By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Plagued by plummeting U.S. sales and $4-a-gallon gasoline, General Motors Corp. (GM) may sell its four-foot-tall Chevrolet Beat in U.S. markets, sources told Bloomberg News. The subcompact three-door hatchback was unveiled at last year’s New York International Car Show, though GM said it would be produced overseas and wouldn’t immediately be sold in the United States. However, both U.S. production and sales are possible, the sources said. U.S. government fuel efficiency mandates are also playing a role. By 2020, automakers are required to reduce fuel use by 40%. GM at least knows drivers around the world are excited about the Beat compared to two other prototypes it unveiled. Votes of an online poll on GM’s Web site overwhelmingly preferred the Beat, which received 1.8 million votes worldwide. "The people have spoken. The vote count tripled all previous ...

Article Source Unfortunately, this seems to be unfolding according to script. The dramatic abandonment of gas guzzlers by American consumers continues, with last month's sales of domestically manufactured light trucks (which includes the once almighty SUV category) down 28% from June 2007. The dramatic abandonment of gas guzzlers by American consumers continues, with last month's sales of domestically manufactured light trucks (which includes the once almighty SUV category) down 28% from June 2007. Data source: Wardsauto.com Sales of imported SUVs, which had been holding up better, plunged even more dramatically. Data source: Wardsauto.com For the lighter car category, sales of domestics fell 13%, Data source: Wardsauto.com while imported cars, which tend to get better mileage, eked out a 4% gain: Data source: Wardsauto.com...

We should see Wall Street start off with a nice rally this morning, though I won't place a bet on where the day ends. Markets are terribly oversold and yesterday's action ended in a bullish reversal on high volume at support -- that's VERY bullish.And yet we seem to get more terrible news all the time ...BAD NEWS FOR THE CONSUMER ...

Auto sales plunge

June auto sales plunged, according to reports from the nation's major automakers, as Americans shunned pickups and SUVs in the face of record gas prices. General Motors reported that its U.S. sales fell 18% in June versus a year ago. Sales of GM's light trucks, which includes pickups, SUVs and so-called crossovers, tumbled 16%. GM's car sales dropped 21% in the month.

BAD NEWS ON INFLATION ...

Manufacturers struggle to overcome rising prices

NEW YORK - Each week, Ira Cooper opens

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My latest column is up at RealMoney.

In a normal economy, shares of Au Optronics (AUO) would be rising as fast as the company’s sales. Instead, sales and cash flow are zooming, and the company has been topping estimates by a wide margin, but shares keep moving sideways and now trade for less than 5 times projected EPS. In time, look for shares to catch up with the growth metrics.

AU Optronics makes thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels and other flat-panel displays, which are used in notebook computers and desktop monitors, as well as in portable consumer electronics devices and LCD televisions. AUO competes primarily with LG Display (LPL) and Samsung Electronics, both of which are larger than AU. Corning (GLW - Annual Report) is also a significant force and is one of the company’s primary suppliers for glass substrates.

The company

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South Texas Oil Company is an Austin-based company that acquires, explores for, and develops domestic oil and natural gas properties. Formerly known as Nutek Oil, Inc., the company changed their name in 2005. Founded in 1998, they process their oil and sell it to Equiva, a division of Shell Oil.

Trading on the OTCBB, South Texas Oil is part of the Oil and Gas Drilling and Exploration industry. Their current market capitalization is $44.17M. They have an interest in 176 wells. They own 91 well properties and related equipment in Texas.

The company’s sales for 2007 were $5,692,900. They have mineral interests in 43,244 acres of oil and gas properties in two states. In northeast Colorado, they have 20,000 acres, primarily in the DJ Basin.

In Texas, the company has 18,000 acres in the south central part of the state. In southwest Texas, they have 5,244 acres in their fold. The

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Destination Television implements an array of private TV networks with digital signage solutions in high-traffic locations outside of its client’s respective domains. American Broadcast Group, a wholly-owned Destination Television subsidiary, operates solely for DSTV’s exclusive networks. These include GymTV, BarTV, and Hotel TV, and all are targeted to specific industries to provide the company with a continuous stream of ad revenue.

According to the company’s sales model, advertisers can purchase six-month contracts which facilitate 10-second spots, five times an hour for about $1,000. Destination Television claims to be capable of serving twenty advertisers a year, per screen, per location. The most recent deal struck by the company is an agreement with PharmaseeTV to utilize DSTV solutions in more than 250 pharmacies nationwide.

This, and other agreements, have led to the rapid expansion of Destination Television’s operations over the past twelve months. While we are well into the digital age,

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Chiquita Brands International sells many bananas - and other products too - as evidenced by their sales data. Their approximate annual revenue is $4.5B. Trading on the NYSE, the company is part of the Farm Products industry and has their headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are a marketer and distributor of bananas, other fruits, and convenient green salads.

Their primary brands are Chiquita and Fresh Express. Chiquita acquired Fresh Express in June of 2005. Fresh Express is the packaged salad and fresh-cut fruit business that Chiquita purchased from Performance Food Group. Chiquita normally gains 59 percent of their sales from European and other international markets, and 41 percent from North America.

The company operates three business segments. The banana segment sources, transports and distributes their top-quality bananas around the world. Their salads and healthy snacks segment distributes value-added salads and fresh vegetable and fruit ingredients used in the food service industry. This

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