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B R E A K F A S T W I T H T H E F O O L Thursday, November 2, 2000 benjamin.rogers@enron.com _________________________________________________________________ REGISTER TO BECOME A FOOL -- GET FREE STUFF! http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179468 _________________________________________________________________ Sponsored By: American Express Trade online with American Express and receive low commissions, personalized planning tools, free news and research and 24/7 customer service. Apply Now! http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=179469 "Only a fool holds out for the top dollar." -- Joseph Kennedy AUTO SALES SLOWDOWN After a bang-up year, car companies report slow sales in October. By Chris Rugaber To the surprise of some observers, many U.S. and international automakers reported sales declines for the month of October, with the exception of General Motors (NYSE: GM), which benefited from heavy discounts. Figures from Autodata Corp. show that industrywide sales fell 0.9% from October of last year, while forecasts were for a 3.6% increase, according to a Bloomberg report. Sales of Ford's (NYSE: F) North American-built vehicles dropped 6.3%, partly due to a 16% decline in sales of its Explorer model. Ford cut production of the Explorer in September in order to redirect tires to the company's Explorer recall effort. The Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler (NYSE: DCX) reported an 8.4% drop, while Honda's (NYSE: HMC) sales fell 5.6% and Toyota (NYSE: TM) experienced a 5.7% downturn. The monthly sales decline was Honda's first since August 1998, and Toyota's first since December 1999. GM bucked the trend, reporting a 7% increase in sales. The world's largest automaker increased its U.S. market share to 30.3%, up 2.1% since last October. What effect this will have on the company's bottom line is unclear, given that the company aggressively utilized cash-back incentives and low-rate loans, partly in response to similar efforts from Chrysler. Yesterday, GM announced new promotions for its full-size pickups, while Chrysler said earlier this week that it would offer new discounts for its 2001 minivans. October's slowdown comes after robust sales earlier this year, and the industry is still on track to beat last year's sales record. Nevertheless, according to a Wall Street Journal report, industry observers now forecast a decline next year, from an estimated 17.2 million units in 2000 to 16.5 million in 2001, and a 5% decline in production from the "Big Three" U.S. automakers. _________________________________________________________________ NEWS TO GO Media conglomerate Seagram (NYSE: VO) benefited from strong music and film sales in its fiscal first quarter (ended September 30), with profit from operations reaching $21 million, or $0.05 per share, beating analysts' estimates of $0.03 per share. Revenues dipped 2.9%, however, to $5.34 billion, which the company attributed to the strong dollar and the sales of several businesses. Paris-based Vivendi (NYSE: V) plans to purchase Seagram and this may be the company's last report as an independent entity. Shareholders for Seagram and Vivendi are scheduled to vote on the transaction on December 5, with the acquisition expected to close several days later. Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) reported another decline in same-store sales yesterday. The largest U.S. clothing chain announced that October same-store sales dropped 2%, thanks to discounts on back-to-school merchandise. CFO Heidi Kunz said that the company expects a "significant" decline in gross margin for the third quarter (ended October 28), according to a Bloomberg report, and that earnings will be between $0.20 and $0.22 per share, below current estimates of $0.23 per share. Prior to lowering expectations in August, estimates were for the company to earn $0.41 per share. http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179470 Domestic queen Martha Stewart Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) reported strong revenue and earnings growth this morning, thanks to sales increases in the company's publishing, television, and Internet/direct commerce divisions. Net income more than doubled from the year-ago period to $3.8 million, or $0.08 per share, handily beating analysts' estimates of $0.01 per share. Revenue increased 24.2% to $61.9 million, from $49.8 million in last year's third quarter. Laser-maker Coherent (Nasdaq: COHR) cut through fourth-quarter analysts' estimates last night, reporting strong sales and earnings growth and sending the company's shares up in after-hours trading. Sales jumped 18% over last year's fourth quarter to $155 million, and net income, excluding an extraordinary gain, was up 56% to $11.4 million, or $0.45 per share. The company was expected to earn $0.36 per share. Revenues for the full year were up 21% to $568.3 million, and earnings were up 61% to $36.3 million. Coherent also reported an after-tax gain of $32.3 million from its 60% ownership in a German subsidiary that went public in September. _________________________________________________________________ EDITORS' PICK David Gardner urges you to set a date and plan to be financially independent when you retire. http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179471 _______________________________________________________________ -News & Commentary http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179472 -Fool Community http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179473 -Post of the Day http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179474 -Latest Fribble http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179475 -Latest Market Numbers http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179476 ____________________________________________________________ My Portfolio: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179477 My Discussion Boards: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179478 My Fool: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179479 Fool.com Home: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179480 My E-Mail Settings: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179481 Sponsored By: American Express Trade online with American Express and receive low commissions, personalized planning tools, free news and research and 24/7 customer service. Apply Now! http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=179482 ENROLLMENT EXTENDED! Our Roadmap to Retirement seminar makes planning simple. Don't miss out. http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179483 TRY THE ALL-CASH DIET Get your spending under control with this report from Soapbox.com. http://www.lnksrv.com/m.asp?i=179484 FOOL DIRECT E-MAIL SERVICES Need to change your address or unsubscribe? You can also temporarily suspend mail delivery. Click here: http://www.fool.com/community/freemail/freemaillogin.asp?email=benjamin.rogers @enron.com< Have ideas about how we can improve the Fool Direct or new e-mail products you'd like to see? Try our discussion board: http://www.fool.com/m.asp?i=179485 ____________________________________________________ © Copyright 2000, The Motley Fool. All rights reserved. This material is for personal use only. Republication and redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of The Motley Fool. . MsgId: msg-11324-2000-11-02_9-08-51-3293168_2_Plain_MessageAddress.msg-09:14:06(11-02 -2000) X-Version: mailer-sender-master,v 1.84 X-Version: mailer-sender-daemon,v 1.84 Message-Recipient: benjamin.rogers@enron.com
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