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Why Elon Musk Is Loved So Much

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Why Elon Musk Is Loved So Much

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This is an article I’ve been planning to write for approximately half a year. Alas, so many other hot news stories, EV reports, conferences, and the daily truckload of editing, email, social media, and side projects have blocked that from happening. Many touching videos and insightful comments from readers almost pushed me to write the piece much earlier, and I only hope now that I won’t miss any of the thoughts that came to mind then, but I’m sure readers will add much more to extend the conversation whether I do or not.

Elon Musk aviator glasses

Elon Musk is in a unique category not just because of how superbly he has done in business — from Zip2 to PayPal to Tesla & SpaceX & SolarCity. He’s also a bit of a cult superhero. Actually, he’s an iconic figure and quite idolized in several sub-cultures. Space nuts. Business freaks. Cleantech lovers. Electric car enthusiasts. Coding nerds. And surely others as well.

He’s loved so much not just because of what he’s achieved and what his companies do, though. It’s also largely because of specific aspects of his personality and how he interacts with the public, imho. Furthermore, I think those two factors contribute a great deal to the success of some of his companies, especially Tesla Motors.

I’ll jump to my list of reasons shortly, but first, see how many cleantech CEOs you can picture with a couple minutes of thought.

…

…

Despite covering this industry obsessively for years, there are just a handful of people who come to mind for me. Frankly, I think that’s a huge #FAIL on the part of the communications and marketing arms behind most cleantech companies, as well as the CEOs themselves. Humans connect with humans more than anything else. Having a human who is the well known and liked face of a company is a great way to advance the company’s customer base and grow its business. Yet… the approach is largely ignored by cleantech companies. It’s pretty disappointing for me to witness.

But back to Elon…

Whether it’s intentional or through pure luck, Elon has very effectively become the face of Tesla Motors and SpaceX… and even SolarCity to an extent, despite the fact that he spends very little time on the company and the CEO is cousin Lyndon Rive (probably one of the few faces that came to mind in the exercise recommended above). Elon has put himself out there enough that his face often pops into our thoughts when we think about Tesla. At least as importantly, though, many of us simply love the guy. And here’s why…

Elon is real.

Elon Musk tears

CEOs these days have been polished more than Michelangelo’s David (potentially incorrect statement, but you get the point). Corporate talk has become BS as nauseating as BS from establishment politicians. You can see how “the outsiders” are doing in political polls right now. Elon, similarly, is an outsider in the business world. He doesn’t fluff up his remarks and spit out generic, useless statements. He’s “real.” He says stuff how it is. He answers questions directly (except with particularly sensitive and concealed topics). He speaks in a casual, friend-to-friend style rather than like the annoying “too good to toot my own horn” members of many a C-suite.

Elon is thoughtful.

You can picture it now. Elon is served a question. He pauses, purses his lips in a particular way, gazes with inquisitive and searching eyes, starts to answer it, quickly interrupts himself to qualify a statement or make it more precise, couches the answer in some important context, perhaps drops an engineering term or two on us, and closes the answer as if he’s taking the explanation further in his head or thinking up more context and is still unsure if he should go on or leave it at that.

Altogether, we can see that he’s very thoughtful. In his answers, and in what he does. We appreciate that.

Again (coming back to the first point a bit), Elon doesn’t just shoot over some catchphrases or generic answers, at least not very often. He turns a question into a seminar in whatever the topic might be.

Partly because we respect thoughtful behavior, and partly because we love it that Elon cares and engages with us enough to spend the time on such things, many of us love this aspect of his character.

Elon Musk China 3

Elon cares.

Speaking of caring… we are repeatedly impressed with this very important point. Elon cares. He cares about others, doesn’t want “jerks” on his teams messing up people’s work atmosphere, wants the customer to be happy (and sometimes goes to absurd lengths to make them so), and wants to spend his life helping society.

At least since he “hit it big” with PayPal, Elon has dedicated an absurd amount of his breathing life, and his cash, to helping society. Tesla Motors is about combatting global warming, cleaning the air, building the safest cars on the planet, and making products that excite and inspire people. SpaceX is about helping to make the human species interplanetary, both for boosting our long-term survival odds as well as for bringing unprecedented adventure and exploration to another generation. SolarCity is about transitioning to a clean, abundant, and socioeconomically decentralized source of electricity generation.

Interview after interview, Elon comes back to the thoughts he had in college regarding the factors most critical to the future of humanity and human well-being. If you don’t know by now that Elon really cares about society, you haven’t watched enough interviews with him. Here’s a good place to chill out for a bit.

Elon is the nerdy underdog who was almost bullied to death (literally) and then won the world.

Elon Musk nerd

No doubt about it: Elon is a nerd. And we seem to be in a phase where nerds are glorified. We love nerds. Maybe many of us feel like we were/are the nerds. Maybe we’ve just come to love the quiet bookworms. I’m not sure, but Elon’s nerd status (king of the nerds?) certainly helps grow his appeal.

Whether we see him as a classic lover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, or just some generic nerdboy turned nerdman, he’s very endearing to many of us.

Learning about his childhood reading book after book like a machine, the extent to which he was bullied (and even nearly beaten to death), and his early video game entrepreneurship with brother Kimball, he grows on us more and more. (Some of us, at least.)

Elon Wins

Elon talks to us on our level, and remains “just one of the guys.”

Elon Musk tweetThis is similar to the section at the top on Elon being “real,” but I thought it was worth teasing out as well. Despite his nearly “untouchable” status, Elon seems to talk to nearly everyone in the same way. Whether you’re a young high schooler or a rich businessman or a TV show host, Elon talks in practically the same style. He doesn’t typically talk down to people or butter people up.

Nonetheless, he brings the discussion to our level. He tries hard to answer questions in a way that will help the questioner. He puts the language at the expected level of knowledge of the listener(s), and he provides analogy after analogy, metaphor after metaphor, to put complicated points that, normally, only certain engineers or economists or businesspeople would understand in terms that an uninitiated, uncultured, buffoon-like cleantech blogger can digest.

It’s not just more interesting and stimulating for the audience — it also shows respect for the person on the other side of the conversation, whoever it may be. It shows Elon’s not just interested in talking for his own benefit or to hear his own voice, but to help improve the understanding and experience of as many people as possible.

Elon is cautious and humble (to an extent).

As noted above (in the “Elon is thoughtful” section), Elon is quite cautious about his statements. Yes, he is known to be overly optimistic regarding timelines (perhaps that’s part of why he gets so much done — “It’ll just take this long. Let’s do it.”), but regarding most matters, he is obsessively cautious about accuracy and performance. While he may be profiled in some ways as a risktaker, he went to great lengths to build the safest car on the planet. While he is having a lot of fun while doing so, his chief life aims are apparently helping society to be more cautious with the planet’s climate, the planet’s store and quality of natural resources, and our likelihood of long-term survival.

Elon doesn’t neglect to state a stunning accomplishment when it’s relevant to the conversation and advances an argument, but, from my perspective, he’s very cautious to not state things that aren’t true and humble about how much he and his companies can actually achieve.

As has been noted numerous times before, he expected Tesla Motors and SpaceX to fail. He has said in the past that Tesla’s stock price seemed a bit high compared to what Tesla had achieved. He has cautioned innumerable times that he isn’t certain about this or that, something could always go wrong, his projections are just best estimates (not sure to be correct), etc.

I imagine some people will disagree with me on this one, given how I’ve seen Elon profiled in some other places, but I see him as an abnormally cautious and humble person.

Elon is Iron Man.

Elon Musk net worth

But that doesn’t mean he can’t be idolized a bit. The man has inspired a generation or five. He has achieved several things that all but a small minority thought were practically impossible. He has made a million, turned that into a billion, and then turned that into $10.8 billion. Robert Downey Jr. shadowed him in order to get into character for Tony Stark, Iron Man. His accomplishments are worth celebrating. He’s worth celebrating.

Call me a fanboy — fine by me. I love the guy, similar to how I love many goodhearted and hardworking friends, and similar to how heroes in certain movies appeal to my sensitivities. For all the reasons above, that seems to be more common than not loving the guy.

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About the Author

is tryin' to help society help itself (and other species) one letter at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of EV Obsession, Gas2, Solar Love, Planetsave, or Bikocity; or as president of Important Media. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, energy storage, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media: ZacharyShahan.com, .

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Twitter faces critical moment with Q4 earnings

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Twitter faces critical moment with Q4 earnings

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SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter is used to being the social media service at the center of public conversation.

But increasingly it's finding itself the subject of that conversation — and not in a good way.

From ominous headlines — "The End of Twitter" — to trending hashtags — #RIPTwitter — people can't stop talking about the seemingly never-ending litany of woes plaguing Twitter, from slowing rates of user growth to executive churn. And Jack Dorsey, the co-founder charged with reviving the one-time high-flier, appears no closer to making the sweeping changes necessary to turn the company around.

"It's a critical time," says eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson. "There are so many questions swirling around Twitter. Can it grow its user base? Can it continue to increase revenue? What is Twitter trying to be now that one of its founders is back at the helm and trying to change things up? We need to see concrete evidence Twitter is going in the right direction."

The stakes have never been higher as Twitter prepares to report fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes on Wednesday.

Twitter this week saw its shares (TWTR) fall to a record low. At less than $10 billion, Twitter's market cap is about a third of what it was a year ago. With investors fleeing riskier stocks in a volatile market, Twitter could sink even more if earnings disappoint. Shares of professional networking service LinkedIn (LNKD) last week posted its biggest-ever decline on a weaker-than-expected forecast.

"The market is suddenly completely intolerant of companies that don't have a lot of earnings and they are unwilling to give a whole lot of credit to companies that have no growth," said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

Here's what to watch:

REVENUE FORECAST: Twitter is expected to generate $709.97 million in revenue, a 48% increase from the same quarter last year but a deceleration versus 58% in the third quarter, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

EARNINGS FORECAST: Twitter is expected to have 12 cents a share, excluding certain expenses, the same as a year ago, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Including those expenses, it is expected to post a loss of 17 cents a share.

USER GROWTH: Investors are fixated on Twitter's user growth as a key measure of its prospects.

Last quarter, Twitter said it had 320 million monthly active users, up slightly from 316 million in the second quarter. Excluding users who access the service via text message, the company had 307 million users, roughly flat with the previous quarter. For the December quarter, analysts expect Twitter to report 325 million users, up 1.5% from the third quarter.

"The monthly active users number is probably not going to be inspiring," Pachter says.

Last year, 262 million people around the world used Twitter on at least a monthly basis, research firm eMarketer estimates. This year, that figure will rise to 291 million, an increase of 11.1%. But 2016 will be the last year of double-digit growth in users, the firm forecasts, with the growth rate falling in 2017 to 8.8%.

Investors fear slowing user growth will undercut Twitter's prospects. "It's not like Twitter isn't growing," Williamson said. "But it's not growing enough in that regard."

REVENUE: Not everyone on Wall Street thinks investors should judge Twitter by user growth.

"So many people talk about Twitter as a no growth company. If you look at their revenues, if you look at a number of different metrics, Twitter shows healthy if not robust growth," said S&P Global Market Intelligence analyst Scott Kessler.

Pachter says a revenue beat is possible. Twitter has done it in five out of six quarters. He's looking for about $715 million in fourth quarter revenue, higher than Wall Street consensus of about $710 million.

And Williamson says new ad products are showing promise.

"Twitter is still continuing to show progress on developing new ad products and new ways to generate revenue from advertising," Williamson said. "The thing that is probably going to get Twitter past all of this is refocusing the conversation on the question: Can Twitter make money selling ads outside of Twitter? ... I think they can. Twitter has access to a lot of data and has ways to sell advertising to people based on that data."

The concern: Twitter will not be able to continue to increase revenue as user growth slows. RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney said in a recent report that "channel checks and our recent surveys don't provide convincing evidence that a substantial number of advertisers will commit meaningful $s to TWTR."

Also worrying investors: the poor performance of direct response ads, which are designed to drive users to take an action, such as install an app.

PRESSURE ON DORSEY: Since Dick Costolo handed Twitter over to Dorsey in July, the stock has lost more than half its value.

Analysts have questioned whether Dorsey can juggle his dual role as CEO of Twitter and of digital payments start-up Square. They also say they want to see a turnaround vision from him.

"We believe the upcoming earnings conference call could be a 'seminal moment' for Jack Dorsey and the Twitter team," SunTrust Robinson Humphrey analyst Robert Peck wrote in a research report. "He must be able to give employees and Wall Street a reason to believe. Without this, the stock could continue to be under pressure."

Dorsey, who officially took over as CEO in October, has warned investors that changes would not come overnight. And Pachter says investors will give Dorsey more than four months to deliver. "But the impatience will start Wednesday if there is no strategy articulated," he said.

Specifically, investors want to know more about new products and features that have the potential to grow users and engagement and fulfill Dorsey's pledge of lifting Twitter out of its growth slump.

"Twitter needs to talk about the product road map and what Twitter is doing to make the service easier to use and understand and what is going to drive engagement further," Kessler said.

NEW FEATURES: Dorsey has encouraged his staff to question the fundamental features of the service including its 140-character limit and reverse chronological timeline. On Wednesday, Twitter unveiled an algorithmic-generated timeline that will show tweets out of order. Twitter says the new timeline offers a better experience for users who run the risk of missing the best tweets when they are away from the service, especially if they follow a lot of accounts. Longtime users have protested the new feature with the #RIPTwitter hashtag.

EXECUTIVE CHURN: Investors want commentary from Dorsey on executive turnover, reminiscent of his predecessor Costolo. In a single day in January, four executives left the company: Alex Roetter, Twitter's senior vice president of engineering; Kevin Weil, senior vice president of product; Katie Jacobs Stanton, vice president of global media; and Brian “Skip” Schipper, vice president of human resources. Dorsey has yet to name temporary replacements. Also departing that day was Jason Toff, the general manager of Vine who rejoined Google to work on virtual reality.

$3.5 BILLION IN CASH: The company ended the third quarter with $3.5 billion in cash and investments, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. If the company only burns $8.5 million a year in free cash — as it did the past 12 months — that's enough cash to last 412 years, USA TODAY reported. Kessler would like to see the company repurchase shares or make strategic acquisitions that could jumpstart growth now that valuations for tech start-ups have declined.

NEW BOARD MEMBERS: In October, Twitter appointed Omid Kordestani, Google’s former chief business officer, as executive chairman. Dorsey has said he would bring in more outside directors. Two new board members could be named as soon as Wednesday.

NEW EARNINGS FORMAT: Twitter will release an earnings letter rather than having  Dorsey and other executives make prepared remarks about the company's performance on the quarterly earnings call. Instead executives will take questions from analysts during the call and Periscope broadcast.

"Twitter is trying to do a better job of connecting with people by making it more Q&A oriented," Kessler said. "Twitter is about conversation. They are taking a similar approach with the call, letting the investing public drive the conversation, not Twitter. That's probably a good start."

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Sears to accelerate closings amid weak sales warnings

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Sears to accelerate closings amid weak sales warnings

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Sears plans to speed its store closings nationally and shed assets to try to turn around the company, the retailer said Tuesday, after reporting that fourth-quarter holiday season sales will fall short of expectations.

In Michigan, two stores slated to be shuttered -- a Sears in Ft. Gratiot Township and a Kmart in Ironwood -- remain on track to close in mid-March and mid-April, respectively.

Sears estimated sales at stores open at least a year fell 7.1% in the quarter the quarter that ended Jan. 30 at Sears and Kmart stores in the United States, as the company's apparel business was a drag on store performance.

As a result of its falling sales, Sears said it plans to accelerate 50 planned closures of unprofitable stores this year and look at other ways to cut costs by between $550 million and $650 million, including evaluating staffing levels.

Last month, the company confirmed that the Sears in the Thumb and the Kmart in the Upper Peninsula, will close as the struggling retailers tries to stay afloat by reducing costs. The nearly 100 people working in those two stores, which have started liquidation sales, are expected to lose their jobs.

Sears said it also will sell at least $300 million worth of additional assets in the first half of the year and is considering a sale of the Sears Auto Center business.

That will be on top of moves the company made last year to start selling off its significant real estate portfolio into a real estate investment trust in order to raise cash.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill.,-based retailer has been struggling for years to regain traction with customers, lured away by online retailers, more exciting apparel at brands such as Target and H&M and appliance deals at places like Lowe's and Home Depot. Its shares have lost roughly half their value in the past year.

The stock was down 4.4% in morning trading today.

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Businesses post more open jobs

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Businesses post more open jobs

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Reece Lightner fills out a job application for a server at a job fair held by The Genuine Hospitality Group, in Miami On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported job openings jumped 4.9 percent to 5.6 million, the most since July 2015.

Reece Lightner fills out a job application for a server at a job fair held by The Genuine Hospitality Group, in Miami On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported job openings jumped 4.9 percent to 5.6 million, the most since July 2015.

WASHINGTON – U.S. companies advertised more available jobs in December and more Americans quit, trends that could lift wages in the coming months.

The number of job openings jumped 4.9 percent to 5.6 million, the most since July 2015, the Labor Department said Tuesday. And quits increased 6.9 percent to nearly 3.1 million, the highest in more than nine years.

People typically quit for better-paying positions, so more quits are a sign that overall pay levels could increase. Employers have also struggled to fill many open jobs, which could push them to offer higher pay to attract workers.

The data comes after the government said last week that hiring had slowed sharply in January. Yet wages grew at a solid pace, and the unemployment rate fell to an eight-year low of 4.9 percent.

Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen has said that she monitors quits as a potential sign of an improving job market. More Americans quit when they either have new jobs or are confident they can find one.

Some economists were encouraged by the job openings report.

“Despite the turmoil in financial markets and increasing talk of recession, the labor market continues to improve and is moving toward full employment,” said Gus Faucher, senior economist at PNC Financial. “The tightening in the job market is pushing up wages, which in turn is supporting consumer spending.”

Other analysts worry that signs of an economic slowdown could soon catch up with the job market.

“As fate would have it, the job market may be feeling healthy, just as the rest of the economy is downshifting,” said Joe LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank.

U.S. manufacturing is shrinking in the face of slowing overseas growth and the stronger dollar, while measures of the service sector have also declined. The economy grew at just a 0.7 percent annual rate in the final three months of last year.

Tuesday’s figures also heighten the challenges facing Yellen as she considers whether the Fed should continue raising the short-term rate it controls, and when.

A lower unemployment rate, more quits and more job openings suggests employers are having a harder time keeping their employees and attracting new workers. Raising pay is one way to respond to those challenges.

Higher pay, in turn, could lift inflation, as companies raise prices to offset larger labor costs. That adds pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates.

At the same time, U.S. growth is slowing, as goods pile up on warehouse shelves and corporate profits have fallen. That has prompted many economists to forecast as few as one or two rate hikes this year, below the Fed’s own forecast of four increases.

The Fed increased its benchmark rate for the first time in nine years in December.

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Tech Stocks Have Fallen Faster and Further Than Broader Market

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Tech Stocks Have Fallen Faster and Further Than Broader Market

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Alphabet, the parent company of Google, added close to $10 billion to its $73 billion cash pile in the last three months of 2015. Its shares are down 11 percent this year, just a little more than the S.&P. 500.

SAN FRANCISCO — As the United States economy muddled along over the last few years, investors paid handsome sums to get in on high-flying technology companies that were among the few pockets of steady growth. Now comes the payback.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is down 9.4 percent this year. The index’s technology components are down about 12 percent, and the closely watched so-called FANG stocks — Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google — are down even further, falling 17 percent on average this year after an 83 percent rise in 2015.

“They go faster on the way up, they go faster on the way down. That’s about as simple as I can make it,” said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners.

Shares of Twitter, the popular social media service, for example, are down about 40 percent so far this year. And some analysts worry it could tumble even more after the company announces quarterly results Wednesday afternoon.

The overall market has been hit by a slowdown in China and a collapse in the price of oil prices and other commodities.

Many technology companies continue to produce strong profits, and for the most part they have strong balance sheets with lots of cash to fund future growth. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, for example, added close to $10 billion to its $73 billion cash reserve over the last year.

But since these companies’ shares are priced high relative to their profits — that is, because investors are willing to pay more now in hopes of getting in on future growth — they become more vulnerable when there is a broader market downturn.

“The market is doing a general sell-off, everybody is looking at things,” said Skip Aylesworth, portfolio manager of the Hennessy Technology Fund. “Tech stocks are pretty expensive, so they are more prone to correction.”

How F.A.N.G. Stocks Are Performing

Take, for instance, the price-to-earnings ratio of Amazon and Facebook. P/E, as stock analysts call it, is a measurement of a company’s stock price divided by earnings a share. For Amazon, that number is 388. Facebook? It’s 78. But for the whole S.&P. 500, it is a more modest 17.

Wage growth has been slow for years, but consumers always seemed to have enough for a new iPhone or to try out new gadgets like a FitBit, all while shifting more of their spending to online outlets like Amazon and Netflix. Businesses embraced cloud computing and bought ever more ads on Google and Facebook.

No doubt, technology stocks were to some extent being lifted by the same low interest rates that had propelled the broader stock market, but they also had good stories to tell their investors, as well as the numbers to back it up.

Now some investors are wondering how long they can keep it up in the face of slower growth. The economy ended last year on a whimper, expanding less than 1 percent for a number of reasons including weaker trade and falling business investment.

Worried about a broader slowdown, investors have become quick to punish any company that looks as if its upward trajectory is flattening out, particularly if that company looks susceptible to the decline in businesses spending.

That thinking helps explain big drops for LinkedIn, the business-focused social network, and Tableau Software, a maker of business software. Both companies have lost more than half their market value after weaker-than-expected revenue forecasts.

Shares of Salesforce, the cloud software company, have been caught in the undertow and are down close to 30 percent this year.

“People are starting to anticipate a slowdown in the U.S. economy, and a slowdown in related technology spending,” said Scott Kessler, an industry analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Still, with consumer spending and job growth remaining healthy, the market continues to give special consideration to consumer-focused companies that are making their numbers.

Facebook shares are down 5 percent this year, much better than the overall market, while Alphabet shares are down 11 percent, just a little more than the S&P 500.

Then there is Amazon, which has suffered from outsize expectations: The company had a strong holiday season and fourth-quarter revenue was up 22 percent, but that was less than Wall Street had expected, and the stock fell from levels that had been a record high.

Netflix also disappointed Wall Street with American subscriber growth that was lower than investors had hoped. The stock is down about 25 percent this year.

What is not yet clear is how the decline in public company shares will affect the herd of tech “unicorns,” or private companies worth more than $1 billion, like the ride-hailing service Uber. Whatever the result, it is unlikely to be good.

“That whole thing that you’re going to hide out from the volatility in the public market — this is where they are going to find out that’s not true,” said Roger McNamee, co-founder of Elevation Partners, a technology investment firm in Menlo Park, Calif.

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Don’t look now: $1 gas may be close

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Don’t look now: $1 gas may be close

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Gasoline prices may soon dip below $1 per gallon at some stations in the Midwest, putting the price of unleaded fuel in the same category as a pack of gum or a bag of pretzels from the vending machine.

"The cheapest gasoline prices in over 12 years are showing up in some lucky states in the heart of the nation, with previously unthinkable 99-cent gasoline becoming a strong possibility as wholesale gas prices plunge amidst growing supply," GasBuddy.com senior analyst Patrick DeHaan said in an email.

Prices have plunged to 12-year lows in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio and Kansas, according to GasBuddy.

To be sure, 99-cent gas "still will be isolated," DeHaan said — likely because of the highly regional nature of refining costs, oil inventories and shipping.

But the plunging price of gasoline is beginning to conjure nostalgic 20th Century memories of rock-bottom fill-ups at the corner station, where lollipops and licorice were also prized commodities.

For U.S. consumers, it's fantastic news, providing instant savings — particularly for low-income consumers for whom gas represents a high percentage of their budget.

The nationwide average is $1.721 per gallon as of 1:15 p.m., down 6.8 cents from a week ago, 25.6 cents from a month ago and 45.5 cents from a year ago.

But for oil companies, it's a mess, fueled principally by the global surplus in oil production.

The benchmark U.S. crude oil, known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), fell 3.2% in mid-day trading to $28.75. The global benchmark, Brent crude, fell 5.2% to $31.16. Both commodities traded below $30 simultaneously at one point in January, reaching lows not seen since 2003.

The stocks of Chevron, BP and Exxon Mobil slipped 4%, 3.3% and 1.8%, respectively, in afternoon trading Tuesday.

An International Energy Agency report released Tuesday projected a downturn in global oil demand growth in 2016 from a five-year high of 1.5 million barrels per day in 2015 to 1.2 million barrels per day, primarily because of economic sluggishness in Europe, China and the U.S.

Lower demand could exacerbate low prices. Compounding matters is that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased production in January by 280,000 barrels per day to 32.6 million.

"A sanctions-free Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq all turned up the taps," IEA reported.

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Viacom Chief Is Defensive on Its Weak Earnings

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Viacom Chief Is Defensive on Its Weak Earnings

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Viacom shares fell more than 21 percent after it reported a 10 percent drop in profits and a 6 percent drop in revenue in the quarter. Its chief executive blamed “a lot of noise” for the decline.

The turmoil engulfing Viacom deepened on Tuesday as weak earnings and continued concern over the company’s leadership sent shares down more than 21 percent, the lowest level in more than five years.

Still, the entertainment company’s top executive came out fighting, defending his recent promotion to the post of executive chairman.

Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom’s chief executive, challenged an analyst’s depiction of its “exceedingly poor performance” over the past several years. He attributed some of Viacom’s recent decline to “a lot of noise” around the company, and said that “no one should doubt his resolve” in resuscitating the company’s stock price.

“Our outlook and the facts have been distorted and obscured by the naysayers, self-interested critics and publicity seekers,” Mr. Dauman said in a conference call. “We will not be distracted or deterred as we build for the bright future ahead of us.”

Despite the combative rebuttal by the usually mild-mannered Mr. Dauman, Viacom’s weak quarterly results and bleak analyst forecasts undermined his arguments and turned off investors. Tuesday’s closing price of $32.86 was the lowest since July of 2010, and Viacom’s stock has fallen about 51 percent in the last year.

“For the last two years, Viacom has been the classic value trap – a stock with seemingly attractive valuation with arguably conservative earnings assumptions,” Michael Nathanson, a media analyst with MoffettNathanson, said in a research note titled “Huis Clos,” the French title of Jen-Paul Sartre’s existentialist play “No Exit.”

“However,’’ he continued, “fast forward to today and it’s clear that the stock was cheap for a reason after further significant earnings cuts. We have clearly put too much trust in the old playbook; the game has changed.”

Viacom reported earnings during a major shake-up — and a looming power struggle — at the very top of the company, which includes the MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon cable television networks and the Paramount Pictures studio.

Last week, the ailing 92-year-old media mogul Sumner M. Redstone resigned as executive chairman of the company (while also yielding the executive chairman’s post at CBS). The Viacom board named Mr. Dauman his successor. Yet Mr. Redstone’s daughter, Shari Redstone, did not support Mr. Dauman’s appointment, and other shareholders have voiced concerns about Mr. Dauman’s ability to lead the company.

“I don’t think there was anything in his remarks that would give shareholders confidence that Viacom is any closer to a turnaround today than they were yesterday or a year ago,” Eric Jackson, an activist investor with SpringOwl Asset Management, said on Tuesday. “I think the stock reaction this morning reflects the same.”

During the call on Tuesday, Mr. Dauman called Mr. Redstone his “colleague, mentor and friend” and thanked him for “his vision, his guidances and his inspiration.” He said the two had more than a 30-year history building Mr. Redstone’s media empire.

“He and the board of Viacom believing in my abilities and my character have entrusted me with weighty responsibilities, none of which are inconsistent or incompatible,” Mr. Dauman said.

“They know our operational plans,” he added, referring to board members. “They endorsed them, they have confidence in them and I will repay back that confidence by producing the results without shirking our obligation to make the changes that are necessary to make Viacom the leading content company of the future.”

Mr. Redstone, who Viacom executives said listened to the call from Los Angeles, continues to hold about 80 percent of the voting stock in Viacom and CBS through his theater chain company, National Amusements. Mr. Redstone’s stake in National Amusements is to be held by a trust after he dies or is found to be incapacitated, in which case voting control passes to seven trustees, including Mr. Dauman and Ms. Redstone, setting up a potential showdown over who will lead the company into the future.

Viacom’s results for the three months that ended Dec. 31, the company’s first fiscal quarter, were dragged down by weak results across its television and film groups.

Quarterly profit was $449 million, or $1.13 a share, compared with $500 million, or $1.20 a share, during the same period the previous year.

Total revenue fell 6 percent to nearly $3.2 billion compared with the year-earlier period.

Revenue in the company’s media networks segment, which includes its TV networks, dipped 3 percent to $2.57 billion because of declines in advertising sales in the United States and internationally. Negative foreign exchange effects also affected results.

Domestic advertising sales declined 4 percent, and ratings declines at some networks offsetting price increases. The results represented a sequential improvement from the previous quarter, when domestic advertising sales declined 9 percent. During a conference call in November, Mr. Dauman said that the company expected continued improvement in domestic advertising sales in the next quarter and year.

In addition to turmoil over succession, another major issue affecting Viacom’s stock has been the company’s discussions to reach a carriage renewal with Dish Network, the satellite provider. Mr. Dauman said Tuesday that Viacom had entered into a short-term extension with Dish while it worked out the details of a long-term renewal.

The company reduced expectation for growth in affiliate revenue — the money it receives from cable, satellite and other digital distributors — to the “low mid-single-digit range” after previously stating that it would be in the high single digits. Several factors were responsible, including the company’s recent agreement with AT&T.

Also on Tuesday, Viacom announced a partnership with Snapchat, the ephemeral messaging app. As part of the deal, Viacom has the right to sell Snapchat’s owned and operated advertising space in the United States, expanding the digital offerings it peddles to television advertisers. The agreement also includes creating new channels on Snapchat’s Discovery platform for Comedy Central International and MTV in the United States.

Mr. Dauman said the Snapchat deal and other similar deals still to come should help the company revitalize its brands and “move into the future.”

Todd Juenger, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein, said the Snapchat partnership carried its own risks. Snapchat does not provide affiliate fees, and if teenagers watch MTV on Snapchat, there will be fewer affiliate fees and advertising sales from traditional television, he said.

“We continue to hold the view that the old business of serving kids/teens with linear TV networks is doomed, and the new business of serving kids/teens with on-demand, digitally delivered entertainment is unlikely to be won by Viacom,” Mr. Juenger said in a research note. “We don’t believe this morning’s Snapchat deal changes that.”

In Viacom’s filmed entertainment segment, revenue plunged 15 percent to $612 million in the quarter, with a decline in theatrical and home entertainment sales offset by an increase in licensing fees. Worldwide theatrical revenue declined $75 million in the quarter, largely because of a tough comparison to the previous year, when the company benefited from the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” The results also were affected by the adverse impact of foreign exchange.

Mr. Dauman has said that Paramount’s output would increase to a 15-film slate in the current fiscal year, including Ben Stiller’s “Zoolander 2,” “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” starring Tina Fey, and J.J. Abrams’s “10 Cloverfield Lane.”


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ES Morning Update February 10th 2016

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ES Morning Update February 10th 2016

 

288104bf-6162-4fdd-9728-ae1530e7578bFalling trendline of resistance for the ES Futures

Rising trendline of support and horizontal zone needs to hold for the bulls

MACD's on this 60 minute chart suggest an early pullback but the 6 hour chart still has room to go up more.

Today and tomorrow Janet Yellen will be speaking before the house and senate.  In the past every time she spoke after an FOMC meeting the market tanked.  Traders are likely to expect the same this time, but considering how much we've already sold off you have think that this time will result in something different.  Possible another dip and then rip, or just nothing... hard to say.  Chartwise we should start a rally here that could last for several weeks.  Wave count wise it looks unfinished on the downside, suggesting a wave 5 down to complete the pattern.  This Thursday/Friday is where the market usually puts in a low before the monthly option expiration week, which is usually bullish.  Possibly it flips this time and puts in a high and then sells off early next week?

The weekly chart is still very ugly and shows no signs of turning back up, but the daily suggests we go up for awhile to work off the oversold conditions on it.  For now it's best to just play this one day at a time.  I'm looking for support to hold on a pullback today and a move up toward the falling trendline of resistance later today and possibly into tomorrow.  From there the various time frame charts will likely all be overbought again, which could still lead to that late Thursday or Friday low.  There's no trend here that I can see, just a lot of chop.  We could continue that for another week or more with wild up's and down's as we work off the oversold conditions to setup another big move down.  How high could it go?  I wish I knew but I don't.

European banks uneasy over deeper negative interest rates

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European banks uneasy over deeper negative interest rates

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European Central Bank President Mario Draghi addresses the European Parliament during a debate on the ECB Annual Report for 2014, in Strasbourg, France, February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Vincent KesslerMario Draghi addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg earlier this month

This year’s rout of European bank stocks has raised concern about how far below zero the European Central Bank can cut interest rates without inflicting too much damage on lenders’ profits.

The pledge by Mario Draghi, ECB president, in late January to “review and possibly reconsider” his central bank’s policy stance ratcheted up expectations of further loosening. In recent weeks, more action has become a near certainty as a host of factors have conspired to darken the economic mood in Europe.

IN EU Economy

The diminishing prospect of a rate rise in the US any time soon has strengthened the euro against the dollar. A stronger currency makes the ECB’s task of hitting its inflation target of just below 2 per cent more difficult because it lowers the cost of goods imported into the region. Market expectations of the ECB hitting its target five years from now have weakened, while inflation looks set to dip back into negative territory in the coming months.

A sharp, unexpected fall in German industrial output in December and weak trade figures have highlighted the risk that the eurozone’s recovery may not be as strong as surveys have suggested. Analysts expect GDP figures out on Friday to show growth failed to pick up in the final quarter of last year. Unchanged growth of 0.3 per cent is the average forecast.

“Europe’s not in a recession, but expectations about how strong the recovery is need to come back to reality. Growth isn’t as strong as Europeans think it is,” said Richard Barwell, economist at BNP Paribas Investment Partners. “They still have plenty of ammunition left to fire, but there is an argument to say that the ECB can’t do much more by cutting rates.”

The deposit rate charged on banks’ reserves parked in the coffers of the ECB has, along with quantitative easing, become one of the most important pillars of eurozone monetary policy.

Europe’s not in a recession, but expectations about how strong the recovery is need to come back to reality. Growth isn’t as strong as Europeans think it is- Richard Barwell

In December last year, the deposit rate was lowered to minus 0.3 per cent and another cut of at least 10 basis points is tipped for March.

Negative deposit rates are supposed to complement QE by forcing banks to seek out riskier lending opportunities and assets to compensate for losses on their interest rate margin. This so-called “portfolio rebalancing effect” helps spur growth by providing funds to credit-starved parts of the region and lowering the cost of borrowing for riskier sovereigns and companies. Negative rates are also viewed as one of the most effective ways to weaken the euro.

Nevertheless, views among policymakers on how low rates should fall are mixed.

Minutes of the ECB’s December vote show some of the policy makers who opposed further asset purchases under QE would have supported a deeper 20 basis-point cut in the deposit rate, to minus 0.4 per cent.

But policymakers have also expressed concern about the impact of negative rates on banks’ profitability. Lenders have been reluctant to pass on the costs of negative rates to customers and have taken almost all of the hit.

Research by the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel-based central bankers’ bank, suggests the impact on profitability becomes more drastic over time as short-term benefits, such as lower rates of loan defaults, diminish.

This topic of negative rates and banks’ profitability certainly seems to be at the forefront of investors’ minds. Some policymakers clearly think there is room to cut rates. But there may be some nervousness about going more negative- Nick Matthews

The recent dip in eurozone banks’ shares partly reflects fears over the impact of further rate cuts. Deutsche Bank, one of the lenders worst affected by the fall in bank stocks, has argued that rather than prompting banks to take on more risk, negative rates have had the opposite effect by pushing investors into bonds at the expense of equities.

“In light of recent developments, this topic of negative rates and banks’ profitability certainly seems to be at the forefront of investors’ minds,” said Nick Matthews, economist at Nomura. “Some policymakers clearly think there is room to cut rates. But there may be some nervousness about going more negative.”

Serious discussions among the governing council about what the ECB will do on March 10 are unlikely to begin until later this month. One option is for the ECB to follow the Bank of Japan and introduce a tiered deposit rate system to protect banks from losing money on most of their reserves. That would, however, reduce pressure on banks to invest in riskier assets.

“It’s not an easy situation, that’s for sure,” said Dirk Schumacher, economist at Goldman Sachs. “You could introduce a tiered rate system, but then you are potentially undermining the portfolio rebalancing effect. It’s hard to say what the final conclusion will be.”
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Don’t look now: $1 gas may be close

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Don’t look now: $1 gas may be close

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Gasoline prices may soon dip below $1 per gallon at some stations in the Midwest, putting the price of unleaded fuel in the same category as a pack of gum or a bag of pretzels from the vending machine.

"The cheapest gasoline prices in over 12 years are showing up in some lucky states in the heart of the nation, with previously unthinkable 99-cent gasoline becoming a strong possibility as wholesale gas prices plunge amidst growing supply," GasBuddy.com senior analyst Patrick DeHaan said in an email.

Prices have plunged to 12-year lows in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana, Ohio and Kansas, according to GasBuddy.

To be sure, 99-cent gas "still will be isolated," DeHaan said — likely because of the highly regional nature of refining costs, oil inventories and shipping.

But the plunging price of gasoline is beginning to conjure nostalgic 20th Century memories of rock-bottom fill-ups at the corner station, where lollipops and licorice were also prized commodities.

For U.S. consumers, it's fantastic news, providing instant savings — particularly for low-income consumers for whom gas represents a high percentage of their budget.

The nationwide average is $1.721 per gallon as of 1:15 p.m., down 6.8 cents from a week ago, 25.6 cents from a month ago and 45.5 cents from a year ago.

But for oil companies, it's a mess, fueled principally by the global surplus in oil production.

The benchmark U.S. crude oil, known as West Texas Intermediate (WTI), fell 3.2% in mid-day trading to $28.75. The global benchmark, Brent crude, fell 5.2% to $31.16. Both commodities traded below $30 simultaneously at one point in January, reaching lows not seen since 2003.

The stocks of Chevron, BP and Exxon Mobil slipped 4%, 3.3% and 1.8%, respectively, in afternoon trading Tuesday.

An International Energy Agency report released Tuesday projected a downturn in global oil demand growth in 2016 from a five-year high of 1.2 million barrels per day in 2015 to 1.2 million barrels per day, primarily because of economic sluggishness in Europe, China and the U.S.

Lower demand could exacerbate low prices. Compounding matters is that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased production in January by 280,000 barrels per day to 32.6 million.

"A sanctions-free Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq all turned up the taps," IEA reported.

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Viacom, in Midst of Leadership Shake-Up, Reports Drop in Profit

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Viacom, in Midst of Leadership Shake-Up, Reports Drop in Profit

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Viacom’s headquarters in New York. The company’s total revenue fell 6 percent last quarter.

Viacom reported on Tuesday that its profit plunged 10 percent and revenue fell 6 percent during the latest quarter. Still, the entertainment company’s top executive came out fighting.

Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom’s chief executive, defended his recent promotion to executive chairman of the company and challenged an analyst’s depiction of its “exceedingly poor performance” over the last several years. He blamed some of Viacom’s recent decline on “a lot of noise” around the company, and said that “no one should doubt” his resolve in resuscitating the company’s stock price.

“Our outlook and the facts have been distorted and obscured by the naysayers, self-interested critics and publicity seekers,’’ Mr. Dauman said during a conference call. “We will not be distracted or deterred as we build for the bright future ahead of us.”

The combative statements delivered by the usually calm and mild-mannered Mr. Dauman, along with Viacom’s weak results, heightened the tension surrounding the company. Shares in Viacom fell as much as 15 percent during morning trading on Tuesday. Viacom’s stock has fallen about 47 percent in the last year.

Viacom reported earnings during a major shake-up — and a looming power struggle — at the very top of the company, which includes the MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon cable television networks and the Paramount Pictures studio.

Last week, the ailing 92-year old media mogul Sumner M. Redstone resigned as executive chairman of the company (while also yielding the executive chairman’s post at CBS). The board named Mr. Dauman his successor. Yet Mr. Redstone’s daughter, Shari Redstone, did not support Mr. Dauman’s appointment, and other shareholders have voiced concerns about Mr. Dauman’s ability to lead the company.

“I don’t think there was anything in his remarks that would give shareholders confidence that Viacom is any closer to a turnaround today than they were yesterday or a year ago,” Eric Jackson, an activist investor with SpringOwl Asset Management, said on Tuesday. “I think the stock reaction this morning reflects the same.”

During the call on Tuesday, Mr. Dauman called Mr. Redstone his “colleague, mentor and friend” and thanked him for “his vision, his guidances and his inspiration.” He said the two had more than a 30-year history building Mr. Redstone’s media empire.

“He and the board of Viacom believing in my abilities and my character have entrusted me with weighty responsibilities, none of which are inconsistent or incompatible,” Mr. Dauman said.

“They know our operational plans,” he added, referring to board members. “They endorsed them, they have confidence in them and I will repay back that confidence by producing the results without shirking our obligation to make the changes that are necessary to make Viacom the leading content company of the future.’’

Mr. Redstone, who Viacom executives said listened to the call from Los Angeles, continues to hold about 80 percent of the voting stock in Viacom and CBS through his theater chain company, National Amusements. Mr. Redstone’s stake in National Amusements is to be held by a trust after he dies or is found to be incapacitated, in which case voting control passes to seven trustees, including Mr. Dauman and Ms. Redstone, setting up a potential showdown over who would lead the company into the future.

Viacom’s results for the three months that ended Dec. 31, the company’s first fiscal quarter, were dragged down by weak results across its television and film groups.

Quarterly profit was $449 million, or $1.13 a share, compared with $500 million, or $1.20 a share, during the same period the previous year.

Total revenue fell 6 percent to nearly $3.2 billion compared with the year-earlier period.

Revenue in the company’s media networks segment, which includes its TV networks, dipped 3 percent to $2.57 billion because of declines in advertising sales in the United States and internationally. Negative foreign exchange effects also affected results.

Domestic advertising sales declined 4 percent, with ratings declines at some networks offsetting price increases. The results represented a sequential improvement from the previous quarter, when domestic advertising sales declined 9 percent. During a conference call in November, Mr. Dauman said that the company expected continued improvement in domestic advertising sales in the next quarter and year.

In addition to turmoil over succession, another major issue affecting Viacom’s stock has been the company’s discussions to reach a carriage renewal with Dish Network, the satellite provider. Mr. Dauman said Tuesday that Viacom had entered into a short-term extension with Dish while it worked out the details of a long-term renewal.

The company reduced expectation for growth in affiliate revenue — the money it receives from cable, satellite and other digital distributors — to the “low mid-single-digit range” after previously stating that it would be in the high single digits. Several factors were responsible, including the company’s recent agreement with AT&T.

“While ad trends and ratings are likely to improve, all eyes remain focused on the looming Dish affiliate fee renewal and headlines about Redstone family dynamics,” Michael Nathanson, a media analyst with MoffettNathanson, said in a research note.

Also on Tuesday, Viacom announced a partnership with Snapchat, the ephemeral messaging app. As part of the deal, Viacom has the right to sell Snapchat’s owned and operated advertising space in the United States, expanding the digital offerings it peddles to television advertisers. The agreement also includes creating new channels on Snapchat’s Discovery platform for Comedy Central International and MTV in the United States.

Mr. Dauman said the Snapchat deal and other similar deals still to come should help the company revitalize its brands and “move into the future.”

Todd Juenger, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein, said the Snapchat partnership carried its own risks. Snapchat does not provide affiliate fees, and if teens watch MTV on Snapchat, there will be fewer affiliate fees and advertising sales from traditional television, he said.

“We continue to hold the view that the old business of serving kids/teens with linear TV networks is doomed, and the new business of serving kids/teens with on-demand, digitally delivered entertainment is unlikely to be won by Viacom,” Mr. Juenger said in a research note. “We don’t believe this morning’s Snapchat deal changes that.”

In Viacom’s filmed entertainment segment, revenue plunged 15 percent to $612 million in the quarter, with a decline in theatrical and home entertainment sales offset by an increase in licensing fees. Worldwide theatrical revenue declined $75 million in the quarter, largely because of a tough comparison to the previous year, when the company benefited from the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” The results also were affected by the adverse impact of foreign exchange.

Mr. Dauman has said that Paramount’s output would increase to a 15-film slate in the current fiscal year, including Ben Stiller’s “Zoolander 2,” “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” starring Tina Fey, and J.J. Abrams’s “10 Cloverfield Lane.”


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Sears warns Q4 worse than expected, accelerates store closures

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Sears warns Q4 worse than expected, accelerates store closures

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Sears (SHLD) will accelerate planned store closures and continue to purge other assets to keep its business turnaround afloat after reporting Tuesday that the holiday season will fall short of expectations.

Sears expects sales to come to $7.3 billion for the quarter ended Jan. 30, compared with $8.0 billion in the year-ago quarter and below analyst estimates for $7.4 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Sears reports fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 25.

Sears estimates sales at stores open at least a year, a key measure for retailers, fell 7.1% in the quarter at Sears and Kmart U.S. stores as the company's apparel business dragged down store performance. The company attributed its weak showing to unseasonably warm weather and "intense competition."

As a result of its falling sales, Sears plans to speed up 50 planned closures of unprofitable stores this year and look at other ways to cut costs by between $550 million and $650 million, including evaluating staffing levels. The company has not disclosed which stores are set to close.

Sears will also sell at least $300 million worth of additional assets in the first half of the year and is considering a sale of the Sears Auto Center business. That will be on top of moves the company made last year to start selling off its significant real estate portfolio into a real estate investment trust in order to raise cash.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill.,-based retailer has been struggling for years to regain traction with customers who no longer feel compelled to walk through the door, lured away by online retailers, more exciting apparel at brands such as Target and H&M and appliance deals at places like Lowe's and Home Depot. Its shares have lost roughly half their value in the past year. The stock was down 4.4% in morning trading Tuesday.

Sears has been heavily pushing a transformation toward what it calls a "member-centric" model based on a loyalty program and more personalized promotions for customers. In today's announcement, the company also said it plans to improve its apparel offering with changes to product sourcing, assortment and pricing.

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NC regulator fines Duke Energy nearly $7 million for coal ash spill – Winston-Salem Journal

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NC regulator fines Duke Energy nearly $7 million for coal ash spill – Winston-Salem Journal

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RALEIGH — North Carolina environmental regulators say they're fining the country's largest electric company nearly $7 million for pollution related to a big spill of liquefied coal ash in 2014.

The Department of Environmental Quality said Tuesday that Duke Energy's $6.6 million fine is for violations surrounding the February 2014 coal ash spill at the company's Dan River power plant in Eden.

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Goodyear Says Results are Outstanding Despite 4Q Loss

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Goodyear Says Results are Outstanding Despite 4Q Loss

[ad_1]"We delivered 18% growth in full-year segment operating income," says Kramer.Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. posted net income of nearly $307 million on net sales of 16.4 billion for fiscal 2015 ended Dec. 30, 2015. That compares to income of $2.4 billion on sales of $18.1 billion for fiscal 2014.

Segment operating income increased 18%, from $1.7 billion to $2 billion. The company's net income-to-sales ratio was 1.8%.

"I’m extremely pleased with our outstanding results as we delivered 18% growth in full-year segment operating income, exceeding $2 billion for the first time in our 117-year history,” says Richard Kramer, chairman and CEO. “Our success has enabled us to execute on all facets of our capital allocation plan, delivering long-term shareholder value."

On a general accepted accounting principles basis, Goodyear’s 2015 adjusted net income, excluding certain significant items, most notably the deconsolidation of the company's Venezuelan subsidiary, was $906 million. (The deconsolidation also affected fourth-quarter results.) Full-year 2015 adjusted net income was also impacted by $165 million of U.S. tax expense following the release of the company’s U.S. tax valuation allowance.

Tire unit volumes totaled 166.2 million, up 3% from 2014, due in part to the acquisition of Nippon Goodyear Ltd. in Japan. Replacement tire shipments were up 2%. Original equipment unit volume was up 3%.

Fourth-quarter results

Goodyear recorded a net loss of $380 million on net sales of $4.1 billion for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 30, 2015. That compares to on sales of $4.4 billion in 4Q 2014. Goodyear says sales were impacted by $339 million in unfavorable foreign currency translation.

Fourth-quarter segment operating income was $476 million, up nearly 33% from the previous year. Goodyear says the increase was driven by favorable price/mix net of raw materials and higher volume, partially offset by cost inflation and unfavorable foreign currency translation.

Tire unit volumes totaled 42.1 million, up 7% from 2014. Replacement tire shipments were up 9%, while OE unit volume was up 2%.

"Fourth-quarter earnings grew 16% in our North America business and 20% in Asia Pacific, both records," says Kramer. "Earnings in Europe, Middle East and Africa recovered in the quarter despite a challenging environment.

"Our record results reflect strong demand for our high-value-added Goodyear-brand tires and our focus on capturing the value of these products in the marketplace.”

Shareholder Return

Goodyear's board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 7 cents per share payable March 1, 2016, to shareholders of record on February 1, 2016. The company paid a quarterly dividend of 7 cents per share of common stock on Dec. 1, 2015.

As a part of its previously announced $450 million share repurchase program, the company repurchased 3 million shares of its common stock for $100 million during the fourth quarter.

On February 4, 2016, the company’s board of directors authorized a $650 million increase in the share repurchase program, bringing the total to $1.1 billion.

Goodyear says its record performance has resulted in "significant stock price appreciation during the three-year period ended Dec. 31, 2015." The company’s total shareholder return over this period totaled nearly 175%.

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CVS Health fourth-quarter profit, revenue rise

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CVS Health fourth-quarter profit, revenue rise

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GTY 477244346 A CGO FIN HTH MEC USA CA

Drug-store giant CVS Health's fourth-quarter net income rose 13% to $1.5 billion and its net revenue rose 11% to $41.1 billion, compared to the same period a year earlier.

The company's fourth-quarter earnings per share, excluding one-time items, were $1.53, equaling S&P Global Market Intelligence estimates.

CVS got a revenue boost from the completion in August of its acquisition of pharmacy services provider Omnicare.

But sales at the company's drug stores open at least a year — often used as a gauge to track a retailer's health — rose 1.7% for the full year and 3.5% for the quarter.

For the full year, same-store drug sales rose 4.5% while retail sales, known as front-end store products, fell 5% primarily because of the company discontinued the sale of tobacco products.

For the quarter, same-store drug sales rose 5% while retail sales declined 0.5%.

"We enjoyed a successful year in 2015, highlighted by excellent performance across our enterprise and two key acquisitions that support our strategy for growth," CVS CEO Larry Merlo said in a statement. "Overall, our leadership in multiple competencies enables us to provide superior value for patients, payors, and providers. We firmly believe that we have the right strategy for success in the evolving health care marketplace.”

The company now operates 9,655 stores after its $1.9 billion acquisition of big-box chain Target's 1,672 in-store pharmacies, a deal completed in December. CVS plans to renovate and rebrand those locations over the next six to eight months.

Excluding the Target locations, CVS opened 53 new stores in the fourth quarter and closed 19.

The company's pharmacy services segment posted increases in operating profit and revenue to $1.2 billion and $26.5 billion, respectively. The retail and long-term care division recorded increases in operating profit and revenue to $2.1 billion and $19.9 billion, respectively.

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Waste Connections Tops Q4 Expectations, Guides in Line for 2016 Revenue (NYSE:WCN)

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Waste Connections Tops Q4 Expectations, Guides in Line for 2016 Revenue (NYSE:WCN)

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Waste Connections Inc

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) reported Q4 revenue of $532 million, better than the analyst consensus of $525 million on Capital IQ. Adjusted earnings were $0.49 per share, vs. expectations of $0.47 per share. For the full year 2016, the company expects revenue of $2.20 to $2.22 billion, in line with the Street view of $2.21 billion.

The stock decreased 1.91% or $1.11 during the last trading session, hitting $57.09. About 1.17M shares traded hands. Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has risen 23.12% since July 2, 2015 and is uptrending. It has outperformed by 32.60% the S&P500.

Waste Connections, Inc., an integrated municipal solid waste (MSW) services company, provides solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services primarily in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Western, Central, Eastern, and Exploration and Production (E&P). It offers collection services to residential, commercial, industrial, and E&P customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, office paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.

The company also owns and operates transfer stations that receive compact and load waste to be transported to landfills or treatment facilities via truck, rail, or barge; and intermodal services for the rail haul movement of cargo and solid waste containers in the Pacific Northwest through a network of intermodal facilities. In addition, it provides E&P waste treatment, recovery, and disposal services for waste resulting from oil and natural gas exploration and production activity, such as drilling fluids, drill cuttings, completion fluids, and flowback water; production wastes and produced water during a well’s operating life; contaminated soils that require treatment during site reclamation; and substances that require clean-up after a spill, reserve pit clean-up, or pipeline rupture. Further, the company provides container and chassis sales and leasing services to its customers. As of December 31, 2014, it owned or operated a network of 148 solid waste collection operations; 69 transfer stations; 7 intermodal facilities; 35 recycling operations; 58 active MSW, E&P, and/or non-MSW landfills; 22 E&P liquid waste injection wells; 17 E&P waste treatment and recovery facilities; 20 oil recovery facilities; and 2 development stage landfills. Waste Connections, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

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Zenefits CEO Parker Conrad Out Amid Compliance Concerns

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Zenefits CEO Parker Conrad Out Amid Compliance Concerns

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There’s a big shuffle happening at Zenefits today — with Zenefits CEO Parker Conrad exiting the company and COO David Sacks taking over. Conrad is also stepping down as a director of the company.

In an email to employees, Sacks noted that compliance issues that have plagued the company contributed to Conrad’s exit. Zenefits has hit significant turbulence, including missing revenue targets according to a Wall Street Journal report, and also running into issues with regulators.

“I believe that Zenefits has a great future ahead, but only if we do the right things. We sell insurance in a highly regulated industry,” Sacks wrote in an email to employees. “In order to do that, we must be properly licensed. For us, compliance is like oxygen. Without it, we die. The fact is that many of our internal processes, controls, and actions around compliance have been inadequate, and some decisions have just been plain wrong. As a result, Parker has resigned.”

Zenefits has also added three new board members: Valor Equity Partners managing partner Antonio Gracias; TPG managing partner Bill McGlashan; and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.

Regulatory issues have plagued the company, as has been reported by BuzzFeed. Zenefits allowed unlicensed brokers to sell health insurance, leading to at least one commissioner to investigate the company in Washington State, according to a BuzzFeed report. Most recently, BuzzFeed reported 80 percent of the company’s deals in Washington State were done by unlicensed brokers.

“David is a strong leader who will take Zenefits to the next stage of development, as it evolves from a startup to a large-scale national leader,” Conrad said in a statement. “I am immensely proud of the organization we have built and the industrywide impact we’ve had but recognize that our company’s management infrastructure and policies haven’t kept pace with our meteoric growth. Elevating a strong management hand with successful experience and impeccable credentials is without a doubt in the best interests of the company at this time.”

The company also appointed Josh Stein, a former federal prosecutor and a VP of Legal, as Chief Compliance Officer. Stein will continue to oversee a review that Zenefits began last year to assess the company’s operations related to broker licensing and compliance, the company said.

Sacks, the former CEO of Yammer, is now in charge of another billion-plus-dollar company (with his last company selling to Microsoft for $1.2 billion). Zenefits previously raised $500 million at a $4.5 billion valuation largely on its highly aggressive revenue projections.

“In order to be a great company, integrity must be at the core of what we do. We must have integrity in our business practices, compliance obligations and internal processes,” Sacks wrote. “We must have integrity in our product. We must have integrity in our data and infrastructure. And we must have integrity in the way we treat each other.”

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Apollo Education Group, Owner of University of Phoenix, to Be Taken Private

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Apollo Education Group, Owner of University of Phoenix, to Be Taken Private

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A University of Phoenix campus in Philadelphia in 2004.

The troubled for-profit education company that owns the giant University of Phoenix agreed on Monday to be bought for $1.1 billion by a group of investors that includes a private equity firm with close ties to the Obama administration.

The university and its owner, the Apollo Education Group, have been subject to a series of state and federal investigations into allegations of shady recruiting, deceptive advertising and questionable financial aid practices.

In recent years, many for-profit educational institutions that have received billions of dollars in federal aid, including the University of Phoenix, have been pummeled by criticisms that they preyed upon veterans and low-income students, saddling them with outsize student loan debt and subpar instruction.

Moreover, at many of these schools, enrollment has been falling and profits shrinking, casting doubt on the future health of the industry.

The new owners, who said they are not relying on debt to pay for the acquisition, are promising to lead a clean-up of the for-profit education industry.

Vistria’s founder is Marty Nesbitt, one of President Obama’s closest friends and the chairman of the Obama Foundation. Mr. Nesbitt is also a longtime business partner of Penny Pritzker, the commerce secretary.

A Vistria partner and its chief operating officer, Tony Miller, was deputy secretary of the United States Department of Education between 2009 and 2013. He has been tapped to become the new chairman of Apollo Education Group in August, when the deal is scheduled to be completed.

The acquisition is subject to approval by both the Education Department and the accreditation group the Higher Learning Commission.

“For too long and too often, the private education industry has been characterized by inadequate student outcomes, overly aggressive marketing practices and poor compliance,” Mr. Miller said in a news release. “This doesn’t need to be the case.”

He said the University of Phoenix would operate “in a manner consistent with the highest ethical standards.”

But longtime critics of the for-profit education industry said that the new owners would find it difficult to balance the pursuit of such a high-minded approach with the challenge of reviving high profits for investors.

Barmak Nassirian, director of federal policy analysis at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, argued that the premium of roughly 30 percent that investors paid over the previous month’s weighted stock average would not seem to be justified by the company’s recent record of anemic earnings and worsening forecasts.

The company in January reported an operating loss for its most recent quarter of $45.2 million, compared to operating income of $64.2 million for the same quarter a year earlier. Excluding special items, income from continuing operations in the most recent quarter was $31.3 million, slipping from $49.9 million a year earlier.

The university has also had to contend with a shrinking number of campuses, layoffs and tumbling enrollment.

In Mr. Nassirian’s view, putting the company “back on steroids” would require the kind of “overpromising and under-delivering” that got the educational company in trouble in the first place. “I don’t know what kind of cold fusion in the kitchen sink they think they can pull off,” he said.

Under the terms of the agreement, the investor consortium would pay $9.50 a share in cash for the outstanding shares of the Apollo Education Group. Its shares closed at $6.95 on Friday.

As of Friday’s close, Apollo Education stock was down 73 percent in the last 12 months. Its market value on Friday was a little more than $700 million. A decade ago, its shares were worth as much as $80 each.

Apollo Education’s stock soared 24 percent to $8.62 at the close of regular trading Monday. Apollo Global fell 4.9 percent to $12.94.

With the publicly traded company going private in an all-cash deal, details on the company’s operations — and challenges — will be much harder to come by.

“The sale of Apollo Education Group under the terms reported today means that the largest for-profit college chain in America is essentially going dark,” Senator Richard Durbin, a Democrat of Illinois, said. “We’ll know less than ever about the operations of one of the most heavily subsidized universities in America.”

Previous reports with the S.E.C. have noted that the Federal Trade Commission is looking into whether the Apollo Education Group engaged in deceptive advertising, while the California attorney general’s office is undertaking a broad investigation, with particular reference to its dealings with members of the United States military and the California National Guard.

A Defense Department ban, prohibiting the company from recruiting on its military bases or gaining access to additional federal tuition assistance, was lifted last month. But the company will be under heightened scrutiny by the Pentagon for another year.

The University of Phoenix and the rest of the industry also will be subject to new federal regulations aimed at cracking down on abusive practices.

Acknowledging “unprecedented volatility within our industry,” Greg Cappelli, the Apollo Education Group’s chief executive, said the new structure offers the company the “flexibility and runway it needs to complete the transformational plan at University of Phoenix.”

The deal represents the end of the company’s control by the family of John G. Sperling, who founded the company in 1973 and oversaw its jaw-dropping growth. He died in 2014. His son, Peter Sperling, who is currently chairman, will be replaced by Mr. Miller.


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Yelp Earnings Out, CFO Steps Down

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Yelp Earnings Out, CFO Steps Down

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Yelp just released its financials for Q4 and full year 2015 with revenue of 153.7 million (up 40% year-over-year) for the quarter.

Cumulative reviews grew 34% to approximately 95 million. Local advertising accounts grew 32% to approximately 111,000.

CEO Jeremy Stoppelman said, “We are pleased with the progress we made on the key initiatives we set at the beginning of 2015. We have evolved to a mobile-centric company and have successfully completed our transition to a performance-based advertising business. In 2016, our priorities are to continue to build our core local advertising business, further increase engagement and awareness and grow transactions. With our rich, relevant review content and highly engaged consumer traffic, we are well-positioned to capture the enormous opportunity ahead of us.”

The company also announced that CFO Rob Krolik is stepping down.

“Rob has played a crucial role in Yelp’s successful transition from startup to public company, bringing his professionalism and experience to bear in setting Yelp on a firm financial foundation and headed in the right direction,” said Stoppelman. “I am grateful for his counsel, his leadership and work on our public offerings and five acquisitions, and his efforts in opening facilities around the world to accommodate our more than 4,000 employees. I will miss his passion for Yelp and wish him continued success in his next endeavor.”

“I am a strong believer in the power of Yelp to help consumers and local businesses alike, which is why it has been such a tremendous opportunity and privilege to serve as CFO,” said Krolik. “It’s been a rewarding experience taking Yelp public, diversifying our offerings through acquisitions, and seeing our team deliver significant and consistent revenue growth year after year. After almost five years with Yelp, I am ready to take some time off to spend more time with family, but expect us to seamlessly transition to a new chief financial officer in the meantime.”

Here’s the release in its entirety:

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the company that connects consumers with great local businesses, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2015.

Yelp logo. (PRNewsFoto)
  • Net revenue was $153.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, reflecting 40% growth over the fourth quarter of 2014.
  • Cash flow from operations was $3.8 million in the fourth quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $17.5 million.
  • Cumulative reviews grew 34% year over year to approximately 95 million.
  • App Unique Devices grew 38% year over year to approximately 20 million on a monthly average basis1.
  • Local advertising accounts grew 32% year over year to approximately 111,000.

Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2015 was ($22.2) million, or ($0.29) per share, compared to net income of $32.7 million, or $0.42 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2014. Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2015 included an income tax expense of $20.3 million due to the recording of a valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. Non-GAAP net income, which consists of net income excluding stock-based compensation, amortization and valuation allowance and release, was $9.0 million for the fourth quarter, or $0.11 per share, compared to $14.5 million, or $0.19 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Net revenue for the full year ended December 31, 2015 was $549.7 million, an increase of 46% compared to $377.5 million in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2015 was $69.1 million compared to $70.9 million for the prior year. Net loss for the full year ended December 31, 2015 was ($32.9) million, or ($0.44) per share, compared to a net income of $36.5 million, or $0.48 per share, in 2014. Non-GAAP net income for the full year ended December 31, 2015 was $28.9 million, or $0.37 per share, compared to $36.3 million, or $0.47 per share in 2014.

“We are pleased with the progress we made on the key initiatives we set at the beginning of 2015,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “We have evolved to a mobile-centric company and have successfully completed our transition to a performance-based advertising business. In 2016, our priorities are to continue to build our core local advertising business, further increase engagement and awareness and grow transactions. With our rich, relevant review content and highly engaged consumer traffic, we are well-positioned to capture the enormous opportunity ahead of us.”

“We delivered strong topline growth of 46% year over year as we surpassed half a billion dollars of revenue in 2015,” added Rob Krolik, Yelp’s chief financial officer.

Fourth Quarter Operating Summary

  • Local advertising revenue totaled $125.9 million, representing 35% growth compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.
  • Transactions revenue totaled $14.0 million, compared to $1.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, primarily due to the acquisition of Eat24 in the first quarter of 2015.
  • Brand advertising revenue totaled $7.1 million, representing an 18% decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Yelp has completed the phase out of its brand advertising product and will have no Brand advertising revenue in 2016.
  • Other revenue totaled $6.8 million which was flat compared to the fourth quarter of 2014.

Business Highlights

  • App engagement: Approximately 20 million unique devices accessed Yelp via the mobile app on a monthly average basis in the fourth quarter of 2015, an increase of 38% compared to the same period in 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2015, Yelp app users were more than 10 times as engaged as website users based on number of pages viewed.
  • Performance-based advertising: In 2015, Yelp completed its transition to a performance-based advertising business. As of the fourth quarter of 2015, 61% of local advertising revenue came from CPC advertisers, compared to 32% in the fourth quarter of 2014.
  • Eat24 & SeatMe: In 2015, Yelp acquired leading web and app-based online food ordering service Eat24. In the fourth quarter, Eat24 revenue growth accelerated, with revenue up approximately 80% compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2015, over 15 million diners were seated through SeatMe, an increase of approximately 120% over the fourth quarter of 2014.

CFO Transition

The company announced that chief financial officer Rob Krolik will be stepping down and departing the company in the coming months. Krolik, who joined the company in 2011, will continue as chief financial officer until the earlier of the date a replacement is hired and December 15, 2016, and will assist in the search and transition. The company intends to immediately begin a search for a new chief financial officer.

“Rob has played a crucial role in Yelp’s successful transition from startup to public company, bringing his professionalism and experience to bear in setting Yelp on a firm financial foundation and headed in the right direction,” said Jeremy Stoppelman. “I am grateful for his counsel, his leadership and work on our public offerings and five acquisitions, and his efforts in opening facilities around the world to accommodate our more than 4,000 employees. I will miss his passion for Yelp and wish him continued success in his next endeavor.”

“I am a strong believer in the power of Yelp to help consumers and local businesses alike, which is why it has been such a tremendous opportunity and privilege to serve as CFO,” said Krolik. “It’s been a rewarding experience taking Yelp public, diversifying our offerings through acquisitions, and seeing our team deliver significant and consistent revenue growth year after year. After almost five years with Yelp, I am ready to take some time off to spend more time with family, but expect us to seamlessly transition to a new chief financial officer in the meantime.”

Business Outlook

As of today, Yelp is providing its outlook for the first quarter and full year of 2016.

  • For the first quarter of 2016, net revenue is expected to be in the range of $154 million to $157 million, representing growth of approximately 31% compared to the first quarter of 2015 at the the midpoint. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $10 million to $12 million. Stock-based compensation is expected to be in the range of $19 million to $21 million, and depreciation and amortization is expected to be approximately 5% of revenue.
  • For the full year of 2016, net revenue is expected to be in the range of $685 million to $700 million, representing growth of approximately 26% compared to full year 2015 at the midpoint. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $90 million to $105 million. Stock-based compensation is expected to be in the range of $83 million to $87 million, and depreciation and amortization is expected to be approximately 5% of revenue.

Quarterly Conference Call

To access the call, please dial 1 (866) 776-8879, or outside the U.S. 1 (440) 996-5670, with Passcode 29597481, at least five minutes prior to the 1:30 p.m. PT start time.  A live webcast of the call will also be available at http://www.yelp-ir.com under the Events & Presentations menu.  An audio replay will be available between 4:00 p.m. PT February 8, 2016 and 11:59 p.m. PT February 15, 2016 by calling 1 (855) 859-2056 or 1 (800) 585-8367, with Passcode 29597481.  The replay will also be available on the Company’s website at http://www.yelp-ir.com.

About Yelp

Yelp Inc. (http://www.yelp.com) connects people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in San Franciscoin July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken hold in major metros across more than 30 countries. Approximately 20 million unique devices1 accessed Yelp via the Yelp app, approximately 75 million unique visitors visited Yelp via desktop computer2 and approximately 66 million unique visitors visited Yelp via mobile website3 on a monthly average basis during the fourth quarter of 2015. By the end of the same quarter, Yelpers had written approximately 95 million rich, local reviews, making Yelp the leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists.

1 Calculated as the number of unique devices accessing the app on a monthly average basis over a given three-month period, according to internal Yelp logs.

2 Calculated as the number of “users,” as measured by Google Analytics, accessing Yelp via desktop computer on an average monthly basis over a given three-month period.

3 Calculated as the number of “users,” as measured by Google Analytics, accessing Yelp via mobile website on a monthly average basis over a given three-month period.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes information relating to adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share, each of which the Securities and Exchange Commission has defined as a “non-GAAP financial measure.” Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share have been included in this press release because they are key measures used by Yelp management and board of directors to understand and evaluate core operating performance and trends, to prepare and approve its annual budget and to develop short- and long-term operational plans. The presentation of this financial information, which is not prepared under any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles, is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”).

Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net income have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of Yelp’s financial results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:

  • although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future, and adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net income do not reflect cash capital expenditure requirements for such replacements or for new capital expenditure requirements;
  • adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, Yelp’s working capital needs;
  • adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net income do not consider the potentially dilutive impact of equity-based compensation;
  • non-GAAP net income does not reflect the impact of the valuation allowance release in the fourth quarter of 2014 or the recording of the valuation allowance in the fourth quarter of 2015;
  • adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments that may represent a reduction in cash available to Yelp; and
  • other companies, including those in Yelp’s industry, may calculate adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net income differently, which reduces their usefulness as comparative measures.

Because of these limitations, you should consider adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per share alongside other financial performance measures, including various cash flow metrics, net income (loss) and Yelp’s other GAAP results. Additionally, Yelp has not reconciled its adjusted EBITDA outlook for the first quarter and full year 2016 to its net income (loss) outlook because it does not provide an outlook for other income (expense) and provision for income taxes, which are reconciling items between net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA. As items that impact net income (loss) are out of Yelp’s control and cannot be reasonably predicted, Yelp is unable to provide such an outlook. Accordingly, reconciliation to net income (loss) outlook for the first quarter and full year 2016 is not available without unreasonable effort. For a reconciliation of historical non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures, see the non-GAAP reconciliations included below in this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, the future performance of Yelp and its consolidated subsidiaries that are based on Yelp’s current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected financial results for the first quarter and full year 2016, Yelp’s priorities for 2016 and its ability to execute against those priorities, CFO transition and timing thereof, Yelp’s ability to improve its margins, Yelp’s ability to capture a meaningful share of the large local market, the future growth in Yelp revenue and continued investing by Yelp in its future growth, Yelp’s ability to drive daily usage and engagement (particularly on mobile), increase awareness of Yelp among consumers, and deliver value to local businesses, Yelp’s ability to increase transactions completed on its platform, Yelp’s ability to take advantage of trends toward app usage and native advertising and to become the leading destination for consumers connecting with great local businesses. Yelp’s actual results could differ materially from those predicted or implied and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: Yelp’s limited operating history in an evolving industry; Yelp’s ability to generate sufficient revenue to regain profitability, particularly in light of its significant ongoing sales and marketing expenses; Yelp’s ability to successfully manage acquisitions of new businesses, solutions or technologies, such as Eat24, and to integrate those businesses, solutions or technologies; Yelp’s reliance on traffic to its website from search engines like Google and Bing; Yelp’s ability to generate and maintain sufficient high quality content from its users; maintaining a strong brand and managing negative publicity that may arise; maintaining and expanding Yelp’s base of advertisers; changes in political, business and economic conditions, including any European or general economic downturn or crisis and any conditions that affect ecommerce growth; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Yelp’s  ability to deal with the increasingly competitive local search environment; Yelp’s need and ability to manage other regulatory, tax and litigation risks as its services are offered in more jurisdictions and applicable laws become more restrictive; the competitive and regulatory environment while Yelp continues to expand geographically and introduce new products and as new laws and regulations related to Internet companies come into effect; Yelp’s ability to timely upgrade and develop its systems, infrastructure and customer service capabilities. The forward-looking statements in this release do not include the potential impact of any acquisitions or divestitures that may be announced and/or completed after the date hereof.

More information about factors that could affect Yelp’s operating results is included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Yelp’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q at http://www.yelp-ir.com or theSEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to Yelp on the date hereof. Yelp assumes no obligation to update such statements.

Investor Relations Contact Information
Wendy Lim, Ronald Clark, Allie Dalglish
(415) 635-2412
ir@yelp.com

Media Contact Information
Shannon Eis
(415) 635-2478
seis@yelp.com
SOURCE Yelp Inc.

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ES Morning Update February 9th 2016

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ES Morning Update February 9th 2016

 

11041786-2e8a-4b55-9ea0-d508ca578ca1Falling trendline is strong resistance should the market turn back up today.

The line in the sand for the bulls to hold is this rising trendline.

MACD's on the this 2 hour chart still have room to go on the upside but the 6 hour chart has yet to turn back up.

Looking at the various time frame the market could be making a "higher low" today and then reverse back later in the day (it is "Turn-around Tuesday").  But this could also be a wave 4 up with the market completing its' wave 3 down at yesterdays' low.  This suggests a final wave 5 down to possibly the 1780 SPX area of support to complete the pattern from the 1940 area high.

It's too early to know which pattern will play out yet.  It's really about that rising support line... break it and it's likely a wave 5 down we are in.  Hold it and it's likely some kind of B wave down with the A up from the low yesterday into the close.  If this is the case then there should be a C up into a likely top "no later" then this Thursday.

This week is the week prior to the monthly option expiration week, which is always the 3rd week of every month.  It's common to put in a low on the Thurs/Fri of the week prior to that expiration... which is this week.  So, a low of some kind is expected by the end of this week... the question is, will it be a "higher low" or "lower low" then yesterday?

Yesterday we only hit a low of 1828 on the SPX and the next level of support below that was 1818 area, which is a double bottom basically (actual prior low was 1812).  That level would be the next level down should the rising support line break (and since it's so close to a double bottom from yesterday we'll lump that whole range in as the 1st level of support).  The 3rd level of support is the 1780 SPX area... 4th level 1730 area.

This early morning session should really be hard to figure out as the market will likely dance around the first support zone for quite awhile to tease both bulls and bears until it decides on the next move.  Unfortunately, I don't know what the plan is?  Odds are still good for that Thurs/Fri low and next week is usually bullish.  But right now, the bears have the bulls by the horns and they don't want to let go.

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