Archive for February, 2008
100 Comments and Growing
Feb 9th
We have passed the 100 comments mark here at Shaun Carter dot Com. Although this blog isn’t designed to be highly commented on, it is nice to see that there are some good words pouring in from some readers.
Things have been picking up for me outside of this blog as I start a new job and get used to a new schedule, so posting will be a little erratic from time to time. It looks as if I will be working 10+ days in a row over the next week as well.
I’m looking forward to the stock market’s ultimate reaction to the economic stimulus package awaiting President Bush’s signature. I am working on a post about the companies that will benefit the most from the government’s fiscal generosity expected to hit mailboxes this May.
Technorati Tags: comments, blogging, economy, president, bush, shaun carter, stock market, government, taxes
Welcome Wall Street Journal Online Readers
Feb 7th
In the last few days, Shaun Carter dot Com has seen a surge in traffic coming from several Wall Street Journal Online stories relating to E*Trade. It turns out the Journal picked up two of my posts and linked to them from these two articles in the blogs section at the end of the story.
This publicity is a welcome change and only adds to the credibility of the blog and it’s recent financial reporting. I look forward to seeing new posts of mine make it onto the Journal pages in the future and continue seeing a rise in new visitors to the blog.
Technorati Tags: wall street journal, shaun carter, etrade, blogging
Will Microsoft Increase Yahoo Bid?
Feb 6th
I’ve been watching the news relating to the Microsoft bid for Yahoo very closely and I think that an increased bid around $40-45 per share could be in the offing. I am considering entering a position in Yahoo for this very reason as it appears that there is very little worry of any antitrust issues with a potential merger. The more Google cries about it, the more regulators will see that the competition is needed.
Tonight a story broke about the potential for an increased bid and it will likely push shares of Yahoo up to and perhaps above the current $31 per share offer. UBS is setting a price target for Yahoo at $34 per share which would mean a little less than 10% premium over the current offer. I feel that is too conservative for a potential offer increase.
The best scenario here for an astute trader would be a rejection from Yahoo’s board of Microsoft’s current offer, which would send the stock down to $20 or lower almost immediately. Picking up shares at that price could prove very profitable should Microsoft come back with a higher offer.
Technorati Tags: yahoo, microsoft, shaun carter, ubs, takeover, search engine, technology, merger, google
Google Drops Below $500/Share
Feb 5th
Google dipped below $500 per share on Monday and Tuesday before climbing back out of the doldrums Tuesday morning. Google is suffering from missing its earnings estimate and from the news of a potential Yahoo buyout.
Both of those events contributed to the plummeting stock price of Google and has made the price extremely attractive for investors. I’ve been accumulating at prices between $500-515/share and don’t think the stock will stay below $500 for any extended period of time.
I believe something good may come of the missed earnings incident and that is Google will have to begin reigning in their runaway expenses. Spending lavishly on unnecessary items within their headquarters has made headlines, but it does nothing but burn up the bottom line. I believe Google can still maintain their ranking as the best place to work in America and still find a way to control costs enough to boost earnings in the future.
Google’s assertion that Microsoft buying Yahoo would cause anti-trust concerns is way overblown and just an attempt for them to derail the merger, but in all reality they are just making a better case for the deal by proving it will cause increased competition – something that Google has never had. As it is now, Google is to the Internet what Microsoft was to the Operating System. If Google doesn’t tread carefully in the future they could be facing antitrust issues themselves.
Technorati Tags: microsoft, yahoo, google, shaun carter, stock, investing, economy, search engine, antitrust, earnings, merger, buyout, technology, internet
Best Super Bowl 2008 Commercial
Feb 4th
My favorite Super Bowl XLII commercial, by far I might add, was the Budweiser Clydesdale team tryout commercial with the Dalmation trainer and played to the tune of the Rocky theme. The ending was perfect and made this one a commercial to remember.
Budweiser was surely the biggest spender on advertising during the Super Bowl this year, easily racking up over ten million dollars in ads over the course of the game.
Technorati Tags: super bowl, 2008, commercial, budweiser, clydesdale, dalmation, rocky, shaun carter
New York Giants Win Super Bowl XLII – 2008
Feb 3rd
The New York Giants pulled off a huge upset against the undefeated New England Patriots. This was actually one of the more exciting Super Bowls in recent memory with some really great plays and one huge reception with 35 seconds remaining in the game to bring New York into the lead by three points. This game will easily go down as one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.
As for commercials… some were memorable, others just plain sucked. I liked the Budweiser commercial with the Dalmatian training the Clydesdale horse. The Pepsi Max commercial to the theme song of “Night at the Roxbury” was also pretty good.
Technorati Tags: football, super bowl, new york giants, new england patriots, commercials, Budweiser, night at the roxbury, pepsi, shaun carter
My Newest Web Proxy – Rasta Proxy dot Com
Feb 2nd
I recently added a second web proxy to my network, Rasta Proxy. The other proxy in my network is Unblock YouTube dot Com.
I am growing my network more slowly than most and try to build up traffic and SEO before moving onto the next one. So far, Unblock YouTube is doing well as it is ranking #2 on Google for many YouTube proxy related searches and generating several hundred uniques from organic search results daily. The nice thing about that site is that it naturally ranks high because it is such an excellent domain name and I don’t have to do much promotion with it at all, however I am always adding my proxies to popular top lists.
Rasta Proxy is currently a bolded listing at Proxy.org for $20/month in order to get some traffic to it and name recognition going. Proxy.org is sending a couple hundred hits a day to the page, so for less than a dollar a day I think it’s worth it.
My monetization strategy right now is Adsense on the front pages and adbrite and adversal on the proxified pages. They aren’t earning a whole lot right now… about a couple dollars a day. But it covers the hosting and advertising I have so anything more is pure profit at this point.
Technorati Tags: proxy, web proxy, unblock youtube, rasta proxy, shaun carter, adsense, google, adversal, adbrite, youtube
Microsoft Makes Takeover Bid For Yahoo
Feb 1st
In a surprise announcement today, Microsoft has offered to purchase Yahoo for $44.6 Billion. If Yahoo’s board approves it will be the largest acquisition in Microsoft history.
The $31 per share offer marked a 62% premium for the stock. Yahoo has been struggling of late to compete with online search giant Google, which is suffering from slower profit growth itself. The blending of Yahoo and Microsoft could be just what the company needs to mount an offensive attack against Google. Especially considering the cash horde that Microsoft has and could use to revitalize the Yahoo brand.
Technorati Tags: microsoft, yahoo, google, shaun carter, takeover, buyout, technology, search, earnings
Google Misses Quarterly Earnings Estimate
Feb 1st
For the first time in Google’s three and a half year history, quarterly earnings missed analysts estimates. I saw the potential for this scenario during a post I made in January because of the program changes Google made that I feel would adversely affect profitability.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Google shares drop under $500 in trading Friday. The reputation of invincibility that Google has maintained on The Street has been dinged and I’m sure the shorts will be all over the stock when trading opens in the morning.
The price action to occur today could provide a very attractive entry point for long term investors. Despite the slowing revenue growth… the company is still cheap and trades at a P/E of only 44 and is the leading search company on the Internet by a long shot. They still generate huge sums of money each quarter and will continue expanding their revenue streams.
It’s also possible the company could contemplate a stock split to generate more retail interest in the stock, and prop up the price, among investors that balk at a triple digit share price… even though experienced investors know that price has nothing to do with value.
Technorati Tags: google, search engine, stock market, shaun carter, investing, search, earnings, quarter
