Notable (Dodd-Frank, 3D-Printing, Post-Reorg Equity, etc.)

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3D Printing. Increasing evidence of its rise from the CEO of Jabil Circuit Inc. ($JBL) - and not just for prototyping. If this continues to grow, it will have wind-ranging implications for manufacturing.

Alitalia. Apparently it's getting a lot of interest.

Credit Cards. Chargeoffs are on the rise. This helps explain, to some degree, why consumer spending is coming in below expectations.

Dodd-Frank. Peace out. We would love some investigative reporter to do a story on the hundreds of millions of dollars that were proffered to big law firms to draft "living wills" that nobody...like not one person...ever thought were based in reality to begin with. That said, not to get political but haven't we seen this deregulation movie before? 

Post-Reorg equity. Brookfield Asset Management has a hedge fund ($300mm seeded, unclear of size now) that is chomping at the bit for post-reorg equity. We're curious to know which ones they think are attractive as several have flat-lined without having a large institutional sponsor underlying the stock. Peabody Energy($BTU), Midstates Petroleum ($MPO), Basic Energy ($BAS), Goodrich Petroleum Corporation ($GDP) and Sandridge Energy Inc ($SD) come to mind.

Radio Shack. Interested in some esoteric home furnishings? Well, interestingly, the carcass of Radio Shack remains up for auction and you can get a piece of it for your crib.

Simon Property Group ($SPG). We've beat these guys up ad nauseum because we don't buy the BS they're feeding us about how healthy they are - despite the noted new "click-to-brick" folks above and the opportunity that may present. This is a reason why. And we expect to see more of this.

News for the Week of 3/5/17

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  • Coal. Post-reorg players like Arch Coal are now trying to take advantage ofgovernment subsidy (which reeks of buyside "value-realization"): query what this means for alternative energy players who already receive such subsidies and are rumored to be under siege by the Trump administration...?
  • Environment. We wrote a few months ago about Oklahoma and the apparent correlation between wastewater disposal and an uptick in seismic activity. The seismic-hazard warning for Oklahoma in 2017 is "still significantly elevated."
  • Golf & Sexy Time. There's zero correlation: we just thought it was a funny combination. That said, tough times for TaylorMade (owned by Adidas and apparently being shopped by Guggenheim Securities). Meanwhile, Agent Provocateur sold while in UK "administration" to an affiliate of Sports Direct (which also recently surfaced as the stalking horse bidder in Eastern Outfitters). AlixPartners was the administrator.
  • Legal Profession. Short big firm junior lawyers.
  • Power. This is an odd report on Westinghouse. 
  • Retail. We're getting a little sick of sounding like a broken record but Best Buy and Target reported numbers this past week and then saw massive stock drops due to weak guidance. And Barnes & Noble got DECIMATED after reporting numbers. The good news is that the coloring fad appears to be over. Meanwhile, the tech barrage shows no signs of abating: GameStop came under pressure this week after Microsoft announced its subscription gaming service. Is GameStop an immediate near term restructuring candidate? No, but part of the value we provide is highlighting for you where future pain points are hiding and without sounding TOO dramatic, this could be the beginning of the end.
  • Retail II. We're nerds and so we found this analysis of when to close retail stores interesting. And we're curious to know if any of our advisory readers agree with this...LET US KNOW. Speaking of closing retail stores, Abercrombie will close 60 stores, Crocs will close 160 stores, and looming bankruptcy candidate hhgregg is closing 88 stores (which briefly sent Best Buy's stock north back up, despite earnings). Meanwhile, Neiman Marcus hired Lazard for balance sheet help and Radio Shack 2.0 (aka General Wireless Operations) is rumored to be Radio Shack chapter 22.0.  
  • Tech. Rough week for Uber. Choice quote: "Before too long, Uber's cash will run out. And if Uber hasn't built a viable self-driving car by then, the results won't be pretty."
  • Telecom. Wow, Intelsat, bailed out? 
  • Fast Forward: Seadrill Ltd. noted the possibility of a bankruptcy filing, sending the stock into a tizzy. Still, John Fredriksen quickly highlighted his history of no default. Related, Pacific Drilling also noted in its earnings call that Chapter 11 is possible. 
  • Rewind I: A lot of folks have been sleeping on tech bankruptcies, but NJOY was a hardware bankruptcy from last year that now has a resolution: Mudrick Capital seeks to turn the company around, operating it like a PE-owned company rather than a VC-funded company. Speaking of which, Cirque du Soleil got a workover by TPG Capital (and AlixPartners) and now there's this YouTube promotional video to show for it. Speaking of purchases out of bankruptcy, it seems a Canadian retail player made the first move on Wet Seal only to be outflanked by Gordon Brothers.
  • Rewind II: Soundcloud looks increasingly like it will be in the busted tech bankruptcy bucket. IP sale?
  • Chart of the Week: 
  • Tweet of the Week: This is great because it doubles as a second chart of the week: we're so creative. Anyway, we hate to say we told you so but, effectively,we told you so: we'd love to know why nearly 200 companies felt the need to reference AI in their earnings reports...