If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.
1. Who let the dog star out?
Sirius XM Radio
This is clearly good news, in and of itself. A year ago, the first quarter was the company's worst period on the account acquisition front. In other words, Sirius XM should have no problem surpassing the 500,000 net subscriber additions that it's targeting for all of 2010.
However, you also have to love the timing of the announcement. The news was impressive enough to get Sirius XM's stock back over the $1 mark. It's meeting with Nasdaq later this month to appeal the exchange's intention to delist the stock for failing to close above $1 for 10 consecutive trading days.
2. Chase lounge
JPMorgan Chase
However, there's some encouraging news beyond the obvious profit puffing. The rate of early-stage delinquencies in JPMorgan Chase's credit card portfolio is shrinking dramatically.
Really? Consumers are starting to take responsibility for their plastic transactions and paying their bills in greater numbers? The economic recovery may be closer than some cynics may have you believe.
3. Delayed in translation
Apple's
Release delays usually aren't good things, but Apple's news was enough to send its stock higher. The company has delivered more than 500,000 iPads during its debut week.
Perhaps even more impressive than the migration rate is that folks aren't just framing their iPads on their altars of Steve Jobs worship or trying to flip them on auction sites. Folks are actually using these suckers.
Disney
Naturally, Disney isn't going to say anything negative about the iPad. Jobs is a member of Disney's board, and he's also its largest individual shareholder after the family entertainment giant's acquisition of Pixar. However, the usage metrics are truly impressive, and they're silencing the critics who think iPads aren't useful enough to revolutionize the tablet industry.
4. Team Coco puffs
Time Warner's
Starting the show a half-hour before his major network competition begins every night is a smart move by TBS. Conan will be up primarily against local news and Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. This is the kind of move that may put basic cable's TBS on the map. At the very least, it's going to make other broadcasters nervous. O'Brien is more likely to cannibalize existing shows for his audience than create incremental viewership. This will be bad news for TBS rivals, with General Electric's
5. Wii the steeple
It took awhile, but Netflix
Netflix subscribers can now stream through all three video-game consoles. This is probably a bigger deal than you think. Netflix already has a seemingly insurmountable lead in its licensed catalog of streaming celluloid. However, even if a serious competitor were to throw its hat into the ring, Netflix also has the relationships with makers of video-game consoles, Blu-ray players, and DVRs to reach couch potatoes in their natural habitats.
Netflix continues to distance itself from the competition, but Wii knew that all along.