The operating environment in the hotels and lodging sector has continued to deteriorate in the last few quarters, and we expect hotel industry operating metrics to remain stretched in the near term. As the recession continues, both business and leisure travelers are cutting back on their trips. However, with some early signs of economic recovery, we believe that hotel occupancy will improve in the fourth quarter of 2009 and in 2010. Though occupancy levels are expected to pick up, pricing pressures will continue as hotels will carry on offering heavily discounted rates to draw in travelers. As such, profits will remain cagey in this environment. In evaluating hotel companies such as Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) and Marriott International Inc. (MAR) during this down cycle, we will be paying close attention to changes in average daily room rates as an indication of how ...

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Wednesday October 7, 2009

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

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President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, along with J.W. Marriott Jr., chairman & chief executive officer of Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR), and Ricardo Poma, president of Grupo Poma, celebrated the grand opening of the 239-room Bogota Marriott Hotel last evening in Bogota, Colombia. The hotel is operated under a franchise agreement with Real Hotels & Resorts of El Salvador. It is the first Marriott International branded hotel to open in the country.

Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE:GXP) announced

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Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) signed 25 new deals and opened over 40 hotels in its North America Division in 2009. The company expects to open 20 more hotels by the end of this year. Globally, Starwood is on a voyage to open its 1000th hotel and resort.

Starwood's focus on developer-centric conversion has contributed to large scale hotel openings and new deal signings this year, which is in line with the company's strategy of long-term sustained growth in North America.

We believe the strength of Starwood's brands allow it to charge a premium for its hotel rooms. Given its property locations and strong brand recognition, we think that the company is well positioned to benefit from business travelers going to major North American destinations. Furthermore, as the demand environment improves, HOT should benefit from business travelers going to international locations as well.

Both business and leisure travel have

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DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

Tuesday September 15, 2009

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The Board of Directors of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) today declared an unchanged quarterly dividend of 55 cents per share of outstanding common stock. The dividend will be payable December 1, 2009, to shareholders of record as of November 6, 2009.

ATS Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATSI), manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery products, announced today that it will participate in the 2009 UBS Global Life Sciences Conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Michael Dale, President and CEO of ATS Medical, will present at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 22, 2009.

Marriott

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The probably bankruptcy of CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) could have major implications on the retail and manufacturing sectors this week, as many related companies are reliant on the financing giant.

With options running out over the weekend, CIT advisors began preparations for a bankruptcy filing. As of Sunday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) were talking with other banks about a debtor-in-possession loan, used to fund a company’s operations after it seeks court protection from creditors, Bloomberg News reported.

Bondholders held calls last week to discuss whether to swap some claims for equity to reduce indebtedness. Thomas Lauria, a lawyer at White & Case LLP, told Bloomberg that a group of CIT creditors he represents offered to provide $3 billion in new loans to bridge CIT to an out-of-court restructuring or an orderly bankruptcy, but had yet to hear back from CIT management.

“It seems CIT was

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Sector 10, Inc. is focused on introducing an entirely new paradigm in public safety. While billions of tax dollars are wasted in emergency response, little is spent on preparedness. By pre-deploying emergency life response equipment, the company is leading the way toward enabling disaster victims to take care of themselves until first responders arrive on the scene.

However, disaster victims aren’t the only ones reaping the lifesaving benefits of implementing Sector 10’s products. With new requirements just out, building owners could also benefit from lower insurance costs due to decreased liability risks. In fact, with the new Fire Codes introduced and as the company deploys its systems across the nation, building owners and tenants could actually increase their liability exposure by not having Sector 10’s products.

Here are just a few of the major hotel franchisers that would potentially benefit most

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Highlights include Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (HOT), Marriott International, Inc. (MAR) and Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG). We are downgrading our rating on shares of Starwood Hotels & Resorts (HOT) from Hold to Sell. The shares have climbed more than 135% since hitting lows in early March. In light of the current state of industry fundamentals, we consider the magnitude of this move to be unwarranted, and recommend that investors use the move as a selling opportunity. The hotel industry is in the midst of a deeply challenging downturn, with 2009 average weekly revenue per available room, or RevPAR, down nearly 20% year-over-year. Although Starwood, like industry peers Marriott (MAR) and Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), has taken steps to significantly reduce expenses, the reductions will not be sufficient to offset the large declines in revenue. Starwood management expects ...

We highlight Marriott International, Inc. (MAR), Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (HOT) and Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG).The ongoing recession continues to take its toll on the lodging industry, with weekly operating metrics consistently posting substantial year-over-year declines.According to data from Smith Travel Research, Inc., occupancy has fallen 12.1% year-over-year in the second quarter to date, while average daily room rate, or ADR, has fallen 9.4% versus the year-ago period. Together, this has resulted in revenue per available room, or RevPAR, falling 20.3% thus far in the second quarter.We note that this represents a decline from the first quarter of the year, when RevPAR was down 19.0% year-over-year.The chart below presents the weekly year-over-year changes in U.S. RevPAR during 2009. Although we expect that the year-over-year comparisons will begin to ease later this year -- due to weak ...

We highlight Marriott International, Inc. (MAR) and Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB).There were no surprises from the Fed. The target for the fed funds rate was unchanged, the economy is still a concern and the central bank's balance sheet is being expanded.Stabilization of the credit markets and the economy remains the focus of the Fed. Today's statement shows that the Federal Open Market Committee remains willing to risk high inflation in the years ahead if that means avoiding deflation now. Given the prevailing conditions, this is the right move.Even though the first-quarter GDP report had some bright spots -- such as the improvement in consumer spending and the decline in inventories -- it was an awful report. The recession is marching on.Yes, we are seeing many signs the rate of deterioration has slowed, but the economy is still going downhill. The ...

Highlights include Carnival Corp. (CCL/CUK), Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (RCL), Marriott International, Inc. (MAR) and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.(HOT).Travel Stocks Down on Swine Flu ConcernsSwine Flu concerns have driven travel industry stocks lower today, as the Street fears this recent development will only add to the challenges already facing the sector.These fears were amplified today when the European Union's health commissioner warned that Europeans "should avoid traveling to Mexico or the United States of America unless it is very urgent for them."The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has stated that this proclamation was unwarranted, as there have only been 20 cases confirmed in the United States, only one of which even required hospitalization.With travel demand already at extremely weak levels, any additional adversity could make the operating environment in the ...