Lessons Learned from Second Life By Dr. Tracy Tuten, Author of Advertising 2.0: Social Media Marketing in a Web 2.0 World Virtual worlds give participants an opportunity to be whoever they want, wish or hope to be. With a custom designed "avatar," you can look, behave and speak any way you want. It's your "second life," after all. Brands, however, don't have that luxury. They bring established reputations and perceptions into a realm where everything is new and anything goes. The "Wild West" nature of virtual worlds frightens brand managers schooled in carefully crafted and controlled messages, and Second Life indeed chased many away. But with technology -- and especially social ...

One Small Step For Housing… One Giant Leap For Socialism

The Fannie/ Freddie deal took center-stage this week, failing to kick off the expected ferocious rally. Barry Ritholtz at The Big Picture blog has compiled an excellent list of news stories from multiple sources covering the deal. More notable items include Fannie and Freddie paying over $170 million to Washington lobbyists over the last ten years and a story that foreign banks pressured Hank Paulson into the deal fearing they would lose billions if the two firms went under. http://bigpicture.typepad.com/

Lehman Gets No Takers At Korea… or Anywhere Else

Lehman has become a leper on Wall Street. Not even sovereign wealth funds are interested in buying the distressed investment bank. Among those rejecting its advances: Korean Development Bank: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group: http://www.reuters.com/ Royal Bank of Canada: http://www.ft.com/ Goldman Sachs http://biz.yahoo.com/...

With over 275 offices worldwide and approximately 8,500 employees, Tetra Tech Inc. is a leading provider of consulting, engineering, and technical services. Founded in 1966, and listed on the NASDAQ, the company operates in three segments: Resource Management, Infrastructure Services, and Communications Services. Their corporate mission is to be the premier global consulting and engineering firm.

Headquartered in Pasadena, California, Tetra Tech began as a provider of engineering services related to waterways, harbors, and coastal areas. Today, they offer expanded services and their fiscal year 2007 revenues were $1.55 billion. Overall, the company provides environmental water/wastewater management, infrastructure services, communications support, systems support, security design, and outsourced technical services.

Their Resource Management division focuses on the management of water resources. They help support government programs for water quality improvement and environmental restoration. They also support the productive reuse of defense facilities as well as engage in strategic environmental resource planning. They

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In looking at a few names: Kohl’s (KSS), Wal-Mart (WMT), Costco (COST) and Target (TGT), I find Kohl’s to be the most compelling. Costco appears to be rich, and Target and Wal-Mart look fairly valued. Kohl’s offers best growth potential at lower multiples, as well as the highest margins and return on assets.

Concerns over consumer stamina have raised caution among investors regarding names in the retail space. Most retailers have sharp declines in their stock price in the last couple of months. The primary factor responsible for the retail weakness stems from expectations of a pullback in consumer spending. Slower economic growth, higher energy/food prices, and tighter credit all point to less robust consumer spending.