outlook.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) posted soild Q1 results on high-speed internet/digital phone strength.
• DreamWorks Animation Inc. (NYSE: DWA) earnings and revenues soared in the first quarter.
• Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE: EK) narrowed its Q1 loss but missed earnings estimates.
• IAC/InterActivCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) Q1 profits fell but met analsts' expectations.
• LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) beat Q1 expectations and raised its guidance for the next quarter.
• NetSuite Inc. (NASDAQ: N) narrowed its loss on a surge in Q1 revenue.
• Omniture Inc. (NASDAQ: OMTR) Q1 revenue jumped 136% on acquisitions.
• RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH) just beat low Q1 expectations on lower demand and narrower margins.
• SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) earnings for the first quarter fell short of analysts' expectations.

• Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU) Q1 profits rose 156%, easily beating analysts' estimates.
• Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA) reported a Q3 loss and announced layoffs.
• Teledyne Technologies Inc. (NYSE: TDY) posted its 25th consecutive quarterly earnings growth.
• Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) posted solid Q1 profits in line with expectations.
• Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) posted solid Q1 profits despite weakness in movie business.
• Virtual Radiologic Corp. (NASDAQ: VRAD) solid Q1 results failed to impress investors.

Also, Jim Cramer lauds Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) for its success in these tough times and Colgate-Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) for bouncing back after taking a hit. And Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) investors may have been looking for more than they got in the quarterly report.

Upcoming results to watch for include Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP), Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), and American International Group (NYSE: AIG).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

The battle between QVC and HSN is really about celebrity entrepreneurs.

QVC counts the likes of Joan Rivers and Marie Osmond in its stable of shills. Suzanne Somers and Susan Lucci hock their wares on HSN, which is owned by Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) conglomerate.

Somewhere around the 1980s or 1990s, Rivers lost her sense of shame and began opening up about everything, including her numerous plastic surgeries. Rivers still is hysterical. Typical is a recent blog post about Passover in which she joked that people eat Matzo (unleavened bread) "Because, you pig, you inherited your mother's big, fat thighs and you should lay off the carbs for at least one day every year."

Anyway, you just gotta love Rivers. She's survived her husband's suicide, the scorn of Johnny Carson and the ridicule of celebrities on the red carpet. Granted that I won't be buying products such as the Joan Rivers Lilly of the Valley Bee Pin, which according to the QVC website "shines with orange and green epoxy enamel and cream simulated pearls as the buds."

Sounds lovely, no?

Yes, I know that Marie Osmond's dolls, some of which cost cost a pretty penny, have their fans. I am sure that people also dig Somers's clothing and jewelry line, which QVC says "capture her beloved, upbeat personality and star quality." Soap queen Lucci offers "romantic fashions, glamorous and skin-toning beauty systems make you feel like a starlet."

If I were a woman instead of a 40-year-old guy whose idea of fashion is a bowling shirt and sandals, I guess that would impress me. I guess women -- the smart ones -- want to be Lucci rather than Britney Spears. Nonetheless, I am awarding the brand title winner based on the strength of Rivers' celebrity alone.

She's taking selling out to an art. Bravo. Spears, who will no doubt be selling stuff to pay her legal bills, should take note.

Vote in our poll for QVC or HSN as your preferred brand, and let us know in the comments why you love it.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

• DJIA 12,818.58 (-13.36; -0.10%)
• S&P500 1,385.47 (-5.47; -0.39%)
• NASDAQ 2,412.80 (-13.30; -0.55%)
• 10YR-BOND 3.7590% (-0.066%)
• 52-WEEK LOWS.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK.A) and Mars are in talks to purchase Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. (NYSE: WWY) for over $22B, the Wall Street Journal reported. An announcement may come as soon as today.
• The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (NYSE: RBS) will start the integration of ABN Amro Holding's (NYSE: ABN) investment bank into its global markets division, the Financial Times reported. This process will most likely result in the paring of 7,000 jobs.

• According to the New York Post, IAC/InterActiveCorp. (NASDAQ: IACI) Chairman Barry Diller is expected to meet with his board this week to restart the process of breaking up his company into five separate pieces, sources said. At the same time, Diller and Liberty Media Corporation (NASDAQ: LMDIA) Chairman John Malone are continuing to talk about a deal that would trade one or more of IAC's assets for Liberty's ownership stake in IAC.
• The UK Times has learned that Numis Securities, the stockbroking group headed by Michael Spencer, is in "advanced talks" to buy the UK equities business of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc (NYSE: BSC). Numis may look to hire a team of 25 from Bear.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

MAJOR PAPERS:

• To help stop Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) $44.6 billion takeover offer, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) is in talks with Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) about combining internet operations. Meanwhile, Microsoft is talking with News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) about a joint bid for Yahoo! And Yahoo! is is considering a possible advertising agreement with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The Wall Street Journal also reported that IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI) is planning to launch a number of new web sites, and hopes to capture a variety of audiences including African-Americans, children and news followers.

WEB SITES:

• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEH) said it liquidated three investment funds, with assets valued at $1 billion as of February 29, because of "market disruptions," Bloomberg reported.
• Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Defense approved the sale of 157 armored trucks to Britain. The trucks are built by Force Protection Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT), and the deal is valued at $125 million if all options are exercised.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is trading up 15% on positive trials of one of its products.

IAC/Interactive (NASDAQ:IACI) is trading up 6% on news that CEO Barry Diller won the right in a cout case to break-up the company.

Schering-Plough (NYSE:SGP) is down 19% on negative news on one of its most important drugs.

Thornburg (NYSE:TMA) is off 15% on news that the company is still trying to raise more capital.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Barry Diller has won his dispute with John Malone. Malone's Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LCAPA) owns a a large piece of the company that Diller runs, IAC/Interactive (NASDAQ: IACI). Diller has the right to vote those shares under a long-standing agreement.

Diller has decided to break IACI into five companies because the businesses in the firm do not have significant relationships to one another. Malone wanted to block the break-up and filed suit in court.

According to MarketWatch, "Vice Chancellor Stephen Lamb ruled Friday that "Liberty has failed to demonstrate that Diller has breached or threatened to breach any contractual duty he owes to Liberty," according to Lamb's 78-page opinion."

Diller can now complete his plans.

That leaves open the question of whether IACI is worth more in pieces than it is as a conglomerate. The firm's stock trades at $20, near its 52-week low and down from the period high of over $39. Some of the company's divisions, especially Lending Tree and HSN had tough years in 2007. These would get very low valuations as independent operations and might not make up for the value of more attractive operations like Ask.com

Diller may have gotten his way, but it is not clear that it will help shareholders.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ:IACI) and Liberty Media (NASDAQ:LINTA) have sued each other over IACI's planned breakup into five separate businesses. A Delaware Chancery Court Judge is expected to issue a ruling soon. IACI announced the plan to separate IACI into five publicly traded companies on November 5, 2007:

1) HSN, will include business comprising IACI's retailing segment;
2) Ticketmaster;
3) Interval International, which will include CondoDirect, Resort Quest Hawaii and VacationSource;
4) LendingTree, which will include RealEstate.com Domania, GetSmart, Home Loan Center and iNest; and
5) IAC media & advertising, Ask.com, Bloglines, City Search, Cursor Mania, Evite, Excite, insiderpages, iWon, My Fun cards, Black Web Enterprises Shoebuy.com, Match.com.

IACI April option implied volatility of 47 is above its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

AOL's primary strategy is to expand its advertising on Platform A, which is a combination of advertising and technology companies that AOL has purchased over the years. Executives see the expansion of their advertising network as the only way to compete and have discussed spinning off the dial-up portion of the business.

Two years ago, Time Warner discussed a merger with AOL and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) for its online operation and has recently explored a potential deal of some sort with Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). Keep in mind, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) owns a 5% stake in AOL, so the world can still change rapidly.

Many feel that as AOL continues to struggle to compete, a deal could be the only way to stay afloat. That might be a stretch or it might not. This really boils down to each user preference out there. AOL and Yahoo! both have their loyalists. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) definitely has its loyalists. Owning multiple digital properties is very attractive to some, while others disagree. Even Ask Jeeves, which is now just Ask.com, currently owned by IAC/Interactive (NASDAQ: IACI), has its loyal users. It's just a much smaller base.

My own take is that this is not a question of "staying afloat" as many write. The current barriers that exist are really a matter of size and scale. Even though a billion dollars isn't what it used to be, when you start putting $20 billion and $30 billion valuations on properties, it starts limiting the choices of how you do a deal and particularly with whom you do a deal. It's about staying massive and dominant, which is a different issue entirely.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Monday, March 10

• Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and InterActive Corp. (NASDAQ: IACI) to present at Bear Stearns Media Conference.
• Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) to hold mid-quarter update conference call at 5:00 pm.

Tuesday, March 11

• Foot Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 9:00 am.
• Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) to hold analyst meeting at 9:00 am.
• Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 10 am.

Wednesday, March 12

• FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee Meeting on Schering-Plough Corp.'s (NYSE: SGP) sBLA for Pegintronfor treatment of melanoma at 8:00 am.
• Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) to host analyst/investor meeting at 8:30 am.
• Hot Topic (NASDAQ: HOTT) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 4:30 pm.

Thursday, March 13

• FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee Meeting on Amgen Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AMGN) BLA for NPLATE for treatment of thrombocytopenia at 8:00 am.
• Neenah Paper Inc. (NYSE: NP) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 11:00 am.

Friday, March 14

• PDUFA date for CV Therapeutics' (NASDAQ: CVTX) Regadenoson.
• Ann Taylor Stores (NYSE: ANN) to report Q4 earnings; conference call at 8:30 am.
• DuPont (NYSE: DD) annual investor day meeting at 8:30 am.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments