A PENNEY FOR MARTHA’S THOUGHTS

MARTHA IS BACK
AND 2012 IS SET FOR SUNSHINE POWER,
COCONUTS AND TANGERINE DREAMS

One thing you can always count on is a plucky Polish woman to be a survivor. Martha Stewart is no exception. After spending five months in jail, then five years shut out of corporate board involvement, the domestic doyenne recently returned to the board of her languishing Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc (NYSE: MSO). Not known for wasting time, La Martha has snagged a $38 million investment (16.6% stake) to resuscitate her brand. The funds came from none other than Ron Johnson, the spanky new CEO of JC Penney (NYSE: JCP). Johnson, a former acolyte of Steve Jobs, is famous in retailing circles for inventing the super-successful Apple (NYSE: AAPL) stores concept.

The deal gave both companies a boost where they needed it most – right in the assets of investors. Martha’s shares rose 33% and JC Penney’s by 0.6%. JC Penney’s stock has been quite lame compared to other department stores in recent years. However, its shares jumped 17% when Mr. Johnson came on board, signaling there’s a new play-ah in town. Indeed, Johnson’s first move is a bold one. He envisions mini Martha boutiques within each JC Penney store where salespeople will be specially versed in the Martha doctrine, thereby inspiring yet another generation of highly disciplined Martha devotees. That’s right, time to pull out the Dremel drill and glue gun from retirement…she’s baaa-aack!

However, not everyone thinks the Martha deal is a “good thing”… in addition to those of us who have finally relaxed after years of basting turkeys every two hours overnight and hand-painting every fifth rock in our flower gardens with gold leaf, Macy’s (NYSE:M) was more than a little annoyed with the news. Macy’s carries a Martha Stewart Collection in what it thought was an exclusive arrangement. The strategy to sign with designers that its rivals don’t carry – such as MICHAEL Michael Kors and Calvin Klein (NYSE:PVH), has kept Macy’s sales strong. Macy’s announced with a sniff that it would be reviewing its Martha line “for potential changes.” Onwards and upwards, darlings.

Speaking of Michael Kors, guess who’s going public? Michael Kors Holdings Inc. announced it plans to go public with the goal of raising as much as $792.3 million. And why not? Kors’ biggest competitors in the mid-luxury market are already out there – Coach Inc. (NYSE:COH) and Polo Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL). Analysts are fairly bullish, saying that the 30-year old company is well managed and experienced at building solid brands. The IPO is scheduled for December 14th and the stock ticker symbol on the NYSE will be KORS… of kors!

Finally, get ready for a kandy-kolored tangerine-flake kind of New Year… Pantone (NASDAQ: XRIT) has picked its 2012 Color of the Year and its “Tangerine Tango” – yeah, baby! Pantone explains that its annual color is not a random choice – it's deduced from the zeitgeist. According to Pantone execs, “There’s an element of encouragement with orange, it’s building on the ideas of courage and action, that we want to move on to better things.” To celebrate the vivid red-orangey hue, Pantone has signed a deal with Sephora (PA:LVMH) to offer a limited edition line of cosmetics, including eye shadows, lip gloss and nail polish, all in shades of tangerine (that’s Pantone 17-1463 for you designers out there). Funny how Honeysuckle (Pantone 18-2120) is suddenly looking so ‘last year’…

Dinner Party Nibbles

Island powered by coconuts and sunshine

Tokelau, three tiny islands located halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii, has a new energy policy and is pushing to become the first country in the world to be completely run by solar power and coconut oil. Why oh why can’t Canada be more like Tokelau? Read more

Fast-food proliferates in China

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM), the owner of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, is already the leading international restaurant company in China and plans to double its locations by 2020. The company expects its breakfast offerings will lead to ultimate market domination. Sure, who wouldn’t want coleslaw and Crispy Strips with your morning green tea? Read more

No more bling tones for Nokia

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is selling Vertu – its division that makes the world’s most expensive, ultra-fancy mobile phones. Vertu’s handmade phones cost upwards of $250,000 each and feature gold, platinum and diamonds as well as a concierge service. Ring ring – hello, Santa? This is Nokia, have we got a deal for you…! Read more

Buffett invests in solar power

Warren Buffett’s utility company, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, has purchased the Topaz Solar Farm in California from First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR). The acquisition complements the company’s existing holdings in wind-powered technology. Clearly Mr. Buffett has seen what’s going on in Tokelau – time to get with the sun! Read more

Read on to discover a trader’s take
on the market & the big stories this week
CLICK HERE

Insider trading & Martha

The lowdown on Martha
and what went wrong

Click here

What would a trader think?

Tusk talks Alpha, Euro nations,
and bank dividends

Click here

Importance of being earnest

Earnest money & how it
affects your real estate purchase

Click here

© 2009–2011, Golden Girl Finance Inc.

You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive e-correspondence from us
via GoldenGirlFinance.ca or via an outside site with whom we partner.
We do not want to email those who are no longer interested. To unsubscribe, simply click here.