Jay McIntosh

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Sorry, Cramer! Furniture Brands is still interesting, though

This is an update of the blog I posted yesterday, in which I was skeptical of Jim Cramer's suggestion that Furniture Brands International could be a takeover target, maybe by Masco.Turns out that's not what Cramer said. I finally was able to watch the video, and he's clearly talking about Fortune Brands, a different company. The summary of the video on the CNBC site, however, said Furniture Brands... More

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Old San Francisco Mart area getting a facelift

Remember the old San Francisco Mart? I miss the strolls through the Tenderloin from our hotel to the market buildings (dodging the occasional drunk and panhandler), the morning runs up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower and its spectacular view of the Bay, and eating at that great dim sum restaurant in the financial district.Now it sounds like the landscape is changing for the old Mart district. My frie... More

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Where is Furniture Brands headed?

Furniture Brands International executives Ralph Scozzafava and Steve Rolls assured securities analysts in a conference call Thursday morning that the company would have positive free cash flow next year. This proved to be not very assuring at all to many investors, who sold off the stock in droves that day and sent its share price down more than 25%. Furniture Brands, the largest U.S. publicly hel... More

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On dog food and party goods

I just read about a couple of brand extensions that surprised me a little but make sense when you think about them.Biltmore, the Asheville, N.C.-based company that manages the Biltmore Estate and has licensed lines of home furnishings and other products based on the huge and lavish home, is getting into the party business with Biltmore Inspirations. As its press release says, "Biltmore Inspir... More

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China currency issue takes a back seat

It looks like those furniture importers were on to something when they said they didn’t expect anything dramatic to happen to the value of China’s currency anytime soon. This past Saturday, the U.S. government said it was delaying a report that could have spurred more debate, if not action, on the issue. People watching the situation were anxious to see if the Treasury report was going to label Ch... More