The trickle has become a torrent. Companies that previously fell over themselves to be part of the Paula Deen cooking empire are scrambling for the exits after she admitted to uttering a single racial pejorative more than 30 years ago.
What started with the Food Network not renewing her TV show contract has now turned into a complete rout, with major corporations including Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) , Target, Home Depot, and Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO ) all dropping their association with her.
Companies, of course, want to protect their image, and being associated with racism would do them no good. They understand they won't be harmed for cutting their ties, whether the charge is true or not, because�consumers won't stop using their products or shopping at the stores because of it. But if they stay and it comes out that the epithets were more pervasive than we've been told, they'll feel the taint of the charge as well.
Yet in the wake of the brouhaha, it seems the companies may have misjudged what the public feels about this "scandal." Preorders for Deen's new cookbook have surged to the top of the best-sellers list at Amazon.com and her annual cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas ship reports a response so overwhelming that an extra departure next year has been added�(Deen does not have a relationship with the cruise line; it's booked through a travel agency).
10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2016: Liberty Media Corp (LMCB)
Liberty Media Corporation, formerly Liberty Spinco, Inc., incorporated on August 10, 2012, focuses on the media, communications and entertainment industries through its ownership of interests in subsidiaries and other companies. Its businesses and assets include consolidated subsidiaries, Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc. and TruePosition, Inc., its equity affiliates Sirius XM Radio Inc. and Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and minority investments in public companies such as Barnes & Noble, Inc., Time Warner Inc., Time Warner Cable, Inc., Viacom Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corporation. On January 11, 2013, Liberty Media Corporation and Starz announced the completion of the spin-off of Liberty from Starz. In connection with the spin-off, Liberty changed its name from Liberty Spinco, Inc. to Liberty Media Corporation. In January 2013, the Company announced that it held approximately 50.7% interest of Sirius XM Radio Inc. In May 2013, Liberty Media Corp acquired a 27.38% stake in Charter Communications Inc.
Atlanta National League Baseball Club, Inc., or ANLBC, a wholly owned subsidiary, owns and operates the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise and five minor league baseball clubs (the Gwinnett Braves, the Mississippi Braves, the Rome Braves, the Danville Braves and the GCL Braves). TruePosition is a wholly owned subsidiary that develops and markets technology for locating wireless phones and other wireless devices enabling wireless carriers, application providers and other enterprises to provide E-911 services domestically and other location-based services to mobile users both domestically and worldwide. Sirius XM Radio Inc. (Sirius) broadcasts its music, sports, entertainment, comedy, talk, news, traffic and weather channels in the United States on a subscription fee basis through its two satellite radio systems. Subscribers can also receive certain of its music and other channels over the Internet, including through applications for mobile devices.
Sir! ius XM Radio Inc. satellite radios are primarily distributed through automakers (OEMs), retail locations nationwide, and through its Website. Sirius offers a dynamic programming lineup of commercial-free music, sports, entertainment, talk, news, traffic and weather. The channel line-ups for its services vary in certain respects and are available at siriusxm.com. Sirius offers a selection of music genres, ranging from rock, pop and hip-hop to country, dance, jazz, Latin and classical. Within each genre it offers a range of formats, styles and recordings. Sirius offers a range of national, international and financial news, including news from BBC World Service News, Bloomberg Radio, CNBC, CNN, FOX News, HLN, MSNBC, NPR and World Radio Network. Barnes & Noble, Inc., is a content, commerce and technology company providing customers easy and convenient access to books, magazines, newspapers and other content across its multi-channel distribution platform. As of April 28, 2012, Barnes & Noble operated 1,338 bookstores in 50 states, including 647 bookstores on college campuses, operates one of the Internet's e-Commerce sites and develops digital content products and software.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Wallace Witkowski]
Liberty Media (LMCA) � (LMCB) �class A shares fell 3% to $141.06 on light volume.
Top 5 Prefered Companies To Watch In Right Now: Jamba Inc.(JMBA)
Jamba, Inc., through its subsidiary, Jamba Juice Company, owns and franchises Jamba Juice stores. It operates as a restaurant retailer of specialty beverages and food products, which include fruit smoothies, squeezed juices, hot teas, hot oatmeal made with organic steel cut oats, fruit and veggie smoothies, Fit?n Fruitful smoothies with Weight Burner Boost, Whirl?ns frozen yogurt, breakfast wraps, side salads, sandwiches, California Flatbreads, and various baked goods and snacks. The company also licenses its Jamba brand name to sell consumer packaged goods through retail channels, such as grocery, mass, club, and convenience. As of January 3, 2012, it had 769 Jamba Juice stores, including 307 company-owned and operated stores; 443 franchise-operated stores in the United States; and 19 international franchise stores. The company was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brian Pacampara]
What: Shares of Jamba Juice (NASDAQ: JMBA ) plummeted 19% today after the fruit smoothie chain slashed its outlook for 2013.
So what: Jamba shares have rallied nicely over the past year on steadily improving same-store sales, but yesterday's downbeat guidance reignites serious concerns over its ability to grow profitably. While the news wasn't all bad (Jamba also announced that retail giant Target�will be rolling out 1,000 JambaGo locations), management's disappointing outlook for sales, four-wall profit margins, and operating earnings suggests that Jamba's competitive position is rapidly weakening.
Top 5 Prefered Companies To Watch In Right Now: Valmont Industries Inc.(VMI)
Valmont Industries, Inc. produces and sells fabricated metal products, pole and tower structures, and mechanized irrigation systems in the United States and internationally. The company?s Engineered Infrastructure Products segment offers steel and aluminum poles and structures, to which lighting and traffic control fixtures are attached for applications in streets, highways, parking lots, sports stadiums, and commercial and residential developments; and roadway safety systems, including guard rail barrier systems, wire rope safety barriers, and crash attenuation barriers to redirect vehicles and to prevent collisions between vehicles. This segment also provides structures and components for the wireless communication market, as well as for the erection of infrastructure, industrial, and commercial access systems. Its Utility Support Structures segment offers tapered steel and pre-stressed concrete poles for high-voltage transmission lines, substations, and electrical dist ribution, as well as produces hybrid structures, which are structures with a concrete base section and steel upper sections. The company?s Coatings segment provides metal coating services, such as hot-dipped galvanizing, anodizing, powder coating, and e-coating. Its Irrigation segment offers mechanical irrigation equipment and related service parts under the Valley brand. The company also manufactures forged steel grinding media for the mining industry, tubular products for industrial customers, and electrolytic manganese dioxide for disposable batteries; and distributes industrial fasteners. It serves state and federal governments, contractors, utility and telecommunications companies, commercial lighting fixtures manufacturers, and large farms, as well as the general manufacturing sector. The company sells its products through direct sales force, independent and commissioned sales agents, and independent dealers. Valmont Industries, Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headqua rtered in Omaha, Nebraska.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Industrial conglomerate�Valmont Industries� (NYSE: VMI ) �will pay a�regular quarterly cash dividend�of $0.25 per share, representing an 11.1% increase in the payout to shareholders.
- [By Jacob Roche]
Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI ) reported impressive first-quarter earnings recently, with operating income rising 43% on strong sales and increasing margins. The growth in sales was largely due to the company's Utility Support Structures and Irrigation segments, which each had 25% sales growth.
Top 5 Prefered Companies To Watch In Right Now: ProShares UltraShort Russell2000 (TWM)
ProShares UltraShort Russell2000 (the Fund) seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the inverse (opposite) of the daily performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the Index). The Fund intends to invest at least 80% of its net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, to investments that, in combination, have economic characteristics that are inverse to those of the Index. The Fund also intends to invest assets not invested in financial instruments, in debt instruments and/or money market instruments. The Fund intends to concentrate its investments in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent as the Index is so concentrated. ProShare Advisors LLC serves as the investment advisor to the Fund. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Richard Rhodes]
We remain short, via a position, the Russell 200 2X Short (TWM) as well as short positions in Tesla (TSLA) and Chipolte (CMG).
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