LOS ANGELES, Oct 13, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Walt Disney Co. said it would overhaul its 340 European and U.S. stores to include entertainment designed to keep customers shopping longer.
The company is considering a turnaround that includes pumping about $1 million into each store in part to have children eager to visit, play and linger in the same location as the retail outlet that sells toys, games, plush animals and other retail items.
"The world does not need another place to sell Disney merchandise -- this only works if it's an experience," said Jim Fielding, president of Disney Stores Worldwide, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Disney said it would begin the bold retail step -- pushing forward while many stores are retrenching -- in Southern California, Long Island and Madrid. It is also hoping to create a flagship store in Times Square in New York City, the newspaper said.
Disney plans to outfit stores with theaters for kids to select video clips to watch and install systems for kids to teleconference with Disney stars.
"It's time to take risks," Mr. Fielding said he told them. "When consumers are ready to spend again, we will be ready."
Copyright 2009 by United Press International
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Strategists turn global
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- With signs of growth convincingly returning to parts of the globe, some U.S. strategists are turning their attention overseas, either by raising their exposure to global equities or by focusing on U.S. firms with a large chunk of international revenues.
Standard & Poor's Equity Research, which late Wednesday raised its 12-month target on the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) to 1,150 from 1,100, also decided to recommend investors add their exposure to worldwide equities.
"We see equity prices benefiting from an expected gradual rise in global economic-growth projections, a further weakening of the U.S. dollar and the expectation of a continued improvement in corporate [earnings per share]," wrote Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at S&P, in a note.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) gained 72 points, or 0.8%, to 9,797. The S&P 500 rose 8 points, or 0.8%, to 1,066, while the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) advanced 18 points, or 0.9%, to 2,129.
Gains were fueled by aluminum-giant Alcoa Inc. (AA), often seen as a barometer of the economy, which kicked off the third-quarter earnings season by posting a surprise profit.
Alcoa's results were due to a mix of improved demand and aggressive cost cuts. Aluminum prices have risen since June and demand has ticked higher, mostly as China replenishes its stockpiles.
In its latest World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund projected the global economy would grow by 3.1% next year, up from its 2.5% forecast in July. Asia is expected to lead the recovery, with the region expected to grow by 2.8% this year and by 5.8% in 2010.
Among the S&P 500's 10 sectors, S&P recommends overweighting three sectors with high exposure to global growth, such as energy, materials and industrials.
BNY Convergex's chief market strategist Nicholas Colas believes that weakness in the dollar should now benefit the Dow industrials over the S&P 500, given the higher percentage of multinationals represented in the blue-chip average. See full story.
According to Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, U.S. firms increasingly are trying to find more revenues and earnings overseas, especially among emerging economies.
from MarketWatch
Standard & Poor's Equity Research, which late Wednesday raised its 12-month target on the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) to 1,150 from 1,100, also decided to recommend investors add their exposure to worldwide equities.
"We see equity prices benefiting from an expected gradual rise in global economic-growth projections, a further weakening of the U.S. dollar and the expectation of a continued improvement in corporate [earnings per share]," wrote Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at S&P, in a note.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) gained 72 points, or 0.8%, to 9,797. The S&P 500 rose 8 points, or 0.8%, to 1,066, while the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) advanced 18 points, or 0.9%, to 2,129.
Gains were fueled by aluminum-giant Alcoa Inc. (AA), often seen as a barometer of the economy, which kicked off the third-quarter earnings season by posting a surprise profit.
Alcoa's results were due to a mix of improved demand and aggressive cost cuts. Aluminum prices have risen since June and demand has ticked higher, mostly as China replenishes its stockpiles.
In its latest World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund projected the global economy would grow by 3.1% next year, up from its 2.5% forecast in July. Asia is expected to lead the recovery, with the region expected to grow by 2.8% this year and by 5.8% in 2010.
Among the S&P 500's 10 sectors, S&P recommends overweighting three sectors with high exposure to global growth, such as energy, materials and industrials.
BNY Convergex's chief market strategist Nicholas Colas believes that weakness in the dollar should now benefit the Dow industrials over the S&P 500, given the higher percentage of multinationals represented in the blue-chip average. See full story.
According to Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, U.S. firms increasingly are trying to find more revenues and earnings overseas, especially among emerging economies.
from MarketWatch
Sunday, October 4, 2009
American moguls could buy some of the world's economies
Castles in France. Islands in the Caribbean. Private jets. With a collective $1.27 trillion at their disposal, the members of The Forbes 400 could buy almost anything.
How about a country? A quick glance at the CIA Fact Book suggests the individual fortunes of many Forbes 400 members are as big as some of the world's economies.
Bill Gates, America's richest man with a net worth of $50 billion, has a personal balance sheet larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of 140 countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Bolivia and Uruguay. The Microsoft (MSFT) visionary's nest egg is just short of the GDP of Tanzania and Burma.
Warren Buffett, who lost $10 billion in the past 12 months and is this year's Forbes 400 biggest dollar loser, still has a fortune the size of North Korea's economy at $40 billion. (The Oracle of Omaha probably would steer clear of that investment, though.)
One Forbes 400 member does actually run a small chunk of a state in an official capacity: Mayor Michael Bloomberg. While he is busy serving as the chief executive of New York City and grappling with its sluggish economy, his own personal balance sheet -- amassed through financial information services and media company Bloomberg LP -- equals the value of all the goods and services produced in South Africa's Republic of Zambia's ($17.5 billion).
Some say that land developer Donald Bren, whose assets throughout the vicinity of Orange County, Calif., include 475 office buildings, 115 apartment communities, 41 retail centers, resort properties and new housing, runs Orange County -- he certainly owns most of it. And with a net worth of $12 billion, he could, in theory, buy Haiti's economy, too.
Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's $9 billion net worth is akin to the Bahamas' GDP ($9 billion). Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay (EBAY), the world's biggest auction marketplace, could theoretically control Somalia's market with his $5.5 billion fortune.
George Lucas, the famed Hollywood director behind the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and ILM, the world's most bankable special effects shop, has a $3 billion fortune, making him worth as much as the GDP of Guyana.
Hedge fund founder David Shaw's $2.5 billion net worth parallels Belize's marketplace.
Investor John Paulson amassed much of his fortune by exploiting the real estate bubble and shorting the subprime market in 2007. Today he has a net worth of $6.8 billion -- the equivalent of Montenegro's gross domestic product.
Although Eli Broad's fortune suffered because of AIG's (AIG) collapse last fall -- he's lost $1.3 billion in the last 12 months -- he still has a bank account that rivals Barbados' economy ($5.4 billion).
Forbes 400 members with net worths just under $1 billion still possess fortunes that could operate the economies of significant fractions of the globe. Gary Magness, who owns water rights in Colorado through his ranch holdings, has a net worth of $990 million, which barely exceeds Vanuatu's GDP ($988.5 million).
If this year's three poorest Forbes 400 members were to combine their wealth (a combined $2.9 billion), their amassed fortune would be worth more than the workings of Belize's entire economy.
from Forbes
How about a country? A quick glance at the CIA Fact Book suggests the individual fortunes of many Forbes 400 members are as big as some of the world's economies.
Bill Gates, America's richest man with a net worth of $50 billion, has a personal balance sheet larger than the gross domestic product (GDP) of 140 countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Bolivia and Uruguay. The Microsoft (MSFT) visionary's nest egg is just short of the GDP of Tanzania and Burma.
Warren Buffett, who lost $10 billion in the past 12 months and is this year's Forbes 400 biggest dollar loser, still has a fortune the size of North Korea's economy at $40 billion. (The Oracle of Omaha probably would steer clear of that investment, though.)
One Forbes 400 member does actually run a small chunk of a state in an official capacity: Mayor Michael Bloomberg. While he is busy serving as the chief executive of New York City and grappling with its sluggish economy, his own personal balance sheet -- amassed through financial information services and media company Bloomberg LP -- equals the value of all the goods and services produced in South Africa's Republic of Zambia's ($17.5 billion).
Some say that land developer Donald Bren, whose assets throughout the vicinity of Orange County, Calif., include 475 office buildings, 115 apartment communities, 41 retail centers, resort properties and new housing, runs Orange County -- he certainly owns most of it. And with a net worth of $12 billion, he could, in theory, buy Haiti's economy, too.
Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's $9 billion net worth is akin to the Bahamas' GDP ($9 billion). Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay (EBAY), the world's biggest auction marketplace, could theoretically control Somalia's market with his $5.5 billion fortune.
George Lucas, the famed Hollywood director behind the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and ILM, the world's most bankable special effects shop, has a $3 billion fortune, making him worth as much as the GDP of Guyana.
Hedge fund founder David Shaw's $2.5 billion net worth parallels Belize's marketplace.
Investor John Paulson amassed much of his fortune by exploiting the real estate bubble and shorting the subprime market in 2007. Today he has a net worth of $6.8 billion -- the equivalent of Montenegro's gross domestic product.
Although Eli Broad's fortune suffered because of AIG's (AIG) collapse last fall -- he's lost $1.3 billion in the last 12 months -- he still has a bank account that rivals Barbados' economy ($5.4 billion).
Forbes 400 members with net worths just under $1 billion still possess fortunes that could operate the economies of significant fractions of the globe. Gary Magness, who owns water rights in Colorado through his ranch holdings, has a net worth of $990 million, which barely exceeds Vanuatu's GDP ($988.5 million).
If this year's three poorest Forbes 400 members were to combine their wealth (a combined $2.9 billion), their amassed fortune would be worth more than the workings of Belize's entire economy.
from Forbes
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