BEE - Some Honey for BEE in 2010

Strategic Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: BEE), who owns and asset manages upper upscale and luxury hotels that are subject to long-term management contracts reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009.

The company once again faced a tough quarter dealing with continued losses, on the bright side it looks BEE may have hit bottom and could turn it around the second half of 2010.

4th Quarter Recap:

1. Net loss attributable to common shareholders was $72.2 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, compared with a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $285.1 million, or $3.79 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2008.
2. Comparable EBITDA was $32.5 million compared with $48.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.
3. FFO was a loss of $55.3 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $256.8 million or $3.37 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2008. Comparable FFO was a loss of $3.7 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, compared with income of $11.9 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Obviously the hard economic times have hurt the luxury hotel industry, and this company is going to rely on a solid economic recovery if it is going to push into positive territory. CEO Laurence Gellar sees more bookings in 2010 and overall growth and progress for the company.

AIG - Loses 8.9 Billion

By Paritosh Bansal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group Inc (AIG - News) reported a quarterly loss of $8.9 billion on Friday, hurt by charges related to U.S. loan payback, asset divestments and higher loss reserves.

AIG, in a regulatory filing, warned that it may need additional U.S. government support, as it did last fall. But it also said it will have adequate liquidity to "finance and operate AIG's businesses and continue as a going concern for at least the next twelve months."

AIG shares were down 8.4 percent in premarket trading.

AIG, which is nearly 80 percent-owned by the government, reported an adjusted loss of $7.2 billion, or $53.23 per share, compared with an adjusted loss of $38.5 billion, or $287.69 per share, a year earlier.

Analysts had been expecting a loss of $3.94 per share. It was not immediately clear whether the results were comparable with the estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"The numbers are so hard to normalize that it's difficult to know what the final business looks like," said Thomas Russo, partner and portfolio manager at Gardner Russo & Gardner.

"We think the combination of strategic asset sales and reviving businesses will generate sufficient funds to repay the taxpayer, mooting the need to pursue the previously contemplated life insurance securitization," AIG spokesman Mark Herr said.

This company was worth $1500 a share in mid 2004....Maybe it is time to let AIG fail

IceWeb Strikes Massive Storage Deal With Gas Company

Today, Virginia based IceWeb announced that it would be building a 24 terabyte cloud storage network for an unnamed interstate gas transmission and storage company. The new platform will be used to map the 10,000 miles of pipeline that the company operates as well as log storage. The system is both multi-tiered and custom built for this particular company. IceWeb has been increasing its presence in the oil industry and has been awarded a contract to audit a Fortune 10 gas companies Geospatial Data ware house.

There is no doubt that the oil industry is one that IceWeb should make every effort to get a foothold in. 2010 is the year of data and any company that can provide an efficient way to store, access, secure and translate this data will be in position to make some serious capital this year. With the competitive nature of the computer world, hardware prices dropping and software increasing, it will be important for any data company to differentiate themselves from the countless other competitors

Mexican Cartel Leader Sentenced in Secret

Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, the head of the Gulf Cartel, is headed to prison. The trial took place in Houston, Texas, Guillen pleaded guilty to five counts of drug dealing, money laundering, and attempted murder and assault. He also forfeited 50 million in assets.

Cardenas was arrested in 2003, he and his gang, known as Zetas, who are generally ex-military personnel, were known for being violent and ruthless to civilians and especially rival cartels. Even after arrested, Cardenas ran the cartel from his jail cell. That was until in 2007, when the Zetas broke off and formed their own cartel. Battles near the border of Laredo still rage, as remnants of Cardenas cartel vie for their turf.

The Mexican government has generally been powerless to stop drugs crossing the border. Government officials have been killed and by all means the state seems overmatched. President Felipe Calderón, extradited Cardenas in an attempt to show new strategies and to try working with the US government to protect the border and break down the cartels. His trial and its testimonies were not realesed to the public.

A Female Candidate in Brasilia

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's second term will be up soon and it was announced today that Dilma Rousseff, his current Chief of Staff, would be the chosen candidate for the Labor Party. In a speech today, she vowed to maintain the economic principles that have seen the country prosper in the last couple years. She also vowed to expand state-funded services and to tax the wealthy. Da Silva was a very popular president with the Brazilian people and it is unclear if Rousseff will have the charisma to do the same. There are also questions about her political savvy. In a current poll, Sao Paulo’s Governor Jose Serra, of the opposition PSDB party led between 5 percent and 11 percent. Notably, if elected, Roussef would be Brazil’s first female president. Da Silva urged all the women of Brazil to get behind Rousseff and to challenge the latent discrimination still plaguing Brazilian politics.

MALL - Pricing Pressures on PC Mall

PC Mall Incorporated is a direct marketer of technology products, services and solutions to businesses as well as consumers. They utilize retail websites as well as 4 full color catalogs: PC Mall, MacMall, PC Mall Gov and SARCOM.

The theme of this call was pricing pressure. CEO Frank Khulusi was pleased with the net sales increase of 1% but the problem lies in the gross margins, operating profit was down 62% in the fourth quarter.

1. Net sales for Q4 2009 were $337.0 million, up 1% year-over-year (y/y)
2. Gross profit for Q4 2009 was $40.5 million, down 7% y/y

Regarding specific sectors, gross profit was down across the board except for Public which simply reiterates pricing pressures.

1. SMB gross profit decreased by $1.3 million, or 9%
2. MME gross profit decreased by $1.5 million, or 8%
3. Public Sector gross profit increased by $1.2 million, or 30%
4. MacMall gross profit decreased by $1.4 million, or 18%

The economic downturn has made everyone squeeze including most of PC Mall’s vendors. When asked about continued pricing pressure and lower margin deals in the future, PC Mall said that it was confident in the normalization of margins by the end of the quarter. Many of their current suppliers have begun to circle back and review their decisions hoping to normalize pricing and relations.

Angry Greeks Take to the Streets

About twenty thousand Greeks took to the streets Wednesday as much of the country went on a 24-hour strike against government austerity measures. For the most part the crowd remained peaceful, with the exception of a few students who threw Malotov cocktails at the police.

Public- and private-sector unions called the strike to protest a range of measures aimed at reducing Greece's budget deficit. The government has announced a freeze on civil-service wages, cuts in public-sector entitlements and the closing of tax loopholes for certain professions, including some civil servants. It has also announced a fuel-tax increase.

Spyros Papaspyros president of ADEDY, an umbrella union for public-sector workers said that the crisis should be paid by the rich. He went on to say Italy, France and Belgium had used the same techniques as Greece to mask their true deficits to qualify for the euro zone. "You simply put some amounts of money in the next year ... it is what everybody did and Greece did it to a lesser extent than Italy for example.”

Despite the protests and strikes, Greece appears determined to press ahead with its measures. An opinion poll published Sunday by Greek newspaper Ethnos showed that 76% of Greeks opposed strikes for the time being, and 58% thought the government's austerity measures were in the right direction.

The government needs to do something as they only have until 2012 to get there budget deficit of gross domestic product down to 3%, right now its 13%.

VOCL - Earnings Speak for Themselves

VocalTec Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: VOCL), a global provider of VoIP and convergence solutions for communication service providers, today reported results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

The company experienced continued improvement in quarterly revenues and net income; $2M and $700k respectivly. The company faced a $2.2M loss in 2009, however this is a great improvement from the $5.5M loss in 2008.

Ido Gur, VocalTec’s President and CEO, said, “We are pleased with our results, especially since despite a tough year in the Telecom industry, we showed continued growth in revenue and a reduction in costs. This demonstrates that we are very much on the right track to achieving sustained profitability. We also saw a high level of bookings in 2009 and our year-end backlog going into 2010 is strong, providing us with an increased level of visibility.”

Mr. Gur continued, “Our fourth quarter was also eventful from an M&A standpoint. We purchased substantially all of the assets of Outsmart, and we are happy to already report a first order. The acquired technology enables us to capitalize on the convergence between mobile and VoIP - a trend that is becoming increasingly prevalent, with global mobile VoIP users expected to exceed 280 million by 2013.”

VOCL is starting to see some growth in revenues and profits. If VocalTec can continue to explore M&A opportunities for addititonal long-term growth they could be a company to look out for in 2010.

China Banks Continuing to Limit Loans

More news out of China today concerning commercial lending; China's banking regulator has told commercial lenders to restrict new lending they provide to local governments' financing arms to ward off potential risks of default. Although this is limited in scope it marks another example of how China is cracking down on lending to help prevent the event of an asset pricing bubble.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) ordered banks to inspect their existing loans to companies used by local governments to raise funds, and to stop lending to those projects that are backed only by expected fiscal revenues. The CBRC this year has also ordered banks to check that their loans are not flowing into property or stock market speculation.

All of these coming after Chinese central banks have twice raised the required reserve ratios in recent months. With property prices’ rising at an unhealthy rate the government has tried to curb speculation and other practices which will artificially drive up property prices.

Two orders from the CBRC, “Banks must not lend too aggressively and must verify that their loans are being used for the intended purpose.”

China continues to implement restrictions on lending and we will have to see if these restrictions pay off in the next few years

SEC to Vote on Short-Selling Rule

From the Desk of Lou Brien:

A new rule approved by the SEC commissioners would restrict short sales after a stock falls 10% in a day. After a stock falls by 10% a short sale can only be executed at a price above the market's best bid for the remainder of that day and for the following day.

Volcker Rule Gets Watered Down

By JOSH KOSMAN and MARK DeCAMBRE

The Obama administration is backing off a plan to bar commercial banks from engaging in proprietary trading, favoring instead a watered-down version of a key tenet of the proposed "Volcker rule" governing how banks operate, according to people familiar with the situation.

Sources told The Post that instead of issuing an outright ban on prop trading -- or trading done on behalf of only the bank itself -- the White House will propose that federally insured banks keep higher cash reserves if they want to run such trading desks.

The about-face comes amid signs the administration faced an uphill battle selling lawmakers and Treasury officials on an outright ban.

President Obama on Jan. 21 proposed sweeping banking industry reform, outlining plans that would bar a bank from owning, investing or sponsoring hedge funds or private equity funds, and running trading operations that did not specifically serve customers.

The proposals went by the shorthand name "the Volcker rule," as they were championed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

However, in the month since the announcement stunned Wall Street, sources said Volcker's ideas have been "marginalized" and are not expected to figure prominently in whatever the Senate formulates in the coming days.

"My understanding is the White House really does believe in it, but Treasury and the Hill do not, so it's not going very far," said one person close to the Treasury Department.

Added another source, "the White House is looking to save face" by backing a proposal with fewer restrictions.

"The administration will spin the compromise as a way to add safety to proprietary trading," a source said. "But this is a fundamentally different approach to regulation [than what Obama proposed]."

Said a Treasury spokeswoman: "We continue to work with congressional members from both sides of the aisle to bring financial reform across the finish line -- and to do all that we can to ensure that the American people are never again forced to suffer the consequences of a preventable financial catastrophe."

The Volcker rule had problems almost from the start, with Volcker and Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin having difficulty explaining the proposal and its necessity to the Senate Banking Committee.

What's more, Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is said to dislike the proposal, recently calling it "transparently political and not substantive." In addition, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been described as "lukewarm" to the proposal.

And even as a group of former Treasury secretaries, including John Snow, George Schultz and Paul O'Neill, threw their support behind the prop-trading ban, Volcker himself is said to be only somewhat optimistic about his proposal's chances, with a person close to him saying, "He's kind of wait and see."

Nevertheless, several sources added that Volcker is speaking regularly to Geithner trying to gain favor. And, sources noted, Republican Finance Committee Chairman Richard Shelby supports the Volcker rule.

SOLU - Idrive; Cameras in Cars

Solutions Group, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: SOLU) announced that its subsidiary idrive Monitoring Systems has begun full production and shipping of its idrive X-1 Video Event Data Recorders (VEDR) to more than 20 clients across several vertical markets in the United States and Mexico. These initial orders total in excess of 1,000 VEDRs and leverage additional units in excess of 2,000 more over the quarter.

Stefan Dragomir, President of idrive, stated, "This is a historic day in the VEDR marketplace. We have studied the marketplace for over two years and consulted with hundreds of existing VEDR users. Using their input, we have designed the most cost-effective, technologically advanced VEDR in the world today. Now in mass production we are delivering this solution. We have succeeded in bringing to market a VEDR with the best cost-benefit analysis in this multi-billion dollar industry."

Idrive X1 is a professional dual camera device which captures high definition video, both of the front of the vehicle and rear. The device records when an event occurs, including: accidents, aggressive driving behavior, door open, alarm or panic (after pressing the special design panic button).

The events/videos are stored on internal memory (2GB up to 32GB) together with other information like G-force values, GPS coordinates, date, time and more, all collected from the device. The transfer to the computer is made using wireless or USB. The idrive X1 device is designed to be mounted to the windshield, behind the rear view mirror.

This technology is very applicable for people driving cars they don’t actually own. For instance police can put in on their squad cars, or car rental services can put them on their rental cars, businesses can put them on company cars, heck, even paranoid parents can put them on their children’s cars.

But on a serious note, if they can continue to contract with this sort of market segment the company may very well have a profitable product.

PEIX - Ethanol Here to Stay

Earlier today in the pre-lunch market movers the company Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: GPRE) was included after a monster earnings report. The main reason it moved to a profit in the fourth quarter was because of higher ethanol demand and a record corn harvest.

The reports were so bullish and the outlook is so attractive for ethanol that one of our very own from the WMM Core Index has gone up. Pacific Ethanol Inc. (NASDAQ: PEIX) is trading at $2.29 up $0.38 or 20% on heavy volume in the wake of such an optimistic view on ethanol for 2010. The stock is up over 300% the past 60 days and it looks like Ethanol as an alternative energy is here to stay.

This stock and the Ethanol sector in general have great potential especially with the current administration.

BLGW - The Social Media Revolution

Bloggerwave Inc (OTCBB: BLGW) a global leader in commercial blogging, today declared that The Nielsen Company's recently released report on social media use has huge implications for Bloggerwave, its shareholders and clients, and Internet users worldwide. According to the report, published on NielsenWire, time spent on social networking sites has increased from 3 hours per month to 5.5 hours per month in the last year alone, representing a staggering 82% increase in the use of social media.

The global media forecasting company also reported that people spend the most Internet time overall on social networks and blogs, and that social web sites such as Facebook are now the most common homepages for users.

This is good news for BLGW which is up 400% since it became a publicly traded company less than a month ago. The company takes advantage of a developing industry; Social Media Optimization. Companies have been able to reach their target markets more efficiently through the emergence of social media and social networks. Bloggerwave helps companies gain credibility and notoriety through blogging and strategies for optimization.

It will be interesting to see if BLGW can continue gaining and retaining their customers, or if there just a company which will make a quick, non-sustainable profit. One thing that cannot be argued is social media use is growing and it looks like this trend will continue.

British Drilling Incites Argentine Anger

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago about 300 miles to the east of Argentina in the Atlantic Ocean. The British have ruled the archipelago since 1833 but in 1982 a crisis there led to the deaths of 649 Argentines and 255 British. In Buenos Aires, the Falklands are called “Islas Malvinas” and the Argentines consider the residents of this place fellow Argentineans. However, the 300 or so residents of the Falklands are committed to British rule.

A British oil and gas company, Desire Petroleum, will start to drill today and it is stirring up bad blood. Desire estimates that the North Falkland Basin could contain 3.5 billion barrels of oil as well as having "significant gas potential." The exploratory drilling is expected to last around 30 days, the spokesman said. Last week, in response to the rumor of British drilling, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner signed a decree requiring all ships navigating from Argentina to the islands to carry a government permit. Argentina claims that the area around the Falklands should be protected for conservancy reasons and because the area is under diplomatic dispute. The British consider the question of the Falklands to be no question at all. It believes that those who live on the Island have a right to British sovereignty and a right to start an oil industry.

In a recent Latin American summit, Argentina protested to other South American and Central American nations to back their claims to the island and to protest against British prospecting. Venezuela and Nicaragua have shown support.

Chinese Hacking Activity Traced

A series of online attacks on Google and dozens of other American corporations have been traced to computers at two educational institutions in China, including one with close ties to the Chinese military, say people involved in the investigation.

They also said the attacks, aimed at stealing computer codes, trade secrets and capturing e-mail of Chinese human rights activists, may have begun as early as April, months earlier than previously believed.

These sophisticated attacks have been traced back to an elite Chinese university and a vocational school, the Shanghai Jiaotong University and the Lanxiang Vocational School respectively.

Jiaotong has one of China’s top computer science programs, beating out Stanford and other top universities in competitions. Lanxiang, in east China’s Shandong Province, is a huge vocational school that was established with military support and trains some computer scientists for the military. The school’s computer network is operated by a company with close ties to Baidu, the dominant search engine in China and competitor of Google.

Some believe the vocational school is being used as a cover up for government operations. The findings raise as many questions as they answer, including the possibility that some of the attacks came from China but not necessarily from the Chinese government, or even from Chinese sources

FRZ - Profits Frozen for Reddy Ice

Reddy Ice Holdings Inc (NYSE: FRZ) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

Financial Highlights
1. Revenues were $54.7M for the 4th quarter
2. Net loss was $2M or $.09 per share for the 4th quarter
3. Available Cash for the full year of 2009 was $28.7 million

FRZ had another rather sub-par quarter and continues to be hurt by litigation fees and a tough economy.

"Our fourth quarter results continued to be adversely impacted by general economic conditions and unfavorable weather patterns," commented Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President Gilbert M. Cassagne. "However, we are continuing to pursue growth and efficiency opportunities and expect those efforts to contribute to our results in 2010."

FRZ completed an acquisition with an aggregate cost of approximately $1.1 million. The Company continues to evaluate acquisition opportunities as part of its ongoing acquisition strategy.

The company intends to commence an offering, subject to market and other conditions, of $300 million aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes in a private offering. Reddy Corp intends to use the proceeds of the offering to refinance its existing indebtedness and to pay estimated fees and expenses, with the balance retained for general corporate purposes, including funding future growth initiatives identified in the Company's strategic planning process and acquisitions. It will be interesting to see if this move works out

Mossad Accused in Dubai Killing

The Israeli Intelligence Agency, known as Mossad, has been accused by the UAE of a hit on Hamas leader Mahmoud al Mabhouh. Eleven warrants have been issued by Interpol to arrest the Israeli assassins. The UAE has also voiced condemnation against the Israeli government, specifically Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad. Mossad has a history of aggressive policy and the UAE is claiming that the organization has crossed the line.

Further speculation is if UK and US agencies were involved. The assassins were carrying fake Irish passports and American credit cards. Surveillance videos of the agents show the 11-member team wearing disguises and shadowing the Hamas leader to his hotel room. Israel and Mossad have remained silent on the issue. However, the UAE issued this statement: "The United Arab Emirates does not accept that its territory be used as an arena for settling scores, whatever their nature or cause or whatever the affiliation of those involved the Emirates is a country of justice and rule of law."

Israeli media have linked Mahbouh to the covert arm supplies in Gaza, but this has yet to be confirmed.

BAMM - Opens 2 New Stores in PA

Books-A-Million, Inc. (NASDAQ:BAMM) opened the doors to two new stores in Pennsylvania. Located in Philadelphia and Lancaster, these stores are Books-A-Million's first in Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia location is at the Gallery at Market East, located in the heart of Philadelphia's thriving Center City, and the Lancaster location is in the Park City Center.

Both locations will feature books, magazines, cards, gifts and collectibles. Residents of Philadelphia and Lancaster who are new Books-A-Million patrons are encouraged to sign up for the Millionaire's Club, where members save 40 percent off bestsellers, 20 percent off hundreds of items throughout the store and 10 percent off everything, everyday. The bookseller also offers discount programs for teachers and community organizations.

Although this news is good for the growth of the company it is off almost 3% today and 13% in the past 30 days. This is most likely due to the seasonality of book selling. Usually the end of summer is the best time for book sales while mid-winter is a generally slow sales period. So it is smart that they have expanded during this time. It will be interesting to see how the emergence of the IPad and Kindle affect book store sales and BAMM in specific.

Tiger Speaks; He Didn't Cry, He Kept it Straight In the Fairway

Tiger woods spoke today from Ponte Verda Florida

He stated "everyone has a reason to be critical of me." "I have let you all down."

Tiger woods kept his poise throughout the press release and also made it clear that there was no domestic violence between him and Elin.

3 Small Cap Pre-Lunch Market Movers (DRAM, MHJ, TASR)

DRAM - Dataram Corp (NASDAQ) is trading at $3.41 up .56 or 20% today.

The company, a worldwide leader in the manufacture of high-quality computer memory, storage products, software, and services, today announced the signing of a strategic teaming agreement with Government Acquisitions, Inc., a proven provider of IT infrastructure solutions and a trusted advisor to the federal government. The essence of the teaming agreement provides Government Acquisitions the opportunity to exclusively market Dataram products and services to their key customers, and to work towards bringing the cost benefits of the Dataram solutions to the entire federal government.


MHJ – Man Sang International (AMEX) is trading at $2.45 up .45 or 22.5% today

The company today announced that it and Creative Gains Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary, have entered into a definitive merger agreement with China Metro-Rural Limited to combine the companies in an all stock transaction. The transaction is expected to be completed by March 31, 2010.


TASR – TASER International Inc. (NASDAQ) is trading at $7.17 up .59 or 9% today at volume of 2M

The jump in stock price is a result of the company reporting 4th quarter earnings this morning. It set a record $104.3 million in net sales during 2009, an increase of $11.4 million or 12.3% over 2008, driven primarily by growth in international and Federal sales.

China and US Tensions High

The Dalai Lama met with President Obama today despite outright disapproval from Beijing. The Chinese consider the Dalai Lama a separatist, and Obama’s decision to go ahead with the meeting has been taken as an affront to the Chinese. The Dalai Lama is in favor an autonomous Tibet and is considered a threat to the Chinese republic.

During the meeting, Obama stressed his "strong support for the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans," according to a White House statement. The president applauded the Dalai Lama's "commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government," the statement added. He also stressed the importance of having both sides "engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences, and was pleased to hear about the recent resumption of talks," it noted.

China has threatened repeatedly that if the meeting between the High Lama and Obama occurred there would be serious consequences. The backdrop of this meeting is the US arms deal with Taiwan and censorship issues with Google’s search engine.

The fact that Obama invited the Dalai Lama into the Whitehouse has been a talking point this afternoon—having the Dalai come there seems like a political act, a sign of defiance. At this time, both China and the US need each other, strained relations could inhibit many global tasks that require both nations, most importantly, climate change.

Flight Diverted to Salt Lake City from San Fransisco - Bomb?

From AP:

SALT LAKE CITY — Airport officials say an airliner en route to San Francisco has been diverted to Salt Lake City following a bomb threat.

Salt Lake City Superintendent of Airport Operations Dave Korzep says the FBI and airport police are on scene searching the plane.

Korzep says the 193 passengers and six crew remain on board United Flight 741 and that there are buses waiting to transport passengers to the terminal when the all-clear is given.

Korzep had no details on the threat. The FBI in Salt Lake City said it couldn't confirm anything.

A United spokesperson says the flight was diverted as a precaution. The flight originated in Denver.

BFLY - Engaging Customers with Viral Video

Bluefly (NASDAQ Capital Market: BFLY) the leading online luxury fashion retailer and WWD.com, the online home of the authoritative fashion industry publication WWD, have teamed up via a marketing partnership to deliver exclusive viral web videos via Bluefly.com. Launching February 17th, the three-part video series will highlight the season's most coveted trends straight off the Fall 2010 runways in New York, Milan, and Paris. WWD Merchandising Expert, Kristen Wildman will track the trends exclusively for Bluefly live from the shows.

Bluefly CEO Melissa Payner says: "Our customers are obsessed with translating the most important catwalk trends for their own closets. With this partnership, we're delighted to present them with expert tips on the looks that matter most."

Along with the videos, viewers will also have the opportunity to access real-time commentary from Bluefly Style Experts who will be tweeting live from the tents at New York's Bryant Park at Twitter.com/bluefly.com. Bluefly Style Experts will also post Facebook-exclusive images and cover the shows on Bluefly's blog FlyPaper. "With social media connecting us all, Fashion Week is no longer an event that only insiders can access," Melissa Payner observes. "We're happy to be working with WWD in giving the global online community this exclusive access."

This is a smart move for Bluefly, viral web videos are a relatively new marketing technique that when done well can attract massive amounts of the target audience. Here is just another example of how social networks are really becoming an avenue for marketing.

RICK - A Conference Call I Can Relate to

RICK - Ricks Cabaret International Inc (NASDAQ) $11.61 - $108.7M (Market Cap)

Yesterday RICK reported first quarter earnings; I listened in on the conference call and noticed a few key points:

Financial Highlights:

1. Total revenues of $20 million
2. Net income was $782,688
3. Expenses associated with acquisition activities and aggressive marketing costs, which totaled $2.9 million

Net income was affected by the high acquisition costs especially with the merger of VCG. However, President and CEO Mr. Langen said “These expenses are largely behind us now and we are on track with our earnings guidance."

Here are a few positive points that seem to bode well for the company in the future;

1. High end spending seems to be coming back. At both the Superbowl and NBA All-star Game weekends bottle service had increased. Alcohol sales have been up across the board.
2. New night clubs in Texas, (Austin, Fort Worth) have seen an increase in sales and revenues.
3. RICKS has had promotions to get more volume at their clubs. Things such as free cover and dollar beer night has brought in more customers. They also plan on setting up promotional relationships with alcohol companies.
4. The merger with VGC makes RICKS the largest North American gentleman’s club operator

One area that RICKS is still having trouble in is Las Vegas. The Vegas clubs have been fickle, and to combat that RICKS is focusing on customers who spend money rather than quantity of customers.

Langen said that the merger and acquisition of VGC was at a perfect time coming out of a recession and that talks had been ongoing about the possible merger. He expects it to take about 6 months for full integration of new clubs that RICKS will put its name on.

RICKS is continuing to grow and it will be interesting to see if these aggressive acquisition activities pay off for them in the long run.

BRICKM’s at the Olympics

The Chinese figure skating pair, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, who are also husband and wife, won gold last night. The pair had actually retired from Olympic competition but came back for the gold in Vancouver. China actually made it a 1-2 finish after Pan Qing and Tong Jian claimed silver.

South Korea grabbed a handful of medals in the speed skating finals. South Korea’s Mo Tae Bum won gold in the 500 meter final, Lee Seung-Hoon snagged the silver in the 5000 meter final and Lee Sang-Hwu won gold in the Ladies 500 meter final. As of this morning, South Korea is just behind host country, Canada, with four total medals.

Of course, the Russians are a strong contender in many events but all eyes in Moscow were on the men’s hockey team last night as they blew out Latvia 8-2. Alexander Ovechkin, a native Muscovite, scored two goals in the rout. Next up for Russia is Slovakia on Thursday night.

The other remaining BRICKM nations, not considered winter countries, actually have a few athletes in the games. Brazil has a female snowboarder named Isabel Clark Ribeiro, this is her second Olympic games, she had a ninth place finish four years ago in Turino. India has a three winter athletes, luger Shiva Keshavan Kannan Palan, who received 29th place on that deadly luge track, Tashi Lundup, a cross-country skier who placed 83rd in the men’s downhill, and Jamyang Namgial, who has yet to race on the Alpine course. And last but not least is Mexico’s only athlete, Prince Hubertus of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, aside from being an actual Prince; he is an Alpine skier, a photographer, businessman and a pop singer (he sings under the name ‘Andy Himalaya’). A son of Prince Alfonso of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and Princess Ira of Fürstenberg, Hubertus was born in Mexico, of which his paternal grandmother was a native, too. He started the Mexican Skiing Federation in 1981 and has participated in a number of Olympic games but never made it to the podium.

3 Small Cap Pre-Lunch Market Movers (CYCC, CHIO, RZ)

Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Inc is trading at $2.83 up .43 or 18% at a volume of nearly 2.7M

Today the company announced results from a newly published study which demonstrated its drug Seliciclib to be potentially effective in treating breast cancer resistant to hormone therapy. Seliciclib is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials for non-small cell lung cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer.

China INSOnline Corp is trading at .60 up .09 or 17.5%

Today the company reported 2nd quarter results: Net income up 33% for the period, Revenues edge higher across two of three segments, Six month net income is $0.11 per share. This company is making money with a P/E ratio of just over 2.

Raser Technologies Inc is trading at $1.14 up .18 or 19%

The company is up after news that it received approval for a $32.99 million grant. It announced today that the U.S. Treasury has approved its renewable energy grant application for the Company's Thermo No. 1 geothermal power plant.

A Little History Lesson on Your Day Off

Hopefully everyone is enjoying their day off on this Presidents Day, but what exactly is Presidents Day?

The federal holiday was originally implemented by the United States Congress in 1880 for government offices in the District of Columbia and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices. As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington's actual birthday, February 22.

The first attempt to create a Presidents Day occurred in 1951 when the "President's Day National Committee" was formed by Harold Stonebridge Fischer of Compton, California, who became its National Executive Director for the next two decades. The purpose was not to honor any particular President, but to honor the office of the Presidency.

On 1 January 1971, the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February. This date places it between February 15 and 21, which makes the name "Washington's Birthday" untrue, since it never lands on Washington's actual birthday, February 22.

By the mid-1980s, with a push from advertisers, the term "Presidents Day" began its public appearance. Although Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, was never a federal holiday, approximately a dozen state governments have officially renamed their Washington's Birthday observances as "Presidents Day", "Washington and Lincoln Day", or other designations.

So let’s not forget why exactly were off today. Let’s remember Washington and the presidency in general, and of course enjoy that day off

PIGS Getting Slaughtered

There is a new acronym that has been floating around for some time now, and its meaning is starting to come to fruition. The acronym PIGS, standing for 4 Eurozone countries which are in extreme economic debt include; Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain.

These 4 countries have been suffering as a result of joining the European Union when in all likelihood did not have the balance sheets and numbers to be a part of the Union. As a result they have suffered from having to stick with the Euro and follow European Central Bank interest rate policy. These four countries are on a train in the polar opposite direction of our beloved BRIC countries.

Unfortunately, it’s not just the PIGS countries that need to be worried. If these countries need the Union to bail them all of Europe is in trouble. The PIGS might not be the Germany’s and France’s of Europe, nonetheless, they make up a portion of the European Union. All of these countries share the same currency so if one falls they will all feel it. As the saying goes, you are only as strong as your weakest link.

The Euro trade has been hit the past few months, especially with the recent negative news coming from Portugal and Greece.

China and the BRICKM’s

What is the role of emerging markets in a time of recovery? Emerging markets represent an abundance of potential for investors and traders. It can rally the US and European indexes, but that might all be about to change.

Brazil is thought to be in good shape in the next coming years because of sustainable commodities like oil, iron ore and soybean. But sustainable commodities don’t always equal economic stability, just look at Russia. Low investment in Russian manufacturing and the inability to nurture free market fiscal policies led to the lowering of commodity prices and a financial meltdown in 1998.

China seems to be the strongest of all the BRICKM nations. A low value on the Yuan has allowed Chinese exports to skyrocket, passing Germany as the world’s biggest exporter, but so has the inflation rate. China has since tightened lending and made banks raise the amount of money in their financial holdings, and since China has accounted for 20% of the world’s economic growth this past decade what will be the future of China, and better yet the world markets, if the Yuan rises in value? China absolutely has to have a low currency in order to keep boosting its impoverished and developing country. How long will the Yuan stay low when exports are in the trillions?

But what happens if the China bubble busts? China accounts for 15% of Brazil’s exports. Instead of lifting the global economy it could drag down the local economy. Furthermore, will Chinese consumers continue to spend like they did in 2009? Obese China could not only effect the other emerging BRICKM nations but also kill commodity and manufacturing prices worldwide.

Goldman Sachs: The Evil Empire?

I’m sure by now we have all heard the news from Greece, how Goldman helped mask Greek debt through a derivative currency swap. Greece needed to get its high debt ratio down in order to be accepted into the European Union. So in 2001 Goldman Sachs and the Greek Public Debt Division agreed to a cross currency swap linked to Greece’s outstanding yen and dollar debt. Now almost a decade later it seems Goldman Sachs is under the microscope for seemingly unethical practices, taking advantage of a vulnerable government.

I think it’s important to see this story through the eyes of Goldman. The fact is an opportunity arose, a $300 million dollar opportunity to be exact, to write up a completely legal agreement. At this point the responsibility of whether or not this agreement will really fix the problem or just mask it falls onto the government.

At the time of the agreement Greece wanted to be admitted into the European Union, but did not have the balance sheet to oblige. So, instead of dealing with it by raising taxes or cutting spending and waiting 2 or 3 years, they opt for the quick fix. This seems to talk about politician’s tendencies to pass problems on to the future administration. What banker would turn down a $300 million contract? Perhaps, we need to stop blaming fee run companies like
Goldman and put some responsibilities on the clients.

Wall Street and Goldman Sachs in specific did not create Greece’s debt issues, granted they did allow Greece to borrow beyond its means in a perfectly legal agreement. Greece wanted to be part of the Union and Goldman made that possible, so whose fault is the Greek crisis. Just remember there’s always two sides to every story.

Another Bailout! Have fun European Union, enjoy Greece

Western market news shifted to Greece this past week. The country’s egregious debt caused far-reaching ripples. The market stagnated on word if Greece would be rescued. Bringing up the issue of the strength and direction of the European Union.

Greece’s situation is not unique in a financial aspect but in a political aspect, it is profound. The 16 State currency solidarity removes the option of devaluing the Grecian currency, which could increase export competition. But Greece’s problems are now Europe’s problems and a union-wide bailout is inevitable. However, the important thing to note, is that the EU is not set up to allow a union-wide bailout, and a move toward doing so is risking both political and fiscal amalgamation.

The problems with Greece have exposed the essential dichotomy between the EU’s ambitions to be a sound and integrated economic sphere and its dedication to respect national sovereignty. Berlin and Brussels have all cried for serious budget cuts within Greece and national polls in Germany have overwhelmingly urged to punish Greece for its rotten spending. But Greeks counter argue that they already have the lowest salaries in all of Europe and nation-wide budget cuts and curtailed spending could worsen the situation.

Spain, Italy and Portugal economies are all struggling and similar problems with them could be on the horizon. If countries like Germany and France dig into their own pocket to rescue Greece, will struggling countries in the EU be inclined to do their own national reforms? The first crisis of the Euro will certainly be an important moment to the Euro Zones and to all world markets.

China to Raise Reserve Requirement Ratio…..Again

For the second time in less than five weeks China’s central bank has moved to limit lending to consumers and businesses by ordering big commercial banks keep larger amount of deposits at the bank. The reserve requirement ratio was raised to 16.5% up half a percent to be enforced February 25th. The idea behind this increase in the ratio is to keep inflation down, as prices throughout China have been increasing, especially in housing. Fortunately, rising producer prices and asset prices have not yet fed into high inflation in consumer prices, which moderated to 1.5% in January from 1.9% in December

Investors remain concerned about whether Chinese authorities can strike the right balance as they rein in stimulus policies. "The Chinese economy is not yet overheating. They have to prevent a bubble from forming, but there is also a risk to tightening too soon," said Lu Ting, China economist for Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. The truth is China’s economy is growing at an exponential rate, it powered to 8.7 percent growth last year, by far the strongest of any major economy.

New local currency loans totaled 1.39 trillion Yuan last month, nearly one-fifth of the government's target for the year of around 7.5 trillion Yuan. The measures Beijing has already taken to slow bank lending appeared to have some effect in the second half of January, although authorities remain concerned about the pace of lending getting out of hand. The central bank wants to "foster reasonable growth in money supply and credit" this year.

Economists expect the central bank to continue raising banks' reserve requirements in coming months. China is a huge player in the global economy and if a bubble is forming it must not burst or the world economy will face huge consequences.

3 Pre-Lunch Market Movers (TBAC, KCP, SHE

Tandy Brand Accessories – TBAC is trading at $3.70 up .60 or 20% today at a volume of over 46k

This coming the day after it reported fiscal 2nd quarter earnings for 2010, earnings were strong and better than expected.

Kenneth Cole Production – KCP is trading at $11.42 up .94 or 9% today at a volume of 68k

Yesterday it announced that it will exceed prior earnings guidance by approximately $0.15 per share for operating performance in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009 due to a stronger than anticipated holiday season.
This stock is in our Core Index http://www.worldmarketmedia.com/NanoCapIndex.

Shengkai Innovations Inc – SHE is trading at $10.00 up $1.10 or 12.5% today at a volume of 280k

The company reported quarterly earnings and had a great quarter; gross profits were up over 55% in the past quarter when compared to a year ago

Bill Clinton Hospitalized

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON – Former President Bill Clinton was taken to a New York hospital on Thursday after experiencing chest pains, and doctors there inserted two stents into one of his coronary arteries, his office said.

"Today President Bill Clinton was admitted to the Columbia Campus of New York Presbyterian Hospital after feeling discomfort in his chest,” said a statement issued by Douglas Band, his longtime adviser.

Mr. Clinton, who serves as the United Nations special envoy to Haiti, has been spending much of his time in recent weeks trying to coordinate relief and recovery efforts for the Caribbean island after a devastating earthquake claimed more than 200,000 lives. Mr. Clinton just returned a few days ago from his second trip there since the earthquake.

“Following a visit to his cardiologist, he underwent a procedure to place two stents in one of his coronary arteries,” Mr. Band’s statement said.

“President Clinton is in good spirits and will continue to focus on the work of his foundation and Haiti’s relief and long-term recovery efforts.”

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton learned of her husband’s condition after she concluded a meeting with President Obama in the Oval Office.

An associate of Mrs. Clinton’s said she was still in Washington, but making plans to head to New York City late Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Clinton, 63, has a history of heart trouble. He had quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery in 2004 and later developed rare complications affecting his lungs that required another operation six months later. He was taken also treated then at the same hospital.