The Buzz
Whole Foods hurt by Sandy
November 8, 2012: 1:51 PM ET
Whole Foods (WFM) warned shareholders that it will take a one-time charge for losses related to Hurricane Sandy. Investors raced out of the stock, causing it to drop more than 5% Thursday.
The Sandy-related worries forced investors to ignore an otherwise solid quarter in which sales spiked 24%. Sales at stores open for more than one year jumped 8.5%, and profits rose 49%. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey said the retailer's pace of opening new stores continues to increase.
With today as a glaring exception, investors have generally been as giddy about the grocer's stock as many consumers are at its perpetually packed salad bars. The stock is up more than 30% this year.
Some traders on StockTwits were willing to overlook Sandy's short-term effects and focus instead on long-term positive trends for the organic retailer.
retail_guru: Still, hard to argue much has changed in Whole Foods story - if expenses are initial cost of accelerating growth, that's a good thing $WFM
fraggle1023: $WFM have signed 45 new leases this year - will open a record number of new stores this year
As people in the New York area restock their refrigerators, some traders even think Sandy could help boost sales this quarter.
retail_guru: Whole Foods comps over last 2 days up 11% company-wide & 20%(!) in Northeast as consumers re-stock after #Sandy. $WFM
Still the question of just how much people will be willing to fork over for more expensive, organic food worries some traders.
Bullbear123: $WFM with inflation hitting everywhere, people will slow down on expensive food costs. seeing it all over the place
FZucchi: $WFM seeing increased $50+ baskets - that means people are now buying 3 bananas instead of 2
We haven't seen $15 bananas at Whole Foods ... yet.
-
Knight Capital back in business
Knight Capital Group is back up and running Thursday, a day after a power outage knocked the company's systems offline.
As Wall Street returned to business Wednesday morning, following a two-day hurricane-related shutdown, Knight experienced a backup generator power failure at its headquarters in Jersey City, N.J. The issue affected all equities trading, as well as electronic foreign exchange and electronic fixed income trading.
The company, which plays a key role on MORE
Hibah Yousuf - Nov 1, 2012 9:41 AM ETPosted in: generator, Hurricane Sandy, knight, Knight Capital Group, power, stock orders, stocks, trading -
Sandy should be wake-up call to avoid fiscal cliff
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, and Abbott Laboratories, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks.
The federal government is going to spend money to help those on the East Coast who are hurt by the effects of Hurricane Sandy. That's what governments are supposed to do, assist people in need.
But politicians shouldn't MORE
Paul R. La Monica - Oct 30, 2012 12:40 PM ETPosted in: Congress, debt, deficit, economy, fiscal cliff, Hurricane Sandy, spending cuts, tax hikes, white house
- Abercrombie isn't cool. Stock tanks.(1:14)
- Don't sweat Japan's stock plunge(1:07)
- Diamonds are forever: Zale soars(0:51)
- Herbalife soars. Get Bill Ackman a vitamin?(1:01)
- Will Tumblr make Yahoo cool again?(1:16)
- No life of luxury: Nordstrom stock falls(0:52)
- Kohl's is the anti Wal-Mart(1:03)
- Nothing runs like a Deere (investor)(1:16)
