Out Fox The $treet

Made a few purchases in our accounts today when the market was testing 890 which I think will be the low at least for now. Terremark Worldwide (TMRK) is a new stock we've started following based on the $20M purchase of shares by VMWare (VMW). VMW is a very respected technology company and its impressive that they made an investment in TMRK. Its also important to note that the stock currently trades below that purchase price of $5. That purchase price was somewhat above the stock price at the time of the announcement as well. VMW wanted into this stock so we've followed. TMRK also reported nice Q1 results which surprised me to see that basically a hosting (ok, managed IT infrastructure services) company actually had a solid report. Actually reporting earnings which is impressive for a sector that typically only focuses on EBITDA. EBITDA can only take you so far. The other thing that impressed us was that TMRK provides the 'infrastructure' services for both usa.gov and ...

Finally seeing a bottom in the numbers for FCSX. As reported after the close last night, FCSX saw improvements in OTC volume and segregated assets. As a reminder, FCSX made the majority of its income in 2008 on the interest income from customer assets. Seeing that bottom is a promising sign. * OTC volume (in thousands) of 30.8 contracts, compared to 25.7 contracts in March 2009 and 78.5 contracts in April 2008; * Exchange-traded contract volume (in thousands) of 4,151.9 contracts, compared to 5,008.8 contracts in March 2009 and 9,512.3 contracts in April 2008; and * Customer segregated assets (in millions) of $818.4 as of April 30, 2009, compared to $754.2 on March 31, 2009 and $1,556.4 on April 30, 2008.

Just as was reported on the 15th [ Stat of the Day: Consumer Confidence Soars ], the markets are again soaring because of good consumer news. This time its from the Conference Board which typically has more influence then the Michigan Survey on the 15th. Still the market should've expected a huge jump. The Index soared beyond estimates of 42.3 by a wide margin to nearly 55. What were those analysts thinking? As the Michigan Survey showed, future expectations are soaring. Expectations were at 72 while the Present Situation came in at 29. So basically the Consumer Confidence number is going to continue to soar. Michigan expectations were at levels not seen since October 2007 and while not noted in this report I'd expect them to come close to that time frame. Its definitely higher then the number a year ago. Retailers such as SHLD and TWB are soaring on this news while DKS is doing pretty good. Both SHLD and TWB are worth considerably more if the consumer returns. The Conference ...

Below are the results of the 3 primary portfolios offered by Stone Fox Capital. Each portfolio continues to beat the SP500 since inception as tracked by 3rd party marketocracy.com. See the links to the portfolios on the right hand side under the Portfolio Management column. Hedged Growth This fund continues to maintain its sizeable gains since inception on 10/1/08 of 26% . It has handily beat the market in down markets and slightly outperformed in up markets. MTD QTD YTD SFCHG 2.13% 10.78% 2.48% S&P 500 1.86% 11.61% -0.68% DOW 1.34% 8.78% -5.69% Nasdaq -1.47% 10.69% 7.29% Net Payout Yield MTD QTD YTD SFCNP 3.28% 15.31% 0.85% S&P 500 1.86% 11.61% -0.68% DOW 1.34% 8.78% -5.69% Nasdaq -1.47% 10.69% 7.29% Growth The Growth fund continues to impress this year. It's outperformed every major average significantly and is nearly 24% above the SP500 YTD and over 42% the la...

The owner of the Justice and Limited Too brands that focuses on the tween girls category (7-14 year olds) has been crushed by the markets and the weak economy. Oddly though, Tween Brands (TWB) has been crushed much more by the markets then the likes of Childrens Place (PLCE), Gymboree (GYMB), and Pacsun (PSUN). Was it because of the the move to transition all of the Limited Too stores to the much better performing Justice brand? If so, the market was placing a huge execution discount on the stock. All 4 stocks recently reported Q1 numbers through the end of April and clearly TWB and PSUN had the worst numbers and they consequently have the lowest market caps. Both GYMB and PLCE reported pretty decent numbers and hence they have the highest market caps. But thats where the market quits making sense. PSUN has a market cap nearly triple that of TWB - $275M vs $100M - even though TWB posted better results actually recording an operating profits versus the $8M loss at PSUN. With comparable ...

Unfortunately we missed the chance to buy at $50 before the close. Looks like the perfect double bottom on the chart. After Hours, Sears Holdings (SHLD) reported earnings of $.38 ex items with an analysts estimate of minus $.88. That's a whopping beat of $1.26. CEO Lampert seems to have this company back on track and the real story has never been earnings and retail. The huge buybacks and fund ownerships leaves the float very low hence the huge jump after hours to $57. See previous articles for more details on that issue. SHLD is a big investment in our funds expecially the Growth and Net Payout. Its probably a great buy at these levels but disappointing to have missed it prior to earnings. I'd expect a run to new highs and that run has already taken place in AHs hitting $62. Lampert was buying back the last couple of years with the stock in the mid $100s so getting back to $60 is hardly the end of the road. Net income attributable to Holdings' shareholders for the quarter ...

The weekly jobless claims continue to hang in the low 600K range, but the hoped for break into the 500s has to wait a while longer. A break below 600K in weekly claims would finally signal a serious change in direction. For now, the jobless numbers have definitely bottomed out, but its just bottoming along at the bottom. The numbers did peak at 670K in March so it's definitely dropped from the highs, but after such a huge run in the stock market we really needed that big drop to convince the market that the turn is for real. For now, this just gives the shorts more fuel to hang tough. New Jobless Claims Slowing - CNBC The U.S. Labor Department on Thursday said that initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 631,000 in the week ended May 16, compared to a high of 674,000 in late March. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast new claims at 630,000. Still, continuing claims—workers who remain on the rolls of the unemployed -- rose by 75,000 to a reco...