March 07: Week 3 - GOOG, IMAX, Mr. T, Cat Fuel, Hair vs. Hair, AUY, BFT, and the Subprime Fallout


Monday - March 12th, 2007

Mr T's gold is all in Brazil
Last week Brazil's central bank cut the benchmark lending rate for a 14th consecutive time to bolster growth and take the crown as Latin America's largest economy. So should you start thinking about investing in Brazil, what plays could you make? Think gold people, heck, I pity the fool who don't like gold. Yamana Gold (AUY) is on target to become profitable this year and its growth potential is huge. Yamana’s mining and exploration focus is primarily in Brazil. However Goldcorp Inc. (G), the world's third- largest gold producer, announced last week that Q4 profit fell 35% as a $175M reduction in the value of a Brazilian mine erased the benefit of higher prices and output. Mining in Brazil has its challenges and depending on where the mines are located, profits can be hindered. But last year, everyone was talking about gold and we saw gold prices setting new records on a weekly basis. Tired of playing the market, want to invest in gold? There are two plays for you with Goldcorp being the least risky. Can't get enough of Mr. T? Check out this classic information video/song sung by the one and only Mr. T. That's right, with all his gold and preaching the message of "Treating your Mother Right". Thought Mr. T couldn't rap? You were right, check out the skills.

Look at Blockbuster (BBI) go, up almost 4% today and shares are at $7.12. That would be a 93% increase in share price during the last 6 months and if you didn't see this turnaround coming when shares were trading under $4, shame on you. Great for you StockWhatever's, so what if you called it back in August? Just another reason to read our daily ranting's and independent research. The recent run in Blockbuster was helped last week when Cramer gave it a thumbs up and said:
We have recommended - and continue to recommend - BBI as the play, because they're moving aggressively into NFLX's turf, and I think they're doing a great job.
Blockbuster's Total Access pass is the key with online and in-store rentals making BBI's shares more and more valuable everyday.

American Railcar Industries (ARII) + The Icahns = RUN D.M.C. (The King of Rock)
Railroads are boring. For most of us, owning stake in railroads comes as close as buying B&O Railroad, Short Line, Reading Railroad, or Pennsylvania Railroad for $200 when playing one of our favorite board games. When it comes to modern day transportation do most of us think of traveling by railcar? That would be no. So if you've never heard of American Railcar Industries (NASDAQ: ARII) or if you did hear about it last year during the IPO and thought about it for 2 seconds then went back to your ticker tape, I would understand. In this special analysis we take the bull by the horns and we expose the Icahns (Carl and son Brett) and RUN D.M.C. We see why Carl Icahn's past Valentine's Day was so special, how he throws his weight around, and how he can Rock it like this, and rock it like that, homeboy I rock it like that. HUH!
Continue reading at the Masters...

Tuesday - March 13th, 2007

Let's not throw away JupiterMedia (JUPM) just yet. Yes the stock has dropped 27% since late February and Getty (GYI) won't touch them with a ten foot pole. But consider these few facts courteous of the fool.com:

Jupitermedia became an image-pitching force three years ago.

Jupitermedia was looking pretty as a picture two years ago.

Even Tom Brady had a beef with Yahoo! over unauthorized usage of graphical ads last year.

Will time heal all wounds? That has yet to be seen but I wouldn't close the door on JUPM just yet.

Wasn't YouTube great? Well, the party is over.
Now that Comedy Central and everyone else has pulled their content from the site, amateur hour just isn't as exciting. Today MTV owner Viacom Inc. (VIA) sued YouTube and its corporate parent, Google Inc. (GOOG) for more than $1B in damages on claims of widespread copyright infringement. I bet Google is loving the fact that they paid $1.65B for YouTube back in October. However $1B is just pocket change for Google, I bet Larry Page and Sergey Brin have that kind of money in a bin on their desk next to their paperclips. Still, YouTube has yet to make some real money for Google, but it sure is costing them a pretty penny. Can you see that inscription? Here let me make it bigger for you:

Keep in mind Google has $11.24B of cash on hand. They can afford a few mistakes. Besides YouTube, Google has scooped up more than 50 tiny software firms that have created various online applications: calendars, social networks, maps, blogs, photo sharing and word processing. Google doesn't charge for any of these services, and few of them rank number one or two or even three in their categories, but they expand Google's inventory of advertising space. In Google We Trust.

Subprime Fallout - So what's next?
The subprime mortgage market is the business of lending to people with blemished credit or lack of adequate cash for down payments. Wall Street is concerned about the fall in the subprime mortgage market due largely as a result of the cooling housing market. There was a price to pay giving loans to people can't pay them back and now those lending companies are going bankrupt (including New Century Financial Corp. (NEW), the nation's second-biggest subprime mortgage lender) and your stocks are subject to yet another panic situation. NEW has tanked 90% in share price, last month the shares were in the $30's, today it trades under $2. There is nothing to be gained by playing the subprime stocks and the impact these lenders have caused on the economy couldn't have come at a worse time. Bob Ivry from the Detroit news said these depressing comments today: "The deepest national housing decline in 16 years is about to get worse. As many as 1.5 million more Americans may lose their homes, another 100,000 people in housing-related industries could be fired, and an estimated 100 additional subprime mortgage companies that lend money to people with bad or limited credit may go under, according to Realtors, economists, analysts and a Federal Reserve governor." Time to panic? No it's not. Probably not the best time to sell your house and just make sure you are holding good stocks. If you can't afford to buy a house - then don't and above all avoid the fallout worry. Panic article about how subprime will end the world...

Wednesday - March 14th, 2007

Like losing money? More of the doom and gloom show today with the Dow Jones industrials falling below the 12,000 barrier for the first time since Nov. 6th as concerns about the subprime fallout extends to a broad selloff in stocks. You couldn't get off the Titanic quick enough if you tried right now. All we need is Leonardo to yell: "I'm King of the World!!!!" Wall Street chalked its second-biggest point decline in four years and rattled already nervous markets worldwide with the selloff in full-effect in Europe and Asia. Hang in there Masters, there are a lot of bargain stocks out there. Don't feel bad if your stocks are sinking, you could have been on the Titanic back in April 1912 when it struck an iceberg and sank. There are several figures regarding the number of passengers and crew who were lost that night. The United States Senate investigation reported that 1,517 people perished in the accident, while the British investigation has the number at 1,490.

Donald Trump was on WWE this week in the ring, apparently him and Vince McMahon have a deal going where one of them is going to shave their head over the winner of some retarded wrestling match. We know, this is ridiculous, it's being called WrestleMania 23's "Hair vs. Hair" Match . But so is The Donald's TRUMP Vodka and the WWE, luckily we have articles that cover both subjects. Non-Mastery like? Maybe, but whatever.

Is Cheney Betting On Economic Collapse?
Normally we wouldn't pass this article on to our readers, because it is a bit wacko but serves as interesting reading. The guys over at CounterPunch.org ask: Wouldn't you like to know where Dick Cheney puts his money? Then you'd know whether his "deficits don't matter" claim is just baloney or not.
Well, as it turns out, Kiplinger Magazine ran an article based on Cheney's financial disclosure statement and, sure enough, found out that the VP is lying to the American people for the umpteenth time. Deficits do matter and Cheney has invested his money accordingly. Cheney fans get offended by this article...

Thursday - March 15th, 2007

The Housing Woes hits America where it hurts the worst
For the most part Americans who had every intention of paying off their mortgages and living in their houses now just can't swing it. The vicious cycle of falling property values and falling employment levels, falling population - it is making for a very painful mix. The Midwest has endured more of its share of economic distress and home prices haven't been robust, which by extension makes those subprime mortgages extremely vulnerable. The hardship is just getting started and middle America is going to get hit hard. If Princess Leia was living in Detroit you can bet her answering machine would be saying "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope." Read story at Yahoo News...

Imax Corp. (IMAX) reports earnings tomorrow and with shares trading toward the lower end of its 52-week range, investors are waiting for any type of good news.
IMAX is currently showing the movie 300 and over the weekend it set a record $3.6M in ticket sales at 62 Imax theaters. With just about every male in America dying to see this movie, expect Imax to keep raking in the cash. Kudos to Frank Miller for a killer graphic novel that made an incredible jump to the big screen. If you haven't seen it, you have to, it's unbelievable.
But besides the 300, what else does Imax have going for itself?
On Monday shares of IMAX jumped 5.2% to $4.86 after they announced that Dickinson Theatres Inc. has agreed to open five Imax theaters in new multiplexes in the Midwest. Imax didn't disclose how much the deal was worth but said "it's the company's largest lease agreement since 2004." Imax also reported that Regal Cinemas Inc. will install two Imax MPX theater systems at multiplexes in California and Oregon in the next two months. It's been a tough run for IMAX over the last year, they failed to ever find a buyer after putting the company up for sale and their share price has fallen with the lack of performance by the company. Should tomorrow's call provide an improved guidance or a better than expected quarter, shares of IMAX will be off to the races. If you think IMAX has the right stuff, it's time to throw down, however with the stock trading so low, its best to sit back and watch. IMAX shares have a long way to go before they hit a new 52-week high, so if Imax is a turnaround story, you've got time to play it.

The Stocks of Conan the Barbarian
In 1982, the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the leading role of the infamous movie, Conan the Barbarian. Phil M. caught AMC's Friday night showing of Conan the Barbarian, and asked himself, what stocks would Conan the Barbarian buy if he were alive today? In this mind blowing analysis Phil will answer those questions and many more in this detailed analysis of The Stocks of Conan the Barbarian... And for all you Conan fanatics out there, Conan the Barbarian is coming back to the Big Screen in 2008 – according to IMDB – “No actors have been hired, but the casting process has begun". Barbarians, Conan, stocks, swords, and even Thundarr...this article has it all. Continue reading at the Masters...

Friday - March 16th, 2007

New 52-week lows for two of our favorite companies we have slammed in the past - Atari Inc. (ATAR) and Bally Total Fitness (BFT). Bally's has been on a terrible decline ever since control of the company went over to hedge funds - Pardus Capital Management and the Liberation Investment Group LLC who combined own 26% of Bally's stock. Funny thing about Bally's is the relationship to Steven Seagal's weight gain and the downfall of his career as it relates to Bally's stock price decline.
Coincidence? I think not, ever since Exit Wounds, both Bally's and Seagal have been turning our poor performance. Nothing makes a better movie when you combine a washed-up action star with an Rapper/Actor (the Oscar Academy goes nuts for these films).

Bally Fitness is down an incredible 61% today, Atari is down 6%. Great job corporate America!!

Well, plenty of time to get in on Imax Corp. (IMAX). Instead of reporting earnings today they announced that they are delaying the filing of their 2006 financials while they evaluate "certain accounting errors."
Imax's genius management and audit committee are looking at an estimated $2.5M in errors that took place between 2001 and 2006. The errors relate to certain expenses that were incorrectly accounted for as capital costs.
This comes as little surprise and just goes to show you that way back in August, the Masters were on the money when we wrote: IMAX: How to ruin a great company. Can IMAX return from the dead, do they have something promising to say? The public will have to wait until some time before March 30th, which is when they plan to file their 2006 results with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If only our jobs were that simple...
"Hey Boss, I didn't finish my work today and I'm thinking, how about I get my stuff done by March 30th?"
"That sounds fine Peter, here's $10,000."
"Thanks Skip!"

German scientist extracts diesel fuel from dead cats
Alternative energy and fuels takes a bold new step today. A German inventor named Dr. Christian Koch has invented a process whereby old tires, weeds, and animal cadavers (in this case, dead cats) are used to create high-quality bio-diesel. The process produces roughly 2.5 liters (under two-thirds of a gallon) of diesel per cat. Dr. Koch has driven 105,000 miles so far in his own vehicle on the fuel without any problems.
The process involves heating the mixture to 300 degrees Celsius, which filters out hydrocarbons. The mix is then converted to diesel fuel by use of a catalytic converter. (Semi-scientific details are listed on the Solutions page of Dr. Koch's website.) See the synopsis at Ananova and read more at Dr. Koch's Alphakat website. Just imagine if somehow this technology was acquired by a publicly traded company? You to can invest in dead cats, it's the opportunity of a lifetime!! Read story at Geek.com...