Two months into an eventful 2011, the financial news keeps coming.
Here are a few of the days that I plan to approach with eyes wide open this month.
March 2
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL ) isn't as good as it used to be in keeping surprises. It has a media event in the works for tomorrow, and the world is 99% sure that we're about to get the first official peek at the iPad 2.
I'm emphasizing "official" because we've had months of reports from tech blogs and overseas news groups that are chummy with Apple's supply chain. We've seen snapshots of iPad plates complete with camera holes. One or two may have even been real!
There was plenty of skepticism during Apple's original iPad launch a year ago. Nearly everyone's a believer these days. Apple sold 7.3 million iPads during its latest quarter alone!
The iPad is a proven gadget, but there's still a lot riding on the new iPad. There's actual competition now, and a lot of hyped-up rival tablets are coming. There's always a cool Android-flavored tablet to watch out for, and Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM ) highly anticipated PlayBook should be just a few weeks away from hitting the market.
March 4
Last week's trade for Carmelo Anthony didn't help shares of New York Knicks' parent Madison Square Garden (NYSE: MSG ) . It was yet another conglomerate posterized by Mr. Market's dunk.
However, after watching the stock pop nearly 4% higher yesterday, maybe investors are coming around. Anthony's first game in a Knicks uniform at Madison Square Garden drew the team's highest regular-season television ratings in 16 years for Madison Square Garden Network.
Can one player be the catalyst to heady growth? We'll see. MSG reports on Friday. The trailing financials won't be as important as any color that the company may provide on what it sees in the near term.
March 10
One of the easiest ways to take a quick pulse of the casino industry is to check in on Shuffle Master (Nasdaq: SHFL ) . It reports its quarterly results a week from Thursday.
True to its name, Shuffle Master makes automatic card shufflers that are a staple at gambling halls with card games. Shuffle Master also offers other casino essentials including proprietary table games. It has already installed more than 1,600 Three Card Poker units, where gamblers can wager in several different ways during the high-energy card game.
A strong showing by Shuffle Master may not necessarily mean that your casino stock is doing well, but it's a healthy indicator on spending trends by the gaming industry in general.
March 24
Investors are still stinging from Best Buy's (NYSE: BBY ) pre-holiday shocker three months ago, when the consumer electronics retailer posted dips in revenue, profitability, and comps in its fiscal third quarter. Now it's time to see how Best Buy fared over the seasonally potent holidays.
Life after the liquidation of Circuit City hasn't gone according to plan for the superstore operator. Instead of making the most of having its largest rival zapped away two years ago, Best Buy is suffering from Web-based retailers and direct marketers. The recession hasn't helped, either, but Best Buy isn't bouncing back the way other specialty retailers have been lately.
At the very least, Best Buy offers a fair overview of consumer trends. Are 3-D televisions selling or not? Will tablets continue to eat away at laptop and netbook sales? How is the company's move to begin selling actual musical instruments playing out?
Answers may be just three weeks away.
March 27
Nintendo's (OTC BB: NTDOY.PK) best hope for gaming relevancy domestically rests on the stateside launch of its new 3DS in a few weeks.
There's a lot riding on the new 3DS, and not just because it's attempting to push the envelope by delivering greater gaming depth with its glasses-free 3-D platform.
The Japanese gaming pioneer has been posting sluggish results. Its console and handheld gadgetry were riding high a few years ago, but Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT ) Kinect has raised the bar on Wii's motion-based controllers, and Apple is nibbling away in the handheld market. Apple's installed base of iOS devices (iPod touch players, iPhones, and iPads) is now greater than 100 million, complete with access to cheap casual diversions. Nintendo offers more than Apple can for die-hard gamers, but will it be enough to overcome the stiff $250 price tag and problematic health warning for gamers under the age of 6?
What will you be looking forward to this month? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
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