New leaders, newer ticker symbols, and the oldest of exit strategies colored in the week that was.
By now, you surely must have Hurd the news
It took less than two months for Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) to wash its hands of the Carly Fiorina era. On Wednesday, it announced that NCR (NYSE:NCR) CEO Mark Hurd would be taking over the printing and computing giant by Friday. Reports quickly surfaced on how much more Hurd would be compensated at HP compared with his former turnaround gig, but let's state the obvious -- the market thinks that he's worth every penny. NCR shares fell 17% the day he left, while HP's stock soared by 10%.
Hurd's back-to-basics core and his margin-enhancing mentality are exactly what HP needs as it focuses on getting back into a groove.
Here is one way to keep Martha on her toes
If you're the type to get overly attached to ticker symbols, here's hoping you didn't knock yourself out entering S or KMRT to pull up a quote for Sears or Kmart this past week. The companies completed their merger and on Monday started trading together as Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD). With a combined 3,800 stores, the new conglomerate becomes the country's third-largest retailer.
Both companies had been struggling until the market began to embrace the value of their collective real estate. But don't be so quick to dismiss the pairing. The discount department store landscape has changed -- for better or worse, it's the Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) influence. However, if Sears Holdings is able to trim operating redundancies while capitalizing on the each chain's strengths, it can still be a force to reckon with. If not, well, we'll have the softer side of blue-light specials to shine the way home.
Maybe Shakespeare really wasn't in love after all
Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the movie mogul masterminds behind Disney's (NYSE:DIS) Miramax studio, completed an exit strategy for their departure from Disney come September. Disney will retain all of the movies that the Weinsteins helped piece together for Disney's Miramax and Dimension Films, while the brothers will be allowed to take the Dimension name in launching their new theatrical distribution business.
Pixar (NASDAQ:PIXR) is also leaving Disney's collaborative grasp next summer. Does incoming Disney CEO Bob Iger know what he's getting himself into? These were relationships that Michael Eisner first forged before they went sour. The media is advising Iger to try to win back many of the spurned allies that have now become -- or are about to become -- fierce competitors. But it's probably best for him to start from scratch on his own.
The Weinsteins did some amazing work in Hollywood, keeping Disney never too far away from the Academy Awards podium. Keep an eye open to see whether the quality of its theatrical productions suffer after the Weinsteins depart. Logic would seem to dictate that Disney will take a hit at the box office, but the market begs to differ: Disney shares rose the day after the break was made official. So Disney will have to learn to fish for its supper now, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
The headlines behind this week's stories:
Until next week, I remain,
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz isn't sure what his ticker symbol would be if he were publicly traded, but he guesses that SHLD is now out of the question. He does own shares in Disney and Pixar. The Foo l has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
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