Netflix may lose STARZ content....

After the bell, STARZ has announced that it will cease licensing content to Netflix at the end of its current deal in February, 2012.  I never did understand why STARZ would license their content to NFLX...especially at a set fee.  It only makes sense if STARZ receives some sort of royalties.

This is a HUGE loss for Netflix.  The stock is down 22 points postmarket to 209.

Market weakens ahead of Friday's jobs number...

No alarming selloffs, but traders lightened up on stocks as the day went on.

Closing numbers:

Dow -119 to 11493
Nas -33 to 2546
S&P -14 to 1204

Gold and Oil were basically unchanged.

A Tax on Fat People....

The country of Hungary introduces a "fat tax" on consumers buying food high in fat, salt and sugar in order to help cover health care costs. Der Spiegel reports the revenue-maker is also catching on with other European governments strapped for cash.

Maybe this would work for me...nah, probably not.

The coupon world has gone nuts!!!

I don't know if it's just me but I'm now getting an email about every five minutes having to do with coupons.
Groupon, Travelosity, Travelzoo, Amazon, Living Social are a few of the leading spammers.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Cosi close down...

Così, Inc. (NASDAQ: COSI - News), the restaurant company, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Chairman of the Board Mark Demilio, 55, as interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company following the resignation of James Hyatt, 54. Mr. Hyatt has resigned as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company and as a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately, to pursue another opportunity due to family considerations. He will remain an employee of the Company until September 23, 2011 in order to assist with the leadership transition.

Last Friday. the company received a delisting notice from Nasdaq.

The stock currently trades at 65 cents a share.  Here's the monthly chart showing the stock since it went public in 2004:

Mortgage Rates still low....

Mortgages rates remain near historic lows, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year fixed stayed level at 4.22%, and the 15-year fixed dropped 5 bps to 3.39%.

Chrysler outsells Toyota....

New Auto sales just out and Chrysler has outsold Toyota for the 3rd time in 4 months.

I have to say that I recently rented a Dodge Avenger (not by choice)...and I was impressed...nice car.

SAIC not looking good...

Shares of SAIC Inc. are down 1.98 to 13.02 after the contractor announced disappointing second-quarter results and its full-year outlook disappointed Wall Street expectations. The company cited tightening government budgets.

William Loomis, an analyst for Stifel Nicolaus, cut his rating for SAIC to "Hold" from "Buy," saying he was surprised to see the slowdown in business so early in the government spending cycle.

"We are concerned that when budget pressures increase over the next couple of years, it could add additional pressure to the business, resulting in lackluster earnings per share growth over the next couple of years," Loomis wrote in a note to investors.

Verizon raises its dividend...

Verizon Communications (VZ) raises its quarterly dividend 2.6% to $0.50/share. It's the 5th consecutive year the firm has boosted its payout, and brings the yield to 5.39%., based on the current price of 36.16.

Mastercard continues to look strong...

Shares of Mastercard (MA) continue to move higher.  The stock is up 2.20 to 331.90 so far today.  The previous high on the stock is 340.42, hit on August 3rd.

Here are a few stocks hitting New Highs....

These are weekly charts:

Autozone (AZO) +4.95 to 311.95

Coca-Cola (KO) +0.51 to 70.95

Kimberly Clark (KMB) +0.10 to 69.25

Bristol Myers (BMY) +0.25 to 30.00

MAKO resumes upward move...

MAKO lost its gains late yesterday, but today it is back up 1.61 to 37.51.  A close here would be an all-time closing high for the stock.

Goldman cuts jobs forecast...

Goldman is slashing its forecast for tomorrow's nonfarm payroll report to a gain of 25K jobs from one of 50K. The firm cites "evidence of weak hiring in July and August," including the M/M drop reported in today's ISM manufacturing data. On average, economists expect a gain of 93K jobs to be reported, down from 117K in July.

Here's a new one for you....

I just heard some analyst on CNBC say that Gold should move higher because we are coming up to the Indian wedding season.

OMG...

College Football kicks off this weekend....

Here's some exciting news for you:  The college football season kicks off on Saturday evening with two games:

No. 5 Boise State vs. No. 19 Georgia in Atlanta

No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU in Dallas

Go Tigers!!!

Yawn....

Trading has slowed to a trickle.  Looks like traders are heading out of town for the Labor Day weekend.  There is an old Wall Street adage: Never short a dull market.  Well, today, so far, defintely qualifies as a dull market.  Looking forward to jobs number on Friday morning.  Don't expect much movement until then.

As of now:

Dow +11
Nas +3
S&P +1

Even Gold is unchanged.

Market starts to look tired....

After posting gains in 7 of the last 8 sessions, and making a 10% run over that time, the market is looking a bit tired to me.  Here is the chart on the S&P 500:



You can see that we are above the 1200 level which was the previous highs working off the August 9th bottom.  It's OK if we take a breather here, as long as we hold above the 1200 level.

Stocks higher after better than expected ISM number...

Stocks jump higher following the better-than-expected ISM print. August ISM Manufacturing Index: 50.6 vs. 49 consensus and 50.9 prior. Prices index 55.5 vs. 59 prior. Employment 51.8 vs. 53.5. Inventories 52.3 vs. 49.3. New orders 49.6 vs. 49.2.

Dow +66
Nas +17
S&P +5

Apple doubles iPad production...

Contract manufacturer Foxconn states that it expects to ship 20M iPad 2 units to Apple (AAPL) in Q3. That represents a major jump from Apple's calendar Q2, during which it sold 9.25M iPads - a figure that itself represented strong growth from calendar Q1.

Stocks have muted open...

At 9:55 am the markets have opened slightly lower.   ISM Manufacturing numbers come out at 10:00 am, so look for the market to react to those...

Dow -36
Nas - 3
S&P -1

Premarket movers...

Premarket gainers:

CIEN +14%. CTIC +10%. RBS +8%. CLWR +5%. RAD +5%. BCS +5%. NOK +4%. LYG +4%. JDSU +4%. MPEL +3%. WEN +2%. MGM +3%.


Losers:
 
DCTH -11%. SAI -9%. STD -3%. BK -3%.

Zumiez lowers estimates....

Zumiez Inc. (ZUMZ). The retail company forecast a third-quarter profit below Wall Street estimates, and posted market-lagging August same-store sales. The company expects to earn 37-39 cents a share in the third quarter. Second-quarter net income rose to $2.6 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.2 million, or 4 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Costco CEO to step down....

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST). The company said its co-founder and CEO, Jim Sinegal, has decided to step down as CEO of the largest U.S. warehouse club, effective Jan. 1. Sinegal (75 years old) will be replaced by President and COO Craig Jelinek, Costco said on Wednesday. Costco reported an 11 percent rise in August same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, helped by rising gasoline prices and currency benefits.

I was at Costco yesterday and I continue to be impressed at how well that company is run.

Stryker looks to expand business....

Stryker Corp. (SYK) said Wednesday it will buy Concentric Medical Inc., which makes devices that are used to remove blood clots from the brain, for $135 million in cash. 

Concentric Medical is based in Mountain View, Calif. Its devices are designed to be inserted into a blood vessel and then be threaded to the brain, where they can remove a blood clot. The clots can cause ischemic strokes. Concentric Medical's newest product is the Trevo Retriever, which is in clinical trials in the U.S. and was launched in Europe in 2010.

Stryker, of Kalamazoo, Mich., said it expects the deal to close during the fourth quarter, pending approval from regulators.

This is an interesting headline...

Amazon.com (AMZN) is reportedly offering to bring 7,000 jobs to California, in exchange for a delay in the implementation of a new state internet sales tax law. That's according to the Sacramento Bee.

The state of California had mandated that Amazon would have to start charging sales tax on all online transactions to customers who live there.  I think this has to be done in all states in order to even the score between online retailers and those who own the bricks and morter stores. Otherwise the unemployment rate is going to continue to grow.