We're a little ashamed to mention the "celebrity" fights on Fox last night. On the one hand, we're pretty sure they represent a low-point for Western civilization, and we can't even put on a straight face to draw some kind of half-baked lesson about money from them. On the other hand, we just can't resist pointing out that "Whatchyou talkin' 'bout Willis" pounded "Ice Ice Baby."
As Salon put it today, we've finally been provided with an answer to the question "What should you do with the formerly famous?" Let them beat the hell out of each other.
So, Todd Bridges, formerly of '80s sitcom Different Strokes fame, defeated loser rapper Vanilla Ice. Danny Bonaduce from The Partridge Family roughed up Greg Brady... er... Barry Williams. And in the finale, banned skater Tonya Harding took down Paula Jones, known for her association with Bill Clinton and a replacement for "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher, whose parole board forced her to withdraw from the show.
We hate to admit it, but we kind of wish we'd come up with this ratings gimmick. We have a lot of ideas for more bouts. Ted Nugent vs. Michael Bolton. Captain Stubing vs. Gopher. Mr. Jefferson vs. the entire Huxtable clan. Tom vs. David Gardner? Post your ideas here.
The Motley Fool 50 index fought hard against the other market indices today, but the battle ended in a draw.
In today's Motley Fool Take:
The world's biggest retailer is invading Japan. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) has agreed to purchase $46 million worth of stock in Seiyu, one of Japan's leading retailers. As part of the deal, Seiyu's largest shareholder, Sumitomo, will increase its ownership to 15.5% of the company. The deal would give Wal-Mart 6.1% ownership, with options to increase its stake to a whopping 66.7% over time. According to Wal-Mart, "the three companies plan to study and develop retail business opportunities in Japan."
There's a lot of potential in Japan, which boasts the world's second-largest economy. Wal-Mart has been eyeing this market for quite some time, and even thought of going it alone rather than teaming up with existing companies. But don't expect an immediate impact; Seiyu has about $8 billion in annual sales -- impressive, but just a fraction of the $220 billion in revenue Wal-Mart recorded last year.
There's also some skepticism about how well the Wal-Mart discount business model will play with Japanese consumers, who "tend to be finicky and have at times shunned products that are viewed as cheap or poor quality," according to the Associated Press. But the same concerns were raised when Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) and eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) jumped into the online auction market in that country. Critics, including the CEO of Yahoo! Japan, pointed to a status-conscious culture and predicted the Japanese would not take well to buying used goods from strangers.
But that thinking proved faulty, and Yahoo! now has 3.5 million auctions running in what has become a $2 billion market (in value of goods traded, not revenue) -- while eBay was forced to pull out of Japan, a victim of the network effect caused by Yahoo!'s head start.
With the auctioneers softening the market ahead of them, Wal-Mart's business model has a real chance to shine in the land of the rising sun.
Investing without research is like playing stud poker and never looking at the cards." - Peter Lynch
They've got your number and they're going to use it, by golly. Despite Zappers, Caller ID boxes, telemarketer voodoo dolls, and even "Do Not Call" laws, they will call every night at 6:34 sharp during the macaroni and cheese course to pitch their wares.
Why? Because they can. Legally. The "No-Call List Act," which is in place in more than 20 states, has so many exemptions that most consumers who put their name on the list get little to no relief from phone solicitations. For example, political campaigns are exempt, as are calls from charitable, religious, and nonprofit organizations. If a salesman wants to arrange a face-to-face meeting, he's got your number and he's legally allowed to use it. Same goes for the financial services providers with whom you do business. Your bank can ring you up at any time to pitch you their new credit card/Rotato combo offer.
According to a study by the American Teleservices Association in Washington (to protect worker safety we will not divulge the address here), 65% of telemarketing calls are made on behalf of political groups or charities -- two categories exempted from the lists.
It's a Catch-22. "Do Not Call" laws are very popular with voters. But not so much with politicians who rely heavily on telemarketing to raise campaign funds and get voters to the polls. And there's the rub: Do away with the exemptions and the politicos cut off a big source of campaign funding. Speak out against the No-Call List Act and they lose favor with voters.
Now the FTC is stepping in with proposed changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule, including the creation of a centralized national "Do Not Call" registry. Though it still doesn't block all solicitors from calling, it appears to carry fewer exemptions.
Fools can -- and should! -- weigh in on the proposal. The FTC is soliciting comments (no, not by phone) until March 29. Submit your comments by sending an email to tsr@ftc.gov or by writing to the Office of the Secretary, Room 159, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.
In the meantime, check out the FTC's tips on reducing unwanted telemarketing calls right now. Now go re-heat your macaroni.
Where the Toys "R"
When money is tight and credit rating agencies are shaking their heads, Toys "R" Us (NYSE: TOY) doesn't have time to play around. While the playthings retailer reported consensus-topping holiday quarter earnings on flat sales this morning, its need to tap the market for capital is seen as a losing game on Wall Street.
The toy retailer announced a 37% drop in EPS for the quarter ending Feb. 2. The company earned $158 million and $0.78 a share against $251 million and $1.23 a share a year ago.
The stock is trading lower today as its financing plans calling for $550 million in new stock and convertible bonds will strip as much as a dime a share off this year's bottom-line results.
One would think that the toy superstore chain would know better. No one plays the game of Life with the intention of settling for early retirement at Countryside Acres. Toys "R" Us has gone through more makeovers than Madonna, and its latest incarnation produced robust results over the holidays. It should be riding the uptrend in video game sales that led to Gamestop's (NYSE: GME) successful IPO last month. Its Imaginarium store-within-the-store approach should be filling the void created by the gradual extinction of upscale hands-on toy shops. It should be milking its relationship with online masterminds Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) that helped the retailer develop a feasible e-commerce strategy.
But "should" will only take you so far in the investing space. The company still needs to deliver if it aims to win the game.
What do you think of the toy giant's Mission Impossible makeover? Will the move to close 64 poorly performing stores earlier this year help? When you buy a stock, are batteries included? All this and more -- in the Toys "R" Us Discussion Board. Only on Fool.com.
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stunned many by voting 3-1 to exempt cable companies that provide broadband Internet access from certain regulations that apply to telephone companies. Telcos such as BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) that want to offer DSL (digital subscriber line) broadband Internet services nationwide must offer access to competing providers such as EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK). Cable companies will not have to open their coaxial cables to competition.
Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) is running this banner ad on various Websites: "Read the Net Impact Study to learn how the Internet has saved U.S. companies nearly $156 billion" with a link. Anyone who reads the whole thing wins a free router.
In case you don't believe that large accounting firms encourage auditors to sell consulting services, today's Wall Street Journal relates an ex-Ernst & Young auditor's account (subscription required) of management's performance requirement that he sell $3 million a year in non-auditing services.
Despite posting excellent Q4 results, retailer Land's End's (NYSE: LE) stock fell over 15% in trading today. Though EPS grew 44% to $1.51 from year-ago $1.07 on an 11% increase in revenues, the results were a penny under analysts' $1.52 consensus estimate. The company still expects EPS growth this year in the high-single to low-double digits.
Shares of e-business software provider Informatica (Nasdaq: INFA) plummeted as much as 20% on rumors that it would lose key business and miss quarterly earnings forecasts.
Today on Fool.com: We're screaming for our shorts.... Wait a minute, wait a minute. That's not right. We're screening for shorts in today's Fool on the Hill.... Learn how to build wealth like a real Fool -- time, discipline, and the power of compounding are all on your side.... Fool's School has a lesson on the father of value investing (and Warren Buffett's mentor), Benjamin Graham.
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