Apple Confirms WWDC 2013 Keynote

Apple has given its official confirmation that the Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, will begin with a keynote presentation on June 10. WWDC events typically begin with a keynote presentation that gives attendees their first glimpses of any new Apple products. According to AllThingsD, Apple acknowledged the keynote address will take place on Monday, June 10 at Moscone Center in San Francisco. In a bit of a departure for the normally secretive company, Apple has already announced that it will be unveiling its latest versions of iOS and OS X. Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, Philip Schiller, announced in an April 24 press release, “We can’t wait to get new versions of iOS and OS X into their hands at WWDC.”… (Read more.)

Apple’s Newest Patent Target: Galaxy S4

In preparation for the next round of its patent infringement trial against Samsung (SSNLF.PK), Apple has added another five patents to its lawsuit. Apple has already raised the stakes for Samsung in the next patent trial by announcing that it intended to add Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 device to the list of products that Apple believes are infringing on its patents. This latest filing makes Apple’s request for the inclusion of the Galaxy S4 official, as well as citing the specific patents on which the device is infringing.

Via Foss Patents, Apple’s filing states that “Apple determined that the Galaxy S4 product practices many of the same claims already asserted by Apple, and that the Galaxy S4 practices those claims in the same way as the already-accused Samsung devices.”… (Read more.)

Is Apple Hiding Its Actual Tax Rate?

Is Apple obscuring its actual tax rate behind a web of offshore profit shifting? Earlier this week CEO Tim Cook told the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that Apple paid $6 billion, or 30.5 percent, of its income in federal taxes. But does this figure tell the whole story? The 30.5 percent tax rate cited by Cook only covers Apple’s U.S. income of $19 billion. This is approximately a third of Apple’s global pretax income.

Martin Sullivan, the chief economist at the non-profit organization Tax Analysts, believes Apple is being disingenuous with its 30.5 percent tax rate figure. Sullivan states via Bloomberg that “Apple has shifted enormous amounts of profits from the United States to an untaxed entity overseas. That’s the issue.”If Apple’s total worldwide income is considered, the company actually pays a much lower tax rate than 30.5 percent. According to Scott D. Dyreng, an assistant professor of accounting at Duke University, Apple pays an actual tax rate of less than 14 percent… (Read more.)

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After the Labor department reported last week that the initial claims for unemployment benefits hit their highest level since last November, the labor market was put under the spotlight, with analysts viewing the increase as a warning sign. But, following the end of recession in 2009, unemployment in the United States suffered numerous setbacks that slowed recovery, and last week’s spike appears to be one of them. On Thursday, government data showed that fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment benefits, an indication that the job market can sustain its recent gains despite the jump reported last week.

For the week ended May 18, jobless claims declined by 23,000 to 340,000, below analysts’ expectations for a decrease of 28,000.

“We’re definitely moving in the right direction,” Deutsche Bank economist Carl Riccadonna told Bloomberg. “If we can get back to 330,000 or lower, that’s going to be an early sign that the economy is accelerating into the second half of the year.”

Because weekly figures can be volatile, economists use the four-week moving average to understand wider trends. Last week, that figure also declined, falling to 339,500, from the 340,000 reported the previous week.

Jobless claims figures are considered a good measure of layoffs and provide the first look at the employment situation for any given month. Decreasing jobless claims, and therefore layoffs, could provide the groundwork for an increase in hiring should the United States economy overcome March’s federal budget cuts, which are expected to curb growth. For now, the job market is still weak, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in speech Wednesday, pointing to the historically high levels of unemployment and long-term joblessness. That is one reason why policy-makers at the central bank will continue to purchase bonds, a strategy aimed at keeping interest rates low and spurring growth.

So far this year, the two percentage-point increase in the payroll tax and $85 billion in automatic spending cuts that began on March 1 have threatened growth; economists expect that gross domestic product will slow to a 1.6 percent pace this quarter after growing at a 2.5 percent rate in the first three months of 2013.

Considering the spending cuts and January’s payroll tax hike, the job market has remained fairly resilient so far this year; employers added an average of 151,000 jobs in March and April, a decrease from the 332,000 added in February but more than initial estimates. However, unemployment still lingers; the unemployment rate sits at 7.5 percent, and approximately 11.7 million people in the United States remain unemployed.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits fell by 112,000 to 2.91 million in the week ended May 11, the fewest since March 2008. However, the continuing claims figure does not include the number of Americans receiving extended benefits under federal programs. Those unemployed workers who have used up their traditional benefits and are now collecting emergency and extended payments fell by approximately 15,500 to 1.78 million for the week ended May 4. As Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans said in a recent speech, the job market must add 200,000 or more jobs per month for at least six months before he would characterize the labor situation as substantially improved.

Here’s how the market traded on Thursday:

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While these states all had unemployment levels close to the national average at the end of 2006, the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that these four states are continuing to feel the devastation of the recession more so than others. From the West Coast, down to the South, up to the Midwest, and then back to the West, the four states with the highest unemployment rates show that slow recession recovery does not discriminate.

1. California

With a current unemployment rate of 9.0 percent, 1.5 percentage points higher than the national average, the Golden State bears the fourth highest unemployment rate in the U.S. Fortunately, California protects its 1,748,519 unemployed persons by exempting their unemployment insurance benefits from being taxed. California continues to stand as the most populous state in America. However, should these figures continue to stand, more people may be finding themselves seeking residence elsewhere. Though its direct neighbors are not faring much better, many states east of the state, including Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming boast unemployment rates almost half that of California.

2. Mississippi

Down South, Mississippi suffers the third highest unemployment rate at 9.1 percent. Though the rate continues to inch down, it still stands significantly higher than the national average.

In March, the state saw a decrease in unemployment after two months of increases. Mississippi continues to send mixed signals, as it demonstrates positive economic indicators and payroll rises, but still continues to face precarious jobless rates. It remains nearly 4 percent, or 45,000 jobs, short of its all-time peak.

3. Illinois

Up in the Midwest, Illinois also shows sign of struggle as it bears a 9.3 percent unemployment rate. While jobless rates have recently dropped in other states, the Prairie State is witnessing the opposite, reflecting the unevenness of the states’ recession recovery. Similarly, Delaware, Indiana, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and New Hampshire have also seen a rise in their jobless rate, rather than the expected fall. While Illinois suffers the second highest unemployment rate in the U.S., its direct Northwest neighbor, Iowa, claims the fifth lowest.

4. Nevada

The state suffers the highest unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, a two full percentage points higher than the national average. However, it’s not all bad news for Nevada. This gamblers’ paradise also registered the largest rate drop in unemployment of all the states over the year. While first-time claims for jobless benefits in Nevada rose in April, the number of claims is smaller than the ones filed last April.

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Can BlackBerry’s (NASDAQ:BBRY) Messenger platform woo iPhone users away from Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iMessage service? Similar to iMessage for iOS-powered devices, BlackBerry Messenger is a free messaging service available to BlackBerry device users.

However, BlackBerry has recently announced that it is untethering its instant messaging service from the BlackBerry ecosystem. Within the next several months, BlackBerry Messenger will be available on Apple’s devices as well as Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android-powered devices.

Messenger already has 60 million users that send approximately 10 billion daily messages on its native platform, and its user base will only increase with the planned operating system expansion. On the other hand, the expansion of the messaging service is also seen as a risky move since BlackBerry will essentially be giving away one of its most popular services. It also remains to be seen how the Canada-based phone maker will monetize the expansion of BlackBerry Messenger.

Former BlackBerry co-CEO and founder Mike Lazaridis thinks BlackBerry’s expanded Messenger service will do well on other platforms. “BBM [BlackBerry Messenger] is by far the most compelling wireless experience and wireless social networking environment,” said Lazaridis via Bloomberg.

Although some analysts worry about BlackBerry’s shrinking service fee revenue, Lazaridis believes that the plans to expand BlackBerry Messenger are a testament to how well the latest BlackBerry 10 operating system is performing. Regarding the decision by CEO Thorsten Heins, Lazaridis states, “He’s speaking to the confidence he has in the platform. Not only is BlackBerry back in a big way with BB10, he’s also showing he can expand that vision to other platforms.”

Although BlackBerry Messenger will undoubtedly grow its user base by expanding to Android and iOS-based devices, it remains to be seen how this will ultimately affect the user base of Apple’s own popular iMessage service.

Here’s how Apple and BlackBerry has traded so far this week.

Here’s how Apple traded on Thursday:

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Now it appears that it is Microsoft’s turn to knock the capabilities of Apple’s iPad. While Siri apologizes for only being able to do one thing at a time, Microsoft’s tablet shows off its multitasking capabilities, which include using PowerPoint.  The commercial includes a biting dig at Apple when Siri asks the unseen user, “Should we just play ‘Chopsticks’?” This is a sarcastic reference to the Apple ad that introduced the iPad mini by having it accompany an iPad in a rendition of “Chopsticks.”

Microsoft’s final jab takes aim at the iPad’s price. The ad shows the 64 GB iPad price of $699 versus the $449 Windows 8 Tablet price. The ad concludes with the anti-Siri tagline, “Less talking. More doing.”

Here’s how Apple and Microsoft have traded so far this week.

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The Affordable Care Act will begin rolling out in October, and it will bring sweeping changes to how Americans get healthcare coverage. In particular, superstore-like state health exchanges — that are meant to make shopping for health insurance easier and more affordable — will open for enrollment this fall.

That Obamacare is controversial is undeniable. Republicans have attempted 37 times to repeal the bill or defund it, arguing that it will expand the powers of the federal government too far, or hurt small businesses, or put a heavy burden on the country’s finances. And where political objections end, economical objections begun. Industry experts have argued that the reform will not improve the healthcare system in America.

This sentiment is best expressed by Democratic Senator Max Baucus — a key architect of the healthcare reform law — who told Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at an April hearing that he is concerned that the implementation of the Obama administration’s signature healthcare law will be a train wreck

One group that will surely see its coverage change, and probably not for the best: spouses.

Despite the fact that Obamacare mandates that businesses with 50 or more employees provide health insurance for their workers and their dependents or pay a penalty, it will not require employers to cover spouses. The law only defines children as dependents. Before the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was enacted into law, approximately 150 million Americans received health insurance through their jobs and this insurance provided coverage to many husbands and wives as well. Many healthcare law authorities say that the change will not result in any big changes in the way that employers provide insurance for husbands and wives. But that may not necessarily be the case.

The legislation’s provisions represent a significant divergence from current standards. “Right now there are virtually no employers that just offer coverage for the employee and their children,” healthcare law expert Tim Jost told Mother Jones. “Whether that will change or not, who knows. We will probably see at least some employers who will offer individual and child coverage, but not coverage for spouses.” He regularly consults with the Obama administration on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

In the case of a higher earning family — say one that brings in more than $94,000 per year, an income greater than what 78 percent of households earn — health insurance costs could greatly increase. If a spouse is dropped from a husband’s or wife’s insurance, the household income would disqualify him or her from receiving a government subsidy to purchase insurance on the government-run insurance exchanges. The uncovered spouse would then have to purchase private insurance, which could costs hundreds of dollars per month.

If the dropped spouse is a middle income earner or poor, he or she will be able to shop on the exchange with a subsidy. But even then, coverage is not free, although the idea is that it will be at least affordable. When people buy coverage on the exchange, the subsidy will be based on household income, measured before the household pays for the employer-provided health insurance. The law stipulates that employer-provided health insurance must cover a set of core benefits and be affordable — which the law defines as premiums costing no more than 9.5 percent of an employee’s income. Added on top of those insurance costs, the family will be paying for the spouse’s subsidy on the exchange, which will based on that much higher pre-healthcare-costs income level.

“It’s a potential problem,” Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now, a group that backs Obamacare, told the publication. “There could be some folks that get lost in the shuffle. And that is not insignificant…If you’re one of few people adversely affected by something, it doesn’t matter that everyone else on the planet is getting the benefit.” It should be noted that 30 million people, who are currently without insurance, will get coverage under Obamacare.

Other industry experts believe that it is unlikely that too many employers will drop spouses. “Family coverage is valued employee benefit,” she told Mother Jones. “I don’t see that this provision is going to change what employers do.” Rome agreed with her stance, “If you are an employer and you provide good quality health care for your employees, including dependent coverage, it’s because you understand that a good benefits package is the best way to recruit and retain top-notch employees.”

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Here is your Cheat Sheet to Hibbett Sports Earnings:

Earnings Expectations: Analysts expect earnings of $1.07 per share on revenues of $246.41 million. Currently, the company’s P/E ratio stands at 22.35.

Analyst Trends:

Analysts have a more negative outlook for the company’s next-quarter performance. Over the past three months, the average estimate for next quarter’s earnings has fallen from a profit of $0.39 to a profit $0.38. For the current year, the average estimate is a profit of $3.03, which is the same as the estimate ninety days ago.

Earnings Trends:

Here’s how Hibbett Sports has been performing on an annual basis:

Next, our CHEAT SHEET investing framework asks us to drill down to the recent quarterly data:

Past Performance:
Hibbett Sports has beat analyst estimates 4 times in the past four quarters. Shareholders could expect a boost if the company beats estimates.

“E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our successful CHEAT SHEET investing framework. Don’t waste another minute – click here to discover our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now!

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Email any earnings discrepancies to earnings [at] wallstcheatsheet.com)

Pandora Media (NYSE:P) shares jumped 9 percent in late afternoon trading. The streaming music company reported revenue of $125.5 million in the recent quarter, higher than the $123.9 million expected by Wall Street. “Pandora continues to expand its mobile leadership,” stated Joe Kennedy, Pandora CEO. “Mobile listening hours and mobile ad revenue reached record highs, with growth in mobile ad revenue exceeding growth in mobile listening hours. During the quarter, we successfully implemented a mobile listening limit, enabling us to manage our content acquisition costs with minimal impact on listenership or revenue growth.”

Shares of Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) plunged more than 12 percent in late afternoon hours. The retailer reported a quarterly net loss of $279 million ($2.63 per share), compared to a profit of $189 million ($1.78 per share) a year earlier. Excluding items, Sears posted a loss of $1.29 per share, far worse than the 60 cent loss expected by analysts.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares edged slightly higher on Thursday, as the latest report from Monetate finds that the iPad accounts for 89.28 percent of e-commerce website traffic. Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android came in second with 8.20 percent. Apple’s tablet also beats every other platform on a money per user basis.

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Here is your Cheat Sheet to Foot Locker Earnings:

Earnings Expectations: Analysts expect earnings of $0.88 per share on revenues of $1.63 billion. Currently, the company’s P/E ratio stands at 14.31.

Analyst Trends:

Analysts have a more positive outlook for the company’s next-quarter performance. Over the past three months, the average estimate for next quarter’s earnings has risen from a profit of $0.45 to a profit $0.49. For the current year, the average estimate is a profit of $2.8, which is worse than the estimate ninety days ago.

Earnings Trends:

Here’s how Foot Locker has been performing on an annual basis:

Next, our CHEAT SHEET investing framework asks us to drill down to the recent quarterly data:

Past Performance:
Foot Locker has beat analyst estimates 3 times in the past four quarters. Shareholders could expect a boost if the company beats estimates.

“E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our successful CHEAT SHEET investing framework. Don’t waste another minute – click here to discover our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now!

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Email any earnings discrepancies to earnings [at] wallstcheatsheet.com)