Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: April 21, 2006

It's Friday April 21, 2006, and it's the last day of the trading week as the earnings parade rages on with numbers coming out from Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL), Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), Juniper Networks (NASDAQ: JNPR), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), E Trade (NYSE: ET) and the big shocker, not in our eyes, but for those doubters was Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).
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Political Front
In Italy the court confirmed that center left leader Romano Prodi was indeed victorious in this tight election but Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his team refuse to concede. Talk about denial.
President Bush's Press secretary Scott McClellan exits stage left as the shakeup continues in the Bush administration.
China;s President Hu Jintao had an eventful visit to Washington State, , from endorsing the java house Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) as he sat with Starbucks Chief and visionary Howard Schultz to addressing software piracy with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) founder Bill Gates, and we should mention that Boeing (NYSE: BA) didn't do too bad either as China placed yet another order for 15 Boeing 737 aircraft that have a list price of $982.8 million.
So for those that doubt that China is working hard to be a global player, open your eyes because more deals will be coming down the pike with various U.S. based companies. Now President Hu's visit to Washington D.C. to meet with President Bush was not a fireworks celebration visit as was hoped for but that is a work in progress. More importantly for U.S. companies is China's willingness to do business and that is what investors are concerned about, as long as China continues to keep their door open for more business with U.S. based companies there will be opportunities for investors to capitalize on it.
Movers and Shakers
Some major movers in Wednesdays trading session included Valmont Industries (NYSE: VMI) which traded up $6.26 to close at $49.76, NL Industries (NYSE: NL) which traded up $1.41 to close at $11.41, Amphenol Corp (NYSE: APH) which traded up $6.36 to close at $58.54, Knight Capital (NASDAQ: NITE) which traded up $2.78 to close at $17.16, TravelZoo (NASDAQ: TZOO) which traded up $5.16 to close at $33.75, Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) which traded up $4.01 to close at $29.76 and Adams Resources and Energy (AMEX: AE) which traded up $3.40 to close at $38.92.
In yesterdays trading session companies such as Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) traded up $6.66 to close at $54.80, Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) traded up $4.71 to close at $55.19, MoneyGram (NYSE: MGI) traded up $2.86 to close at $34.90, Steve Madden (NASDAQ: SHOO) traded up $11.11 to close at $49.24 and Swift Transportation (NASDAQ: SWFT) traded up $6.76 to close at $32.01.
Lets Talk about Apple Computer
Apple Computer (NASDAQ: AAPL) has garnered their share of doubters, but at the helm of this empire sits probably one of the great visionaries of business, Steve Jobs. He has played a great poker game with analyst over the years and continues to have that shock factor.
The company announced their earnings and it caused the stock to surge, they said that the company earned $410 million or 47 cents a share for the quarter ended April 1, 2006. That is compared to earnings of $290 million or 34 cents a share a year earlier. This was attributed to the increased sales of iPods and the increased shipments of Macintosh Computers. The general analyst consensus was 43 cents a share.
Other companies mentioned in this section include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Pixar (NASDAQ: PIXR)
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The Rebirth of an American Icon: General Motors
General Motors (NYSE: GM) has been down and out for some time now, from losing market share to facing lawsuits and possible bankruptcy. About a week ago we evaluated General Motors' position and came to the conclusion that the company would start to turnaround, granted it would not be a swift move but in the $19 range it would be worth the wait.
The reason we see this happening is simple, if you back a dog into a corner it will do one of two things, submit or fight back, and with the line up at General Motors and the influx of foreign cars hitting U.S. streets, you can bet that they will fight with all they have. So this would entail the company taking drastic measures to boost their revenue stream, even if it means cutting the CEO Rick Wagoner loose, which may be a possibility in 2006.
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Google Tears the Shorts in Pieces
Now anyone following Wall Street to Main Street knows that we like Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) at NAMC, even when it dropped down into the $300 range again, we liked it even more. While doubters lined up out the door and analyst heed and hawed about the company, Google just took a page out of Steve Jobs guide of how to shock the street and did they ever. Those doubters that held Puts or shorted the stock are going to be in some pain this morning.
The company announced their earnings after the bell yesterday and hit one right out of the park ala Apple Computer. They announced net income of $592 million or $1.95 per diluted share that was up from $1.29 the same period last year, revenue jumped to $2.25 billion above the analyst range of $2.05 to $2.24 billion, the company reported a profit of $2.29 a share up 60%. This sent the stock into overdrive in after hours trading as it traded as high as $445 a share.
Other companies mentioned in this section include eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO)
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Readers Speak
We received an email from one of our readers/listeners Amy from San Francisco, California and she made a suggestion for Wall Street to Main Street, She said that we should make the NAMC Radio WSMS segment a little more entertaining.
Amy, this is why we like to hear from our readers/listeners, we want the input and we are going to take that into consideration. It's actually not a bad thought. Thanks for the email Amy and maybe we'll have you on the show.
Note for Next Week: WSMS will feature one company a day as our growth pick in the technology industry and we will give you highlights of the company as well as some research information so that investors can do their due diligence. So that is five companies in five days and we'll call it the "Furious Five". These companies may trade on the NYSE, Nasdaq, Amex or OTCBB market, but they are sure to peak your interest. So if you are not receiving Wall Street to Main Street you are going to want to beging getting it in your email box daily just go to http://www.namcnewswire.com
We cannot stress enough that investors need to do their due diligence, call the companies, get the information, consult with your investment advisor and if you do not have one consider getting one. Put the same time into investigating these companies as you do when you go to purchase a new television, it's only for your protection. When it comes to thinly traded securities stagger your orders or put a limit order in to avoid a run up.
NAMC Newswire Note
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