Wall Street won't be lending its farewell to arms after stun guns, cyberspace zappers, and wizard wands were waved around the market this week.
This Jedi knight does WindowsIf companies were sci-fi characters, can anyone drum up a better fit to Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) than Jabba the Hutt of Star Wars fame? It's powerful. It's chunky. At times its grunts are indiscernible. And, yes, it's got willing and unwilling servants and entertainers ready to tend to its whims. McAfee (NYSE:MFE) found out how hard it is to breathe in Princess Leia's skimpy slave girl outfit when Mr. Softy announced that it would be dumping the software company as the provider of antivirus screening for its popular free Hotmail service. Stepping into the task of peeling grapes for Micro the Soft will be Trend Micro (NASDAQ:TMIC). While shares of McAfee fell and Trend Micro edged higher on the news, one is still left to wonder the true value of providing a free service to folks opting for email on the gratis.
While establishing your brand is important, isn't it also erecting a value hurdle to cross if the usage is widespread at a fixed price of nil? The Internet is a virtual petting zoo with viral worms and Trojan horses to remedy, so toiling away in antivirus software should be a promising area. That doesn't mean that an investor will find too many bargains in the virus-protection sector, though. Trading at 60 times earnings and a dozen times sales, Trend Micro isn't exactly cheap. And now that it will assume McAfee's role in keeping a vigilant eye on freeloading email account holders at Microsoft's site, it may be harder to justify paying a premium for its wares on the consumer level. That's why the dark side of the force may be challenging, but it's still better than being in the red. At least that's what I think Yoda once said.
This noble wizard is working on his levitation spell
Much to the delight of Muggles (that's us mere mortals) everywhere, J.K. Rowling's sixth installment in the Harry Potter book series will hit the stores come July 16. Yes, the release smack-dab in the middle of summer should mean that restless kiddies everywhere -- and adult fans of the creative wizard epic -- will be able to curl up with the lengthy hardcover edition. Hermoine better be ready to cast a spell to alleviate those paper cuts, one would think. Still, the book's debut is great news for its stateside publisher, Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL). It seems as though Scholastic puts up sluggish financials when it doesn't have a new Rowling book to peddle.
It's not just the book publisher, of course. Online retailers such as Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) jumped on the announcement right away, already offering preorders at a 40% discount. Think folks are getting excited already? You better believe it. It was the top-selling book on the site going into the holiday weekend. That young wizard certainly knows how to make books disappear.
This stun gun manufacturer has its attorneys locked on kill
It may come as a shock only to perhaps a victim or two of Taser's (NASDAQ:TASR) stun gun, but the company has a dozen loaded patents at the ready, and it's not afraid to use them. The criminal neutralizing specialist announced that it would be suing upstart Stinger Systems to make sure that the potential rival isn't deceiving the public by claiming that it has been certified by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaccco, and Firearms.
Taser is going after Stinger by pointing out that the bureau regulates the industry but does not certify any of the promising sector's participants. It may not appear to be much of a story, but I just can't get this image out of my head. What image? Oh, Taser and Stinger in the coutroom, zapping one another during inflammatory testimony. The losing party dragging its feet out of the courtroom with all of two words to offer to the querying media -- I'm stunned.
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Aristotle Munarriz
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz wonders whether Jabba the Hutt could be written into the next Potter book. Half-blood prince? Have food rinse? No. It will never work. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. He is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
