Market Mad House

In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche

Amazon

Good Stocks

Kroger Raises the Bar in Online Grocery

This shows a very sophisticated grasp of ecommerce on Kroger’s part. It also demonstrates how this chain has become America’s biggest grocer and will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future.

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Long Ideas

Beijing’s New Open Door Bodes Well for Alibaba and Other Online Retailers

Other organizations that could benefit could be Netflix, Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY), Sears (NYSE: SHLD), Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), Best Buy (NYSE: BB) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT). All of these retailers could get access to the $404 billion Chinese market through alliances with Alibaba and stores on Tmall. Walmart, which already has a presence in China and a working relationship with Alibaba, could be in a great position here.

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Long Ideas

Is Lending Club Really Bubble Proof?

To be fair, there are some signs Lending Club is starting to make money. According to its financials, Lending Club had $64.6 million in cash and short-term investments when it went public. Yet on March 31, 2015, Lending Club had $874.13 million in cash and short-term investments. That shows us that it is capable of generating a lot of cash in a very short period of time, but can it keep that up?

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Crazy StocksStocks

Target Switches Gears in the Grocery Aisle

hat gives Target more control over pricing and promotion and increases its ability to offer special discounts or promotions to loyal customers; for example, lower prices to those who use its popular shopping apps and credit cards. This strategy has worked well for Kroger, which often undercuts Walmart Stores Inc.’s (NYSE: WMT) prices with its house brands. A similar strategy has worked well for Costco Wholesale Inc. (NASDAQ: COST), which heavily pushes its store brands.

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Long Ideas

Alibaba Proves It Has Some Value

That gave Alibaba a quarterly year to year revenue growth rate of 38.39%, over twice that of Amazon.com, which reported a revenue growth rate of 15.08% on March 31, 2015. Alibaba’s growth rate also far exceeded that of eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), which reported a rate of 4.36% on March 31, 2015, Best Buy NYSE: BBY), which reported a revenue growth rate of 2.82% on January 31, 2015, and Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), which reported a negative revenue growth rate of -3.69% on Jan. 31, 2015.

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Market Insanity

Lilly Pulitzer Mess Shows What’s Wrong at Target

It is no coincidence that Amazon reported a TTM revenue growth rate of 15.08% on March 31, while Target and Walmart’s sales were staying flat. America’s middle class has changed its shopping habits dramatically in the past decade.

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