plus 4, AutoZone: Earnings Preview - Seekingalpha.com

AutoZone: Earnings Preview - Seekingalpha.com
Cribs Recalled for Possible Entrapment, Injury - panhandleparade
O'Reilly Automotive: A used car maintenance play - Bloggingstocks.com
Chihuahua's face ripped off by jack russell - News.com.au
Earnings Preview for AutoZone - Zacks.com

AutoZone: Earnings Preview - Seekingalpha.com

Posted: 24 Nov 2009 02:03 PM PST

AutoZone (AZO) is expected to release its sales and earnings results for the fiscal first quarter before the opening bell on Dec 8. The Memphis, Tennessee-based retailer of automotive replacement parts reported a 3.1% year-over-year fall in its profit to $236.1 million or $4.43 per share for the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2009 ended Aug 29, 2009.

With this, AutoZone has managed to come close to the Zacks Consensus Estimate profit of $4.45 per share. For the first quarter, Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company is $2.68 per share, a decline of 40%, compared to the recorded earnings in the previous quarter.

AutoZone is one of the nation's leading specialty retailers of automotive replacement parts and accessories, operating in the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) retail, Do-It-for-Me (DIFM) commercial and other customer markets. As of Aug 29, 2009, the retailer had 4,229 stores in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in the U.S. and 188 stores in Mexico.

The company uses its significant cash flow to open new stores every year and maintain a mid-single-digit square footage growth rate. In fiscal 2009, the company opened 140 new stores in the U.S. and 40 in Mexico. AutoZone is also focused on growing same-store sales by expanding private label offerings, which now account for 25% of sales.

AutoZone is the leader in the DIY retail market in the U.S. with a 13% share. The average age of cars on the road is rising, which is raising the demand for auto parts necessitated by greater repair needs. In the DIFM commercial segment, the retailer has a meager 1.3% market share. However, management is of the belief that the company can increase its share in the segment by focusing on improving marketing initiatives to boost sales.

Nevertheless, AutoZone has a high degree of reliance on its private label brands, which could mar its performance in the commercial business. Consequently, the company could face increased costs on account of higher staffing levels at the stores on top of rising occupancy costs. Further, several of AutoZone's vendors have merged in recent years. This could materially affect the prices at which the company purchases its products.

Thus, we maintain our Neutral recommendation on the stock.

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Cribs Recalled for Possible Entrapment, Injury - panhandleparade

Posted: 24 Nov 2009 01:35 PM PST

Washington, DC:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada, today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.

CPSC urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.

The cribs' drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can become missing. In addition, the drop-side can be installed upside-down, which can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts. All of these problems can cause the drop-side to detach in one or more corners. When the drop-side detaches, it creates space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. The bodies of infants and toddlers can become entrapped in the space which can lead to suffocation. Complete detachment of drop-sides can lead to falls from the crib.

CPSC, Health Canada, and Stork Craft are aware of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment; 67 incidents occurred in the United States and 43 in Canada. The incidents include 15 entrapments; 12 in the U.S. and three in Canada. Four of the entrapments resulted in suffocation: a 7-month-old in Gouverneur, N.Y.; a 7-month-old in New Iberia, La.; a 6-month-old in Summersville, W.Va.; and a 9-month-old in Bronx, N.Y. Included in these incidents are 20 falls from cribs; 12 in the U.S. and eight in Canada. Fall injuries ranged from concussion to bumps and bruises. The cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop-side hardware that had broken, missing, or deformed claws, connectors, tracks, or flexible tab stops; loose or missing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop-sides installed upside-down.

This recall involves Stork Craft drop-side cribs and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. This recall does not involve any cribs that do not have a drop-side. This recall does not involve any cribs with metal rod drop-side hardware. It involves only those cribs with plastic trigger and one-hand-system drop-side hardware.

This recall includes Stork Craft cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009. This recall also includes Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo that have manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004. The Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo were first sold in the U.S. in July 1998 and in Canada in September 1998. The cribs were sold in various styles and finishes. The manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin, and the firm's name, address, and contact information are located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. The firm's insignia "storkcraft baby" or "storkling" is inscribed on the drop-side teething rail of some cribs. In Stork Craft cribs that contain the "Fisher-Price" logo, this logo can be found on the crib's teething rail, in the manufacturer's instructions, on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board, and on the end panels of the Twinkle-Twinkle and Crystal crib models.

Major retailers in the United States and Canada sold the recalled cribs including BJ's Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, and Wal-Mart stores and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com from January 1993 through October 2009 for between $100 and $400

The cribs were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.

For additional information, contact Stork Craft toll-free at (877) 274-0277 anytime to order the free repair kit, or log on to www.storkcraft.com

Important Message from CPSC: CPSC would like to remind parents not to use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts. Make sure to tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy. When using a drop-side crib, parents should check to make sure the drop-side or any other moving part operates smoothly. Always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Any disengagement can create a gap and entrap a child. In addition, do not try to repair any side of the crib, especially with tape, wire or rope.

Note: Health Canada's press release can be seen at http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=888

To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10046.html

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O'Reilly Automotive: A used car maintenance play - Bloggingstocks.com

Posted: 24 Nov 2009 02:03 PM PST

The used car trend in the United States isn't ending anytime soon, which is why I'm reiterating my buy rating for auto parts giant O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY), first recommended on May 18, 2009 at a price of $37.02.

One argument holds that frugal consumers in U.S. will delay getting maintenance done on their used vehicles, due to tight budgets. But that delay can only occur for so long: critical maintenance must be performed, eventually. Further, the U.S. auto fleet's increasing age provides another tailwind for ORLY's sales. The First Call FY2009/FY2010 EPS estimates for ORLY are $2.24 to $2.59.

Technically, O'Reilly's stock has meandered since the May Buy call, but the uptrend from late 2008 remains intact. True, the chart contains several breaches of the key, 50-day moving average line, and in normal times that would be a concern. However, due to the auto repair market's fundamentals, they will be overlooked.

Stock Analysis: O'Reilly Automotive is a moderate-risk stock. If you've already purchased the company's shares, hold them. If not, consider buying a 50% position in ORLY now; then buy another 25% in one month, if U.S. economic conditions don't worsen substantially. Under any circumstance, don't buy more than 75% of your ORLY position before December 2009. Sell/Stop Loss if you were to buy shares in this company: $18.

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Disclosure: Lazzaro has no positions in stocks, but does own shares in two Pimco Bond Funds: PHDAX and PYMAX.

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Chihuahua's face ripped off by jack russell - News.com.au

Posted: 24 Nov 2009 02:10 PM PST

The Whitehorse Leader reports battered little Ruby is recuperating in a Blackburn auto-repair shop after being gruesomely attacked by a jack russell.

"We took her for a walk in Wonga Park and she stuck her nose in a hole in a neighbour's fence and a dog on the other side bit her face off," owner Craig Chapman said.

"There was blood everywhere. It was right down to the bare bone."

The horrifying attack has left Ruby without a nose and mutilated cheeks and lips.

"She was torn from under her eyelids," Mr Chapman said. "Poor Ruby was in so much shock."

The tiny dog has already undergone two surgeries and vets fear she may still need another.

"They stretched her skin from the top of her head and pulled it down to cover her exposed bones," Mr Chapman said.

"The vets then had to drill holes in her bones because they couldn't stitch the skin to anything.

"Her surgery has already cost $7000."

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Earnings Preview for AutoZone - Zacks.com

Posted: 24 Nov 2009 11:47 AM PST

Zacks Investment Research is one of the most highly regarded firms in the investment industry. The guiding principle behind our work is that there must be a good reason for brokerage firms to spend billions of dollars a year on stock research. Obviously, these investment experts know something special that may be indicative of the future direction of stock prices. From day one, we were determined to unlock that secret knowledge and make it available to our clients to help them improve their investment results.

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