The sky is falling, they say

I knew things were fucked when people kept maxing out their credit while I remained a relative shut-in. People buying merchandise they couldn't really afford, then defaulting on one credit card after another, while I ate instant ramen by the case and limited my occasional spending flurries to a new computer (every 5 years) and new socks (every 5 years).

(Those same spendaholics also have the nerve to ask me for a loan so they can go visit Las Vegas. To which I reply, Are you fucking insane?)

As usual, smart shopping means getting stuck in a world where prices go up, buying power goes down and the spendaholics essentially win, win, win. It's like rewarding Calipari for recruiting indiscretions at every stop. He pulls out in the getaway car with the bags of gold while his minions are left behind. The food chain is alive and well. A guy like that would've fit in just fine at Goldman Sachs. Look, I don't hate the player. I just acknowledge there's a bottom of the food chain and there's definitely a top. Unchecked, however, we end up with spendaholics and banksters who know no boundaries and now we have what we have, a bloody circus gone mad. The children are screaming as they sprint out of the tent as the elephants crunch little men like popcorn with each step. So much for damage control.

According to Business Insider, there are 50 statistics that prove we are doomed and the sky is falling on our puny skulls. Other than that, we should party like hell this weekend. Or spend time with the people we love. Maybe both. Some things in life, despite the destruction of Western economic theory, are still free.

Good news for RIMM

Banc of America is bullish on RIMM, and the stock is up more than 4% to 104+ today.

In a client note late Wednesday, Banc of America Securities analyst Tim Long reiterated his "Buy" rating and $146 price target for Research and Motion shares. Long predicted that next week the company will report third-quarter revenue of $1.64 billion, which would be near the high end of its guidance.

"Checks have been positive and we haven't seen any signs of an enterprise slowdown. We think November quarter sales have been driven by strong Curve sales, 8830 sales and the introduction of the CDMA Pearl," he said.

Long also expects the company to issue positive fourth-quarter guidance.

At the time of the Forbes.com story, RIMM was down to 99+. Any semblance of good news was going to light the stock up. So, while the rest of the market had rallied (erratically) over the past week, RIMM sat in the corner. Now the market is flat, and RIMM is igniting. Buying in the final two hours today was heavy. Probably will continue in the morning. Would've made a productive daytrade. I'm still holding my long and swing shares beyond earnings (Dec. 20).

If the B of A news isn't enough, China Mobile announced that the BlackBerry goes out in January.

BlackBerry Mobile Phones to Debut in China in Jan 08

The BlackBerry 8700g mobile phones are being tested by the mobile carrier now and are expected to make its debut in the market next month, said the employee.

The market for cellphones in China has been insanely robust for many years now. People there access the internet via cellphone more than any other means. Nihao ma!

RIMM intraday





















RIMM daily

Name change adds glitter

Beijing Novel-Tongfang Digital TV Technology? Yep, that's the former name of China Digital TV. Call it marketing, if you like. Sounds like show biz to me. Anyone remember Engelbert Humperdink?

China Digital TV Gets High Ratings From Investors

The enthusiastic reception is certainly welcome news for its principal founders, Chairman Zengxiang Lu and CEO Jianhua Zhu. Lu has already expressed astonishment at the larger than originally expected demand for its IPO shares, which allowed it to raise $192 million, significantly more than the target of $150 million.

Lu and Zhu cut their teeth in China’s fledgling digital television industry at N-T Information Engineering, a developer of so-called conditional access systems. China Digital TV’s purchase of CA systems, which include smart cards, and software for television network operators and TV set-top boxes, from N-T Information Engineering in 2004 provided the technological and business foundation for the company.

That year was also a watershed in China Digital TV’s fortunes, its last loss-making year.

Apple slicing its pie?

Forbes.com speculates that Apple may consider another stock split in the near future. I don't really care if the Co does that or not. It's never a consideration when I weigh the pros and cons of a stock. I can live with volatility related to trading around a split. I can also live without it.

Forbes.com: Slicing Apple

Any split talk is, after all, a sign that the Co is robust and healthy.

Time to roll the dice?

Is this a buying opportunity in Las Vegas Sands (LVS)? Maybe. The stock took a nasty fall today when new figures for Macao gaming were robust (55% growth), but not as magnificent as the street had anticipated.

Forbes: Investors Lose A Bet On Macau

The stock fell nearly 12% to $127, a huge drop from yesterday's intra-day high of 145.

Little more than a week ago, I took a closer look at LVS. Found that I like the new location, the product (I actually stayed at the Venetian in Las Vegas almost a decade ago) and the open field ahead for the stock. But I couldn't conclude that a buy was in order because the stock was technically out of sight. Way, way above its moving averages, and traders who rode a big gain this year could have left the table with fat profits.

With today's plunge, the stock is well below its 10-day simple moving average (135) but still far above its 50-day SMA (107). So, is LVS a buy here?

I think the impact of the Macao numbers isn't over yet. I think there's still too much profit on the table for some traders to let this one ride. So I'm going to keep watching until LVS finds a floor. If the stock levels out and starts riding back up, I won't mind losing a few points. Trading or investing in Asia is still a fairly decent hedge against a slowing U.S. economy, and there is far too little exposure to that region in my portfolio.

Pupule says: Buy small, if at all, and/or wait for a) a better price, or b) a return by the bulls. There's a reason why I graded LVS as a B+ rather than an A or A- 11 days ago. There's no need to gamble here.

Soap opera has Starbucks in the middle

Starbucks luvs Hershey?

PepsiCo luvs Starbucks?

What kind of wild romance is in the air at that coffee shop anyway? Are truffles and chocolate-covered coffee beans all it takes to win the heart of Starbucks?

Starbucks broke a bottom-feeding trend last week, closing above $27 for the first time since June 20. If Thursday's action, which included a mid-day high of $28.17, can be sustained this week, sideliners may have missed a chance to get SBUX on the cheap. The stock plunged to $25.22 on June 25 and traded sideways until Thursday.

Thursday's volume was also the strongest since the stock sold off big on June 21. Even the Yoda of growth stocks, Georges Yared, has been pounding the table for Starbucks.

I could do without truffles and chocolate-covered coffee beans, but who am I to say anything about whimsical, whirlwind romance? After the rough patch SBUX has endured in recent months, a little lovin' never hurt.

Disclaimer: Pupule Paul has no position in SBUX or PEP.

Crocs, Focus Media running through 40s

That was quick.

It was just a few weeks ago when Crocs split its stock, and soon after, saw it dip. In fact, in the middle of a lull — CROX is prone to sideways action from one to nearly three months every quarter — some shareholders wondered aloud if the stock had finally topped out.

Compounding the situation were a number of insider sales, which came after the Co had guided the street toward strong growth for Q2.

After bottoming out at 40, CROX has roared back. It nearly hit $50 intra-day today and closed at $48.18 on lower volume of 5 million shares. Earnings won't be out until August 2, so this recent run surprised me. I hadn't expected a run until Monday, July 23, more than a week before earnings.

Crocs took a breather today, down less than 1% to $48.18. CROX wasn't the only stock to make a strong move to the plus side.

Focus Media has come back with a vengeance. FMCN hit an all-time high (mid day) of $52.09 on June 29, only to turn back when it delayed its earnings report.

The stock dropped to $44.28 on Monday, but bounced back by the close to $47 and has been recovering steadily since. Today's close at $49.85 came on low volume (1.8 million shares), but for now, it seems the coast is clear.

Sina Corp. joined its fellow China high flyers today, gaining 1.7% to $45.05. Baidu also wound up in the green, up fractionally to $206.19.

Other high-grade stocks with nice moves today include Chipotle Mexican Grill (5.4%), HDFC Bank (4.5%), Salesforce (4.1%) and Foster Wheeler (3.6%). Amazon also made a nice move toward its all-time high, up 2.9% to $72.79.

Pupule Paul's A- grade stocks — AAPL, AMZN, BIDU, CROX, FWLT, GOOG, SPAR and RIMM — were up 1.3%.

Pupule's B+ stocks (see list at right), including Nintendo, were up 2.18%. Nintendo, garnering more exposure daily on CNBC thanks to insane demand for the Wii, was up 2.3% to $52.20.

Forbes ran a story from the E3 Conference extolling the life benefits of the Wii in a piece called Can The Wii Save Your Life?

In the morning, BusinessWeek.com ran a piece about the unveling of Nintendo's Zapper controller.

Dang, I wish I'd bought NTDOY.PK back at $36. Waah.

Disclaimer: Pupule Paul is just a teeny bit long CROX, FMCN, AAPL, BIDU and SINA.