Weekly Wrap

In today's Weekly Wrap I'd rather discuss Hollywood gossip than the stock market. Can you believe Madonna got married? How about the Robert Downey Jr. saga? Or maybe we should talk about Kim Basinger and Alec. Okay, okay, it's the Chicks Weekly Wrap, so we'll discuss the stock market.

Thank God for Fridays. Not that it really means anything in the whole big BEAR picture, but the market rallied a bit on Friday. Santa made a visit to the New York Stock Exchange and everyone decided it was a day for giving. Investors gave back to the market and bought a few items. mainly tech stocks. I guess if that's all it takes, let's tell Santa it's Christmas every day.

Earlier this week, Uncle Scrooge, Alan Greenspan decided not to cut interest rates. What is he waiting for?? A full blown recession?!? Supposedly he wants to make sure that there really is an economy slow down before he adjusts anything. It appears to him that the economy is still going strong, but the market isn't reflecting it. He is also waiting until all settles in the White House to be sure that this isn't the reason for the market slide. Stay tuned until January and we'll see what he says then.

Real Networks (RNWK) warned investors on Thursday that it's fourth quarter earnings were going to be cut in half. It's the same thing we've been talking about for the past three months, PC Sales are down and so is Internet advertising. Both of these have affected Real Networks, as it is off it's 52-week high by 90%. Anyone want to start talking about Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe?

Also on Thursday, Palm, Inc (PALM) reported their 2nd Quarter earnings and beat estimates by a penny. On this good news, the stock fell. You just can't win in this market.

Another Hand Held computing device maker, Research in Motion, (RIMM) announced its earnings this week. RIMM makes the Blackberry, which I've discussed in the Weekly Wrap before. The Blackberry seems to be the leader in wireless email, and RIMM is being rewarded. Their third quarter revenue is up 45% from 2nd quarter. The market liked this news and the stock soared. I think I'm going to have to run RIMM through the Dozen soon, but first, I'm hoping my darling husband gets me the device for Christmas. How many times can I hint? I've dropped the word blackberry into each and every conversation. "Honey, would you like blackberry jelly on your toast? Don't you think the term for the color of that car is blackberry? Wouldn't it be funny if a blackberry fell from our Christmas tree?" But, he's a guy, so I doubt I'm getting it.

Half of the Christmas presents I bought this year had to be Fed Ex'd. If you read yesterday's Toys R Us Chicks Eye View, I'm not the timeliest of all shoppers. This year, I forked out $238.00 on shipping alone, and all to Fed Ex. This past week FedEx (FDX) announced their 2nd quarter earnings. They met their expectations, but warned that the third quarter wasn't going to be as lovely. (Their stock is almost at it's 52-week low.) I guess I'm the only one sending Christmas presents via FedEx as they warned that their shipping volume is down. Add to that higher fuel costs, and FDX is going to need one of those surprise visits from Santa. UPS (UPS) has also warned that they are in a similar situation. I'm still trying to figure out how everyone is getting his or her presents to the proper destination.

This past Tuesday, Nike (NKE) also released their second quarter earnings. Their sales were up 7% from last year. Their quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year growth is slow, but at least it's growth. I wish I could say the same about my kids' feet. We're in and out of those new Nike's in six months. Nike is constantly in competition with Reebok (RBK) trying to sign the top stars. It's almost like a tennis match. Reebok inks the NFL and Nike turns around and signs one of the European professional soccer premier teams. And then just yesterday, Reebok signed Venus Williams, tennis-star, to a 40 million dollar contract. Who is Anna Kornikova under contract to? Woops. I'm trying to steer clear of gossip.

Speaking of gossip, there has been a little business gossip going on in the Internet circles. People are actually taking bets on when eToys will fold. Seems like the holidays haven't been all that happy at the company and revenues are $100 million short of what was expected. Saaaaantaaaa?? Where are you? Etoys needs help!

I must go, my husband is home with an early Christmas present for me. Oh, how lovely. it's a blackberry scented candle. Anyone want to talk Cindy Crawford and the Revlon contract?

Chick Karin

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