Consensus

Andrew Orlowski, Google Did Not Admit To Hand Picking Top Results — Google cranks up the Consensus Engine by Andrew Orlowski at The Register completely took Marissa Mayer's comments out of context when he wrote in his introductory line: Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears...... [Tags: andrew orlowski, consensus, cranks, google, introductory line]

Monster Too Scary: Barclays Launches At “Underweight” — Monster Worldwide (MWW) shares are trading lower this morning, after Barclays Capital analyst Craig Huber launched coverage of the online jobs listings company with an Underweight rating and a $7 price target, way below yesterday’s closing level of $11.84. He expects the company to report profits of 21 cents a share for the fourth quarter and $1.26 for the full year, but sees a loss for 2009 of 10 cents a share: that is quite a contrast with the Street consensus, which sees profits of 32 cents for the quarter, $1.36 for the year and 98 cents for 2009. “Monster’s... [Tags: barclays, barclays capital, consensus, craig huber, credit crunch]

Texas Instruments Slashes Guidance (TXN) — More bad tech news: Texas Instruments (TXN) cut its Q4 revenue guidance by 20% and profit guidance by 60%. The company expects revenue between $2.30 billion and $2.50 billion, down from its previous range of $2.83 billion to $3.07 billion, and far below Wall Street's $2.91 billion consensus. TI says EPS will come in between $0.10 and $0.16 per share, down from its previous range of $0.30 to $0.36 per share, and below Wall Street's $0.31 per share consensus. No commentary in the release, but the company is hosting a conference call at 5:30 p.m. ET to discuss its update.... [Tags: conference call, consensus, q4 revenue, revenue guidance, slashes]

Intersil Guides Down For Q4 Yet Again — Intersil (ISIL) on Wednesday afternoon warned that its fourth quarter results would be below its previous outlook. I would note that the company’s previous guidance, offered in late October, had already disappointed the Street. The company, which makes high-performance analog semiconductors, says it now sees Q4 revenue between $125 million and $135 million, down 38% to 43% from Q3. Previous guidance had been for a 20%-25% revenue decline. The Street had been expecting $168.3 million. Intersil sees non-GAAP profits for the quarter of 9-12 cents a share; the consensus was for 22 cents. Intersil said in a statement that the... [Tags: analog devices, analog semiconductors, cfo, consensus, distributor inventory]

Gaming Giants Still Can't Make Up Their Mind On Internet Gambling — The American Gaming Association, the casino industry's biggest trade group, is struggling to reach a consensus on internet betting, as its members take up divergent viewpoints. Some casino companies support federal regulation for it, while others want states to be able to regulate it (though maybe not Kentucky); others, of course, want to see the blanket ban continue, fearful of anything that might let new competitors in to the market. The AGA's latest approach appears to be to support legislation to study whether to legalize online betting -- which, we're pretty sure, sounds about as wishy-washy as could be. The... [Tags: aga, american gaming association, authorities, bettors, blanket ban]

Final Turnout Numbers — Less than expected: About 130 million Americans voted, up from 122 million four years ago. Still, turnout fell short of the 140 million voters many experts had forecast. With a little more than 61 percent of eligible voters casting ballots, the 2008 results also didn’t match the record 63.8 percent turnout rate that helped propel President John F. Kennedy to victory in 1960.And the now-established consensus is that Obama did very well in getting out his vote; but his 7 point margin of victory was largely accomplished by former Republican voters staying home. More evidence of Rove's historic achievement: the... [Tags: casting ballots, consensus, eligible voters, john f kennedy, margin of victory]

Google: With Online Ads Weakening, BofA Cuts Estimates — Bank of America analysts Brian Pitz and Brian Fitzgerald have become the latest analysts to raise concerns about the impact on Google’s financial results from the continuing erosion of the online advertising environment. The Bank of America analysts cut their estimates for both Q4 and for all of 2009, asserting that “industry data points and channel checks indicate significant pressure on commercial queries and monetization.” For Q4, Pitz and Fitzgerald now see net revenue of $4.07 billion, down from $4.3 billion, with non-GAAP profits of $4.74, down from $5.24. The Street consensus is $5.09. For 2009, he slashed his revenue... [Tags: bank of america, bofa, brian fitzgerald, ceo eric schmidt, consensus]

Obama Governors' Meeting: Emanuel Shares Details — Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff, spoke with reporters on the press plane after a meeting with governors from both parties. He gave some details on the private meeting between Obama and the governors. Reporters note that he was in high spirits. Emanuel: There was a consensus [among] Democratic and Republican governors about the need, given their economic situations, not just in their budgets but their economy, about the need for investments in infrastructure. Some talked about roads, bridges, sewer systems, new schools. Some talked about what I would call the infrastructure for a 21st century... [Tags: barack obama, chief of staff, consensus, democrat republican, economic situations]

Google: Could They Have Two Down Rev Years Ahead? — Here’s a scary thought for Google (GOOG) shareholders: What if the company’s revenues were to shrink in 2009 - and then shrink again in 2010? That’s the unpleasant scenario that Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry laid out in a research note today. He sees the company posting revenues of $15.71 billion this year, $15.23 billion next year and $14.57 billion in 2010, with profits of $19.44 a share this year, $19.24 next year and $17.98 for 2010. While his 2008 number is about in line with the Street consensus, he is way below most other forecasts for both 2009... [Tags: consensus, consumer internet, economic conditions, economic pressures, equities research]

Yahoo: Board Fiddles, Business Crumbles — While the Yahoo (YHOO) board attempts to find a new CEO and debates whether or not to revive talks with Microsoft (MSFT) - at least, I assume that’s what they’re doing - the fundamentals of the company’s business continue to deteriorate. Jefferies analyst Youssef Squali today cut his EPS estimates for the company for both this year and next year. For 2008, he now sees EPS of 65 cents a share, down from 67 cents. For 2009, his forecast drops to 46 cents, from 55 cents. That brings his 2009 number in line with the Street consensus. He also cut... [Tags: asset value, attempts, ceo, consensus, debates]

Marvell Sees FY Q4 Revs Below Street Estimates — Marvell (MRVL) this afternoon told investors on a post-earnings conference call that it expects to report revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter ending in January of $690 million to $730 million, short of the Street consensus of $736.7 million. That is down 14%-18% versus a year earlier, and off 8%-13% sequentially. The company expects non-GAAP profits for the quarter of 14-20 cents a share. The Street has been looking for 17 cents a share.... [Tags: conference call, consensus, earnings conference, fourth quarter, investors]

OmniVision Sees FY Q3 Revs Dramatically Short Of Ests — OmniVision (OVTI) this afternoon warned that results for its fiscal third quarter ending in January will be much lower than the Street had been anticipating. For FY Q2, the image sensor company posted revenue of $163.9 million and non-GAAP profits of 19 cents a share, close to the Street consensus of $166.4 million and 18 cents. But the guidance, oh my. OmniVision now sees revenue for the January quarter of $80 million to $100 million - at the low end, that is less than half the Street consensus of $164.4 million. OmniVision sees a non-GAAP loss for the quarter of... [Tags: 100 million, 163, consensus, economic conditions, expected shortfall]

Sigma Designs FY Q3 In Line With Reduced Guidance — Sigma Designs (SIGM) this afternoon reported results for its fiscal third quarter ended November 1 in line with its recently reduced guidance. For the quarter, the company reported revenue of $46.8 million and non-GAAP profits of 27 cents a share. Sigma had projected revenue of $46.5 million, down 20% from Q2. The Street consensus was $46.4 million and 29 cents. The company did not provide any forward guidance in the release; in November, however, Sigma had projected revenue for the January quarter flat to down 10% from the November quarter. Sigma says it has taken steps to reduce expenses, including... [Tags: 5 million, consensus, consulting services, employee travel, guidance]

Paper: 'Consensus' on universal healthcare — After decades of failed efforts to reshape the nation's healthcare system, a consensus appears to be emerging in Washington about how to achieve the elusive goal of providing medical insurance to all Americans.... [Tags: consensus, decades, elusive goal, healthcare system, insurance]

Majority of Compulsive Gamers Not Addicted to Games: Game De-Addiction Expert — The exact nature of the impact that video games have on humans is a contentious issue among researchers and any possibility of a consensus seems inconceivable. It is almost like an incessant war between the myriad of video game researchers across the globe with contradictory video game studies being continuously exchanged by them instead of lead. The founder of the Smith & Jones Centre in Amsterdam - Europe’s very first and sole video game de-addiction clinic - Keith Bakker has downplayed video game addiction, which he believes is immensely exaggerated. Only 10% of all compulsive gamers, according to Bakker, are... [Tags: addicted to video games, addiction clinic, amp, amsterdam, bakker]

Is Home Ownership a Good Thing? Part II — Andrew Maynard plug in housing When I asked Is Home Ownership a Good Thing? a few months ago, the consensus was very much yes. Now some thoughtful people are coming down on the other side. Richard Florida: Our reliance on single-family homeownership is a product of the past 50 years – and the experiment has outlived its usefulness. Not only is it now readily apparent that not everyone should own a home, and th...... [Tags: andrew maynard, consensus, family homeownership, home ownership, reliance]

Consensus on universal healthcare — Bold action appears accepted, including those formerly opposed.... [Tags: bold action, consensus, universal healthcare]

LDK Solar: S&P Downgrades To “Strong Sell” — Standard & Poor’s analyst Angelo Zino today cut his rating on LDK Solar (LDK) to Strong Sell from Hold, to reflect “reduced wafer pricing and higher execution risk.” Zino said he expects the company’s average wafer price to fall about 35% next year, “as oversupply and lower polysilicon costs reduce the pricing power of the company’s silicon wafers.” He keeps his 2008 EPS estimate of $2.60, but cuts ‘09 to $1.97 from $4.20. (The Street consensus is $4.25.) Zino chops his price target on the stock to $11, from $17. LDK today is down $2.61, or 16.9%, to $12.87.... [Tags: amp, consensus, downgrades, eps, execution]

Mumbai terrorists, poverty and the IMF — From the intelligence gathered thus far, the consensus opinion on the Mumbai terrorists is they are Islamist extremists who hail from Pakistan. File that revelation under “no surprise”. But information about the lone captured terrorist, Mohammad Ajmal Mohammad Amin Kasab, and how it ties into economic news, could be startling...... [Tags: ajmal, consensus, economic news, imf, intelligence]