Dow crawled up 47, decliners ahead of advancers almost 3-2 & NAZ fell another 26. The MLP index plunged again, 17 to the 279s (not seen since May 2010), & the REIT index rose 3 to the 301s. Junk bond funds were weak & Treasuries rose, bringing the yield on the 10 year Treasury near 2%. Oil rebounded, up 1 to the 45s, & gold lost a little ground.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
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McDonald’s, a Dow stock, seeking to snap a sales slump by letting diners customize meals, is renaming its build-your-own burger program & replacing 2 unpopular flavors. The program’s name was changed to Chef Crafted from TasteCrafted, Lisa McComb. New flavors include maple bacon dijon & buffalo bacon, while hot jalapeno & deluxe were removed. "The original name ‘TasteCrafted’ did not resonate with consumers," the spokesperson said. "We decided to celebrate our chefs who have created these recipes and highlight the culinary expertise of our in-house and supplier chefs." The chain is struggling to compete with newer restaurants offering healthier fare & customizable meals. The stock went up 1.52. If you would like to learn more about MCD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/MCD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Wal-Mart, another Dow stock, is expanding its pickup service for online grocery orders, pushing deeper into a market for customers. Starting next month, certain stores in Atlanta, Salt Lake City & 6 other US cities will add the free grocery pickup option. That means customers will be able to order items online, select a time to pick them up, & have an employee deliver the food to their car when they arrive. WMT is currently offering the service in 5 other markets, part of a test that first began in 2011. The move puts the company in closer competition with companies tackling the online-grocery market, an area seen as an elusive prize ever since the original dot-com boom in the 1990s. WMT, the largest seller of groceries in the US, wants to use its massive brick-and-mortar chain as an advantage. The retailer says 70% of Americans live within 5 miles of a WMT store, making the option of store pickup an attractive alternative to delivery. The service lets customers pick up orders on the same day they order them, if the transaction is completed by 10 AM. WMT also has been testing grocery delivery to customers’ homes, but for now it’s only expanding the pickup option. Grocery makes up more than ½ of revenue, though it’s been struggling to keep the business growing. The latest pickup expansion will add 30-35 stores to the program. It was previously offered in 50-60 stores. The stock rose 12¢. If you would like to learn more about WMT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/WMT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Google unveiled a high-end tablet featuring a detachable keyboard, taking on similar devices available today. The new Pixel C sports a 10.2" screen & starts at $499 with 32GB of storage, Andrew Bowers, director of consumer hardware, said. The device is part of it's Pixel lineup, a series of high-end laptops that struggled to find widespread market adoption. The new gadget will be available in time for the holiday shopping season, he said. The company, while traditionally focused on consumers, is stepping up efforts to introduce products tailored for business customers. Although the Pixel C is a tablet, with a touch screen, it’s also designed to replace a traditional laptop. While the Pixel laptop was part of the Chromebook family of computers & used the Chrome operating system, the Pixel C is based on Android, the mobile software platform from GOOG. The keyboard, which costs $149, attaches to the tablet via magnets & links to the device with a Bluetooth connection. The high priced stock was up pennies. If you would like to learn more about GOOG, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GOOG?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
This is shaping up as one terrible qtr. Dow is down almost 1600, about 10%, & the outlook going forward is not pretty. To begin with, the gov shutdown business is uncertain even though there are pledges by the Reps that gov offices will remain open. It looks like there will be only temp funding until that runs out in Dec. Beaten up biotechs had high volatility, although ended higher. Tomorrow will probably be another dreary day as fund managers will tend to get rid of stocks which have disappointed in Q3. Then comes Oct which conjures up gloomy thoughts.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CLX15.NYM | ....Crude Oil Nov 15 | ....45.41 |  ...0.98 | (2.2%) |
McDonald’s, a Dow stock, seeking to snap a sales slump by letting diners customize meals, is renaming its build-your-own burger program & replacing 2 unpopular flavors. The program’s name was changed to Chef Crafted from TasteCrafted, Lisa McComb. New flavors include maple bacon dijon & buffalo bacon, while hot jalapeno & deluxe were removed. "The original name ‘TasteCrafted’ did not resonate with consumers," the spokesperson said. "We decided to celebrate our chefs who have created these recipes and highlight the culinary expertise of our in-house and supplier chefs." The chain is struggling to compete with newer restaurants offering healthier fare & customizable meals. The stock went up 1.52. If you would like to learn more about MCD, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/MCD?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
McDonald's Revamps Build-Your-Own Burger Program to Draw Diners
McDonald's (MCD)
Wal-Mart, another Dow stock, is expanding its pickup service for online grocery orders, pushing deeper into a market for customers. Starting next month, certain stores in Atlanta, Salt Lake City & 6 other US cities will add the free grocery pickup option. That means customers will be able to order items online, select a time to pick them up, & have an employee deliver the food to their car when they arrive. WMT is currently offering the service in 5 other markets, part of a test that first began in 2011. The move puts the company in closer competition with companies tackling the online-grocery market, an area seen as an elusive prize ever since the original dot-com boom in the 1990s. WMT, the largest seller of groceries in the US, wants to use its massive brick-and-mortar chain as an advantage. The retailer says 70% of Americans live within 5 miles of a WMT store, making the option of store pickup an attractive alternative to delivery. The service lets customers pick up orders on the same day they order them, if the transaction is completed by 10 AM. WMT also has been testing grocery delivery to customers’ homes, but for now it’s only expanding the pickup option. Grocery makes up more than ½ of revenue, though it’s been struggling to keep the business growing. The latest pickup expansion will add 30-35 stores to the program. It was previously offered in 50-60 stores. The stock rose 12¢. If you would like to learn more about WMT, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/WMT?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Wal-Mart Expands Online Grocery Pickup Amid Growing Competition
Wal-Mart (WMT)
Google unveiled a high-end tablet featuring a detachable keyboard, taking on similar devices available today. The new Pixel C sports a 10.2" screen & starts at $499 with 32GB of storage, Andrew Bowers, director of consumer hardware, said. The device is part of it's Pixel lineup, a series of high-end laptops that struggled to find widespread market adoption. The new gadget will be available in time for the holiday shopping season, he said. The company, while traditionally focused on consumers, is stepping up efforts to introduce products tailored for business customers. Although the Pixel C is a tablet, with a touch screen, it’s also designed to replace a traditional laptop. While the Pixel laptop was part of the Chromebook family of computers & used the Chrome operating system, the Pixel C is based on Android, the mobile software platform from GOOG. The keyboard, which costs $149, attaches to the tablet via magnets & links to the device with a Bluetooth connection. The high priced stock was up pennies. If you would like to learn more about GOOG, click on this link:
club.ino.com/trend/analysis/stock/GOOG?a_aid=CD3289&a_bid=6ae5b6f7
Google Announces New Pixel Tablet to Challenge Microsoft, Apple
Google (GOOG)
This is shaping up as one terrible qtr. Dow is down almost 1600, about 10%, & the outlook going forward is not pretty. To begin with, the gov shutdown business is uncertain even though there are pledges by the Reps that gov offices will remain open. It looks like there will be only temp funding until that runs out in Dec. Beaten up biotechs had high volatility, although ended higher. Tomorrow will probably be another dreary day as fund managers will tend to get rid of stocks which have disappointed in Q3. Then comes Oct which conjures up gloomy thoughts.
Dow Jones Industrials
