Groupon� (NASDAQ: GRPN ) has updated its iPhone and Android apps in hopes of driving more mobile sales.
In its effort to make buying more convenient, Groupon has made search a "front-and-center experience" on its mobile apps and it has expanded support to more devices and countries.
In the iPhone app v.2.5 update, customers can use the search function anywhere in the app. The update also lets Groupon customers in India purchase deals on the iPhone.
Groupon has made similar functions available on its Android v.2.4. version. As the Android tablet market continues to grow, the company is hopeful that its new interface for 10-in. tablets will help drive Android-based sales.
The new versions are being touted as a "critical part of Groupon's product strategy." The main hope is that search helps merchants make their deals available on an ongoing basis. And as Groupon categories and offerings expand, the company thinks that search will help customers find deals that are most relevant to them.�
Hot Companies To Own In Right Now: Analog Devices Inc (ADI)
Analog Devices, Inc. (Analog Devices), incorporated on January 18, 1965, is engaged in the design, manufacture and marketing of a range of analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing integrated circuits (ICs). The Company produces a range of products, including data converters, amplifiers and linear products, radio frequency (RF) ICs, power management products, sensors based on micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and other sensors, and processing products, including DSP and other processors, which are designed to meet the needs of a base of customers. The Company's products are embedded inside many different types of electronic equipment, including industrial process control systems; instrumentation and measurement systems; wireless infrastructure equipment, and aerospace and defense electronics. The Company designs , manufactures and markets a range of ICs, which incorporate analog, mixed-signal and digital signal processing technologies. The Company's product portfolio includes both general-purpose products used by a range of customers and applications, as well as application-specific products. On March 30, 2012, the Company acquired Multigig, Inc.
Analog Products
The Company's product portfolio includes several thousand analog ICs. The Company's analog IC customers include original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and customers who build electronic subsystems for integration into larger systems. The Company is a supplier of data converter products. Data converters translate real-world analog signals into digital data and also translate digital data into analog signals. The Company is also a supplier of amplifiers. Amplifiers are used to condition analog signals. The Company provides precision, instrumentation, intermediate frequency/radio frequency (RF), broadband, and other amplifiers. The Company also offers a range of precision voltage references, which are used in a range of applications. The Company's analog product line also includes a range port! folio of RF ICs covering the RF signal chain, from RF function blocks, such as phase locked loops, frequency synthesizers, mixers, modulators, demodulators, and power detectors, to broadband and short-range single chip transceiver solutions.
The Company's RF ICs support the requirements of cellular infrastructure and a range of applications in the Company's target markets. Also within the Company's analog technology portfolio are products, which are based on MEMS technology. This technology enables the Company to build small sensors, which incorporate an electromechanical structure and the supporting analog circuitry for conditioning signals obtained from the sensing element. The Company's MEMS product portfolio includes accelerometers used to sense acceleration, gyroscopes used to sense rotation, inertial measurement units used to sense multiple degrees of freedom combining multiple sensing types along multiple axis, and MEMS microphones used to sense audio. The Company's current revenue from MEMS products is derived from the automotive end market. In addition to the Company's MEMS products, its other analog product category includes isolators. The Company's isolators have been designed for applications, such as universal serial bus isolation in patient monitors, where it allows hospitals and physicians to adopt the advances in computer technology to supervise patient health and wirelessly transmit medical records. In smart metering applications, the Company's isolators provide electrostatic discharge performance. In satellites, where any malfunction can be catastrophic, the Company's isolators help protect the power system while enabling designers to achieve small form factors. Power management & reference products make up the balance of the Company's analog sales. Those products, which include functions such as power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing and energy management, are developed to complement analog signal chain components across core market segments from micro power, en! ergy-sens! itive battery applications to power systems in infrastructure and industrial applications.
Digital Signal Processing Products
Digital Signal Processing products (DSPs) complete the Company's product portfolio. DSPs are optimized for numeric calculations, which are essential for instantaneous, or real-time, processing of digital data generated, from analog to digital signal conversion. The Company's DSPs are designed to be fully programmable and to execute specialized software programs, or algorithms, associated with processing digitized real-time, real-world data. Programmable DSPs are designed to provide the flexibility to modify the device's function using software. The Company's DSP IC customers write their own algorithms using software development tools provided by the Company and third-party suppliers. The Company's DSPs are designed in families of products, which share common architectures and therefore can execute the same software across a range of products. The Company's customers use the Company's products to solve a range of signal processing challenges across its core market and segment focus areas within the industrial, automotive, consumer and communications end markets. As an integrated part of the Company's customers' signal chain, there are other Analog Devices products connected to its processors, including converters, audio and video codecs and power management solutions.
The Company competes with Broadcom Corporation, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., Cirrus Logic, Inc., Microchip Technology, Inc., Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Infineon Technologies, ST Microelectronics, Intersil Corporation, Silicon Laboratories, Inc., Knowles Electronics, Texas Instruments, Inc. and Linear Technology Corporation.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Rich Smith]
Analog Devices (NASDAQ: ADI ) has a new boss.
On Monday, Analog announced it has confirmed 25-year company veteran and current interim Chief Executive Officer Vincent Roche as its new CEO.
Hot Companies To Own In Right Now: Flextronics International Ltd.(FLEX)
Flextronics International Ltd. provides design and electronics manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers. The company offers its services to a range of products in the infrastructure, mobile communication devices, computing, consumer digital devices, industrial, semiconductor capital equipment, clean technology, aerospace and defense, white goods, automotive and marine, and medical devices markets. Its services include design and engineering services, such as contract design, joint development manufacturing, and original design and manufacturing services in a range of technical competencies that include system architecture, user interface and industrial design, mechanical engineering, enclosure systems, thermal and tooling design, electronic system design, reliability and failure analysis, and component level development engineering; and systems assembly and manufacturing services, including enclosures, testing, and materials procurement and inventory mana gement services. The company also offers various component product solutions comprising rigid and flexible printed circuit board fabrication, display and touch solutions, optomechatronics, and power supplies; after market supply chain logistics services; and reverse logistics and repair services, such as returns management, exchange programs, complex repair, asset recovery, recycling, and e-waste management services for consumer and midrange products, printers, PDA's, mobile phones, consumer medical devices, notebooks, PC's, set-top boxes, game consoles, and infrastructure products. It has operations in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. Flextronics International Ltd. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Singapore.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Amber Hestla, Michael J. Carr]
Among its suppliers is Flextronics International (Nasdaq: FLEX), which offers a variety of engineering services and provides supply chain management. Other Flextronics customers include Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), LG and Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Motorola Mobility.
- [By Rich Smith]
Singaporean contract electronics manufacturer Flextronics International (NASDAQ: FLEX ) lost its chief financial officer today -- and immediately replaced him.
- [By Dan Caplinger]
As a result, the big threat that Jabil constantly faces is the potential loss of its customers. Rival Flextronics (NASDAQ: FLEX ) suffered a huge hit last summer when major customer BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY ) chose to stop using the company to help it make its namesake smartphones, citing cost-cutting efforts in its decision to make changes to its supply chain arrangements. Flextronics has seen substantial revenue declines as a result, even despite BlackBerry's relative weakness in the smartphone space in recent years. More importantly, the move came at the worst possible time, as BlackBerry has subsequently revived in the face of its latest product launch. Jabil counts BlackBerry as a customer as well, so it should be interesting to see how that relationship has developed in the wake of the Z10 and Q10 smartphone releases.
Mining Projects Group Limited operates as a resource exploration and investment company. The company principally explores for gold and base metal mineralization in Western Australia. It also invests in a portfolio of listed investments and unlisted equities. The company was formerly known as Yamarna Goldfields Limited and changed its name to Mining Projects Group Limited in July 2006. Mining Projects Group Limited is based in Armadale, Australia.
Hot Companies To Own In Right Now: Rentcash Inc (CSF.TO)
The Cash Store Financial Services Inc. provides alternative financial products and services under Cash Store Financial and Instaloans names in Canada and the United Kingdom. The company primarily offers short-term advances and other financial services. Its financial products and services include payday loans, signature loans, line of credit, injury claims, standard and premium bank accounts, cheque cashing, prepaid credit and debit cards, money transfer services, and payment insurance services. The company was formerly known as Rentcash Inc. and changed its name to The Cash Store Financial Services Inc. in March 2008. The Cash Store Financial Services Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.
Hot Companies To Own In Right Now: Silver Wheaton Cor Com Npv(SLW.TO)
Silver Wheaton Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a silver streaming company worldwide. The company has 14 long-term silver purchase agreements and 2 long-term precious metal purchase agreements whereby it acquires silver and gold production from the counterparties located in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Greece, Sweden, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Portugal. Silver Wheaton Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Hot Companies To Own In Right Now: Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation(PVH)
PVH Corp. designs and markets branded dress shirts, neckwear, sportswear, footwear, and other related products worldwide. The company?s Calvin Klein Licensing segment licenses Calvin Klein Collection, ck Calvin Klein, and Calvin Klein brands for sportswear, jeanswear, underwear, fragrances, eyewear, men?s tailored clothing, women?s suits and dresses, hosiery, socks, footwear, swimwear, jewelry, watches, outerwear, handbags, leather goods, home furnishings, and accessories; and to operate retail stores. Its Wholesale Dress Furnishings segment markets dress shirts and neckwear principally under the ARROW, Calvin Klein, ck Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Collection, IZOD, Eagle, Sean John, Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, JOE Joseph Abboud, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, Elie Tahari, J. Garcia, and MICHAEL Michael Kors brands. The company?s Wholesale Sportswear and Related Products segment offers sportswear, including men?s knit and w oven sport shirts, sweaters, bottoms, swimwear, boxers, and outerwear principally under the IZOD, Van Heusen, ARROW, Geoffrey Beene, Timberland, and Calvin Klein brands; and women?s sportswear, including knit and woven sport shirts, sweaters, bottoms, and outerwear under the IZOD brand. Its Retail Apparel and Related Products segment provides men?s dress shirts; neckwear and underwear; men?s and women?s suit separates; men?s and women?s sportswear, including woven and knit shirts, sweaters, bottoms, and outerwear; men?s and women?s accessories; sportswear; and men?s fragrance. The company?s Retail Footwear and Related Products segment offers casual and dress shoes for men, women, and children; and apparel and accessories. The company was formerly known as Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation and changed its name to PVH Corp. in June, 2011. The company was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Holly LaFon] orp. designs and markets branded dress shirts, neckwear, sportswear, footwear and other related products. Cooperman bought 352,300 shares of PVH Corp. in the fourth quarter at an average of $67 per share.
PVH has a market cap of $5.35 billion; its shares were traded at around $81.3 with a P/E ratio of 15.5 and P/S ratio of 1.3. The dividend yield of PVH Corp. stocks is 0.2%. PVH Corp. had an annual average earnings growth of 9.3% over the past 10 years.
PVH recently drastically increased its revenue, from $2.4 billion in 2010 to $4.6 billion in 2011, helped by its 2010 acquisition of Tommy Hilfiger. Earnings, however, were lower, falling from $162 million in 2010 to $53.8 million in 2011, as the cost of goods sold was increased significantly as well. The company expects earnings growth for 2012 to occur in the second half of the year as the first half�� margins will be pressured from higher product costs over last year.
The company recently raised its 2011 earnings per share guidance to a range of $5.28 to $5.30 from the previously expected range of $5.23 to $5.25. The raised guidance came due to strong performance in its Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger businesses. Year over year fourth quarter sales are expected to increase by 15% in the Calvin Klein business, 12% in the Tommy Hilfiger North America business, 12% in the Tommy Hilfiger International business and 4% in the Heritage Brands business.
PVH Corp. had about $782 million in cash on its balance sheet at the end of the third quarter, and approximately $3.1 billion in long-term liabilities and debt.
Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS)
Cooperman also bought shares of Medco, the company merging with his largest new holding, Express Scripts. Under their agreement, Medco shareholders will receive $71.36 per share in cash and stock, or $2.9 billion. Medco shareholders will receive $28.80 in cash and $0.81 shares for each Medco share they own upon closing of the transaction.
- [By Marshall Hargrave]
GIII continues to see strong performance in its Calvin Klein licensed products. The segment of the Calvin Klein division that GIII is most excited about is the sportswear segment. In 2Q, sales rose 50% compared to last year. The company has been very successful in increasing the brand's penetration and exposure. Calvin Klein sportswear is now sold at 890 doors compared to 662 doors last year. In addition to sportswear, the following performed well during 2Q:
The Calvin Klein dress business continues to perform well in department stores. The dresses are sold at over 1,200 doors.Calvin's Klein's women's suits and separates grew by 70% over last year. The company was able to grow door count to 1,100 compared to only 800 last year.Calvin Klein handbag sales rose 40% over last year with improved margins.Calvin Klein Performance wholesale business grew 20% over last year. The door count is up to 1,100 compared to 1,000 last year.GIII continues to grow its partnership with the owner of the Calvin Klein brand - PVH (PVH).Worth noting is that the average remaining tenure for the Calvin Klein licenses is eight to nine years. Other tailwinds for GIII include:
- [By Ben Levisohn]
PVH (PVH) dropped 1.5% to $22.80, a day after falling 5.6% on disappointing earnings, after a Citigroup analyst said its no longer one of her top picks.
- [By Amal Singh]
PVH (NYSE: PVH ) is one of the world's largest apparel companies, and controls several different brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, and Heritage. It is also the world's largest shirt and neckwear company, and markets its products under different brands such as Arrow, Van Heusen, and Bass. Driven by the strength of its iconic brands and good products, the company has consistently done well in the past few years, as seen in the chart below.
Hot Companies To Own In Right Now: Smith(wh)
WH Smith PLC operates retail stores under the Travel and High Street names primarily in the United Kingdom. The company sells newspapers, magazines, books, confectionery, and impulse products, as well as entertainment products. It also offers a range of books, stationery, magazines, and gifts through whsmith.co.uk; and personalized cards and gifts through funkypigeon.com. The company operates approximately 561 travel units and 612 high street stores in various locations, including high streets, shopping centers, airports, train stations, motorway service areas, hospitals, and workplaces. It also has operations in the Republic of Ireland, Denmark, India, Australia, and Oman. The company was founded in 1792 and is based in Swindon, the United Kingdom.
Hot Companies To Own In Right Now: Nsl Ltd. (N02.SI)
NSL Ltd, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in manufacturing and trading building materials, lime, and refractory products. Its Construction Products division offers cement, concrete, precast concrete, premix mortar, building products, hollow core slabs, walls, full precast frames and infrastructure components, granite products, concreting sand, premix plasters, unit bathrooms, prefabricated bathroom units/cabins for ships and buildings, and marine firedoors. The company�s Chemicals division provides synthetic rubber and products, lime products, refractory materials, steel slag aggregates, copper slag blasting grit, calcific products, butadiene, butene-1, MTBE, butadiene rubber, styrene butadiene rubber, refractory products, steel mill related products, footwear, and gloves. Its Engineering division manufactures container spreaders. Its Environmental Services division offers marine waste solutions and logistics services, such as marine slops treatment and recycli ng; oily waste, sludge, and hazardous waste incineration and disposal; marine slops de-slopping and used oil collection and treatment; used lubricants re-refining; treatment and recycling of contaminated diesel, fuel, and other petroleum products; and transportation, treatment, and disposal of industrial and hazardous waste and waste water. This segment is also involved in tank cleaning, oil interceptor cleaning, and greasy traps maintenance; tanks rental and transportation; waste recovery and environmental pollution control projects; waste logistics services; and marketing and sale of fuels, lubricants, and greases. The company was formerly known as NatSteel Ltd. and changed its name to NSL Ltd in October 2008. NSL Ltd was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Singapore. NSL Ltd operates as a subsidiary of 98 Holdings Pte. Ltd.
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Getty Images Usually when companies fight each other, it's consumers who get the worst of it. But right now, we're witnessing a business battle that's actually benefiting consumers in a big way. In this corner: Amazon (AMZN). In that corner: Overstock.com. At stake: Which site gets to claim it has the lowest prices on books. For years, Amazon has had sole possession of those bragging rights. But Overstock, a discounter not as widely known for its book offerings, is trying to make a splash in the book game by beating Amazon on price. Starting July 22, the site began offering to match Amazon's prices on hundreds of thousands of books, and then lower the price by another 10 percent. Overstock is applying the program to 360,000 of its titles. Not to be outdone, Amazon is going through its list and discounting its books to beat those prices -- which is causing Overstock's computers to respond by lowering their own prices again. The result is a race to the bottom, with the book-buying public realizing huge discounts on even the most popular books. Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl," for instance, is a bestseller that came out in June and has a list price of $25. It's currently $12.84 at Amazon, but Overstock has it for just $10.63. The Amazon price history of the book shows that the price started dipping shortly after Overstock's price-match program went into effect. The price war is largely being fought by the two e-tailers' computers, which are programmed to periodically check the competition's prices and beat them. While algorithms of this sort have gone a little screwy in the past -- consider the case of the biology textbook that wound up priced at $23 million -- we're guessing there a fail-safes in place here to make sure the prices don't go too low. That's probably why we aren't seeing books selling for pennies on either site right now, and likely won't. Still, Overstock pledged Thursday that it would keep up the promotion for at least another week. So if there's a book you're looking to buy, now is the time to do it. Check the prices on both sites, see where you're getting the better shipping deal, and then click "buy" before the two companies declare a cease-fire. 
Simon Fennell, Co-Manager, William Blair International Growth Fund
The second name I wanted to highlight is ITV ITV (OTC: ITVPY), the U.K. TV company. ITV is an integrated media company with both production and transmission. It is quite an interesting story from two or three points of view. The first reason is the current management team led by Adam Crozier and the Chairman, Archie Norman. They have really turned this company around both operationally and financially.
Alamy Companies can make brilliant moves, but there are also times when things don't work out quite as planned. From a changing of the guard in the video game console business to retailers planning to cut our Thanksgiving get-togethers short, here's a rundown of the week's best and worst moves in the business world. Sony (SNE) -- Winner After 32 consecutive months as the top-selling video game console in the country, Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox 360 was unseated in September by Sony's PS3, according to industry tracker NPD Group. Microsoft was never expected to stay on top forever, but the timing of its fall could be better. Both companies are introducing new consoles next month, and while it's widely assumed that Microsoft's Xbox One will be more popular than Sony's PlayStation 4, watching Sony retake the lead last month does make this holiday season's new console war that much more unpredictable. Sony rarely gets mentioned as a weekly winner these days, so let it bask in the glory of success. Thanksgiving Dinner -- Loser Remember when Thanksgiving was all about getting together with the family for a traditional feast as your uncles bickered about politics and you tried to sneak your vegetable onto your little cousin's plate? Well, that part of the holiday's festivities seems to be getting shorter and shorter shrift these days, with even more retailers announcing this week that they will opening for Black Friday before some of us have even finished our pumpkin pie.