On this day in economic and business history...
Millions of children in two successive generations -- the Boomers and Generation X -- first experienced "computing" technology through video games. Credit for that cultural legacy is owed largely to Atari, which did more to popularize the first video games in arcades and on consoles than any other company. It all began on June 28, 1972�, when Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney founded the company in California.
Atari's first hire, 24-year-old Al Alcorn�, was assigned to work on an arcade knockoff of the Magnavox Odyssey's tennis game, which Bushnell had seen in demonstration a month earlier. The Odyssey, despite becoming the first home game console in history when launched that August, was not a great commercial success. Atari's knockoff, however, became legendary. You might have heard of it; it's called Pong (click the link to read more about Pong and Atari).
Pong established Atari as the preeminent video-gaming company in an industry it more or less created out of nothing. This early success forced Atari to expand rapidly. By mid-1974, it was up to 39 employees, but employee number 40 is the one that went on to the greatest success. Al Alcorn met the kid in Atari's lobby, and he later recounted the incident to video game historian Steven Kent�:
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: OMNOVA Solutions Inc.(OMN)
OMNOVA Solutions Inc. provides emulsion polymers, specialty chemicals, and decorative and functional surfaces for commercial, industrial, and residential end uses primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. The company operates in two segments, Performance Chemicals and Decorative Products. The Performance Chemicals segment offers a range of emulsion polymers and specialty chemicals based primarily on styrene butadiene, styrene butadiene acrylonitrile, styrene butadiene vinyl pyridine, nitrile butadiene, polyvinyl acetate, acrylic, styrene acrylic, vinyl acrylic, glyoxal, phenolic and diphenylamine antioxidants, hollow plastic pigment, fluorochemicals, and bio-based chemistries. Its custom-formulated products include tailored resins, binders, adhesives, specialty rubbers, antioxidants, and elastomeric modifiers, which are used in paper, specialty coatings, carpets, nonwovens, construction, oil/gas drilling, adhesives, tapes, tire cords, floor care, textiles, graphic arts , polymer stabilization, industrial rubbers and hoses, bio-based polymers, and various other applications. This segment primarily sells its products directly to manufacturers. The Decorative Products segment develops, designs, produces, and markets a line of functional and decorative surfacing products, including coated fabrics, vinyl, paper and specialty laminates, and performance films. Its products are used in various applications, such as commercial building refurbishment, remodeling, and new construction; residential cabinets, flooring, and furnishings; retail display; transportation markets; recreational vehicles; manufactured housing; medical devices and products; and various industrial film applications. This segment distributes its products primarily through a direct sales force; and agents to manufacturers of cabinets, furniture, seating, health care and medical components, and other products. OMNOVA Solutions Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Fairla wn, Ohio.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Sean Williams]
Chemical reaction
The disappointments are starting to mount for investors in OMNOVA Solutions (NYSE: OMN ) , an emulsion polymer and specialty chemicals maker that has missed the Street's estimates in worsening fashion for three straight quarters. Its first-quarter results, released earlier this month, showed a 9% decline in total revenue from the year-ago period because of lower volumes in Europe and India, and business seasonality. However, optimistic contentions could also be made based on this same earnings report.
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: Yuhe International Inc(YUII)
Yuhe International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in supplying day-old chickens raised for meat production or broilers in the People?s Republic of China. It purchases baby parent breeding stocks from primary breeder farms, raises them for hatching eggs, and sells live day-old broilers. The company also supplies chicken feed stock. The company has 43 breeder farms with 28 in operation and 3 hatcheries with a total annual capacity of 3.15 million sets of breeders and 160 hatchers. It serves integrated chicken companies, broiler raising companies, and individual broiler raisers through third party distributors. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Weifang, the People?s Republic of China.
Eltek Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells printed circuit boards (PCBs), including high density interconnect multi-layered and flex-rigid boards primarily in Israel, Europe, and North America. The company offers a range of custom designed PCBs, such as complex rigid, double-sided, and multi-layer PCBs, as well as flexible circuitrym made of various types of high-performance base material. It offers its products to manufacturers of medical equipment, defense and aerospace equipment, industrial equipment, and telecom and networking equipment, as well as contract electronic manufacturers. The company markets and sells its products through direct sales personnel, sales representatives, and agreements with PCB trading and manufacturing companies. Eltek Ltd. was founded in 1970 and is based in Petach Tikva, Israel.
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: Orange SA (ORAN)
Orange SA, formerly France Telecom S.A., incorporated on December 31, 1996, is an European mobile operator, an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) Internet access provider in Europe, and telecommunications services provider for multinational businesses under the Orange Business Services brand. As of December 31, 2010, France Telecom provided services to 209 million customers, of which 150 million were mobile phone customers and 13.7 million were broadband Internet customers, and as of June 30, 2011, provided services to 217.3 million customers. It offers its individual customers, businesses and other telecommunications operators a line of services covering fixed and mobile communications, data transmission, the Internet and multimedia, and other services. The Company�� segments include France, Poland, Spain, Rest of the World, Business Communication Services, International Carriers and Shared Services.
France
The range of services in the Home segment in France is made up of fixed-line telephony services; other consumer services; online, Internet access, and multimedia services; advertising-management and Internet portal business; content-related business, and carrier services. France Telecom�� traditional fixed-line telephony services provide access to the network, local and long-distance telephone communication services throughout France, and international calls. In addition, France Telecom offers its fixed-line telephony subscribers a broad range of value-added services. The France Telecom Group has a number of portals, including Orange.fr, which is either Web- or mobile-accessible. In December 2010, its audience reached 22.5 million, and Voila.fr and Cityvox (entertainment and leisure listing site in France) in its different formats, such as Cityvox.fr, Cinefil.com, Spectacles.fr, Concert.fr and WebCity.fr. The primary revenue source is online advertising sold by the Orange Advertising Network. This advertising management department sells advertising space for ab! out 20 third-party sites, both Web and mobile.
Orange�� offers are built around three product lines: postpaid, prepaid and convergent offers. Orange offers two categories of prepaid offer, to which calls are charged by the second from the first second: The Mobicarte, includes a range of recharges from 5 to 100 euros and Orange Initial, which enables the customer to be billed monthly depending on his or her actual consumption. Orange also has a number of offers that pair mobile use and mobile Internet access with all-in-one offers, including both the hardware and an Internet access plan. The USB 3G+ plans enable connection to the Internet via the mobile broadband network or the Orange public wireless fidelity (WiFi) network from a laptop computer, multimedia mobile phone or a tablet personal computer.
The Company competes with SFR-Neuf Cegetel, Free, Bouygues Telecom, Numericable, Google and Voila.
Poland
Orange (the brand under which the TP Group subsidiary, PTK Centertel trades) had a total of 14.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2010. In April 2010, PTK Centertel introduced segmented postpaid offers for residential customers. Depending on the usage profile, customers can choose from three types of tariff plans: Dolphin tariffs for frequent users of voice services, Pelican for customers focused on text and community Web-services, and Panther for users of mobile data services (Internet, email). The mobile broadband Internet customer base (Edge and 3G data services) reached 547,000 customers during 2010. In 2010, Orange introduced a SIM-only mobile Internet offer and a portfolio of terminals dedicated to the Orange Free offer.
The Company competes with Netia, Multimedia Polska, Aster and Hyperion.
Spain
Orange Espana, operating under Orange, Ya.com and OBS (Enterprise) brands offers fixed and mobile telecommunication services to more than 13 million customers in the residential, professional, business and who! lesale se! gments. Orange Espana�� physical distribution network consists in 2,922 points of presence, including Orange own shops, franchises, specialized shops under the Orange brand, non exclusive specialized shops, and a network of retailers. Orange Espana also distributes its services through distance selling channels, and its own online portal. Orange Espana fixed access infrastructure, based on its own optic fiber network and ADSL roll-out, enables delivery of advanced telecommunication services, including broadband Internet access, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), internet protocol television (IPTV), television (TV) streaming, video on demand (VOD) and advanced business services.
The Company competes with Telefonica, ONO, Vodafone and Jazztel.
Rest of the world
The France Telecom Group is present in Luxembourg via Orange S.A. (formerly VOXmobile), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mobistar. The Luxembourg subsidiary, VOXmobile, was renamed Orange S.A. in October 2009. During the year ended December 31, 2010, Orange S.A. had 88,900 active mobile telephony customers.
The Company competes with Proximus, Mobistar, Base, ex-Mobifon, Telefonica O2, Deutsche Telekom, Swisscom, Sunrise, Moldtelecom, Starnet, ECMS, Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat U.A.E.
Enterprise Communications Services
The Orange Business Services brand covers both the Enterprise Communication Services (ECS) unit, which supplies communications services to multinational companies and corporate accounts and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in France and Orange subsidiaries Business-to-Business (B2B) activities.
Orange Business Services covers the Company�� business customers in more than 160 countries and regions where it provides local technical and commercial assistance. This business segment includes a number of subsidiaries, including Etrali (trading solutions), Almerys (health), Orange Consulting (project management, telecom consulting), Multimedia Business Se! rvices (m! ultimedia contact centers), Neocles (virtualization solutions), IT&Labs (design and development of embedded Machine-to-Machine applications, vehicle fleet management), Obiane and Telecom System (secure network integration), Alsy (integration services), EGT (equipment and services for video conferences), and GlobeCast (multimedia broadcast systems).
The Company competes with IBM, HP, Microsoft and Cisco.
The Company competes with COLT Telecom, Numericable-Completel, BT Global Services, AT&T Business Services, Verizon Business, T-Systems, Reliance Globalcom, Tata Communications, Belgacom Group, NextiraOne, Spie Communication, NTT Group, IBM Global Services, HP Enterprise Services, Atos Origin, Salesforce and Amazon.
International Carriers and Shared Services
Orange�� International Carriers activity is based on long-distance network infrastructure and offers a range of solutions on the international market. The Company is involved in the design, construction and operation of submarine cables. The Company�� wholesale activity includes a worldwide network with over 120 presence points and 130,000 kilometers of fiber optic cable; a worldwide network of Internet protocol (IP) routes with end users in over 220 countries and connections to over 250 Internet service providers and a hit rate of over 85% for all European net surfers. France Telecom�� network has over 330 direct routes and interconnections with over 359 operators, and coverage in over 900 destinations with around-the-clock technical support. Its range of solutions includes interconnection, interoperability and signaling solutions for messaging, voice and video telephony services and the Orange Roaming Hub (Global eXchange) solution for moving from a bilateral model to a multilateral roaming system.
France Telecom has developed activities related to its core business line, such as content broadcasting, audience and advertising, and also healthcare activities. Orange offers free a! nd paying! content on its own channels, paid program packages, Video On Demand, music and game offers. Orange distributes content provided by third parties (television, games, music) on fixed-line and mobile networks both inside and outside France. Orange also produces its own channels: Orange Sport and Orange Cinema�� five different channels. Studio 37, is a subsidiary for investing in cinematographic rights, through both co-production and the acquisition of catalogue rights. During the year ended December 32, 2010, Studio 37 supported the launch of 15 films, including the Gainsbourg and Fatal. The Viaccess group, a France Telecom subsidiary, offers access solutions to television content. Orange is present in the games market through the games it sells on the orange.fr portal (Casual Games dedicated to family type games, such as breakout clones or riddles). Orange Healthcare, is the Company�� healthcare division, focused on developing service packages for the whole sector within a partnership approach.
The Company competes with Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, Telia Sonera and AT&T.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Anders Bylund]
France Telcom (NYSE: ORAN ) is a classic income stock. Its double-digit dividend yield is powered by stable cash flows in a maturing industry.
- [By Brian Pacampara]
Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, French telecommunications giant France Telecom (NYSE: ORAN ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
- [By Rich Smith]
No soup for Yahoo!
For some time now, Yahoo! has been angling to make a big buy in France. New CEO Marissa Mayer had her eye on online video website and Google rival Dailymotion, which France Telecom (NYSE: ORAN ) was looking to unload.
- [By Sean Williams]
Finally, because three isn't a crowd when it comes to receiving dividends, we received our $0.2637 per share distribution from France Telecom (NYSE: ORAN ) . France Telecom pays out two semi-annual dividends each year that can vary wildly in size. Like Exelon, France Telecom reduced its dividend by more than 40% recently, but is still pledging to deliver what would equate to at least 0.80 euros ($1.07) this year. �That would equate to a yield of 10.8% based on yesterday's closing price, and the prospect of nearly an $0.80 dividend being announced later this summer. Don't be surprised if you see income seekers jumping into France Telecom in the coming months.
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: Homeloans Ltd (HOM.AX)
Homeloans Limited engages in the mortgage origination and management of home loans in Australia. The company originates residential mortgages through external mortgage brokers, satellite offices, and internal consultants. It is also involved in the securitization of mortgages through the residential mortgage trust, a special purpose vehicle used to issue residential mortgage backed securities. In addition, the company offers various types of home loans, including variable rate, fixed rate, split, lo doc, bridging, interest only, standard, and line of credit home loans. Further, it provides home loans for building and renovating, refinancing and debt consolidating, and investing activities, as well as for first home buyers and self employed borrowers. Additionally, the company offers various insurance policies comprising home and contents, motor vehicle, landlords, and life insurance policies. Homeloans Limited was founded in 1985 and is based in Sydney, Australia.
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc.(SASR)
Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Sandy Spring Bank, which offers a range of commercial banking, retail banking, and trust services to individuals and businesses in Maryland. It accepts various deposit products consisting of demand, money market savings, regular savings, and time deposits, as well as interest-bearing and non interest-bearing deposits. The company?s loan portfolio includes residential real estate development and construction loans; commercial loans comprising commercial real estate loans, commercial construction loans, equipment leases, and other commercial loans; and consumer loans, including home equity loans and lines, installment loans, personal lines of credit, marine loans, and student loans. It also offers personal trust, and investment and wealth management services. In addition, the company provides equipment leasing services for small to medium sized businesses through vendors, and to end-users located primarily from New Jersey to Florida. Further, it offers annuities as an alternative to traditional deposit accounts; provides general insurance services in the areas of commercial, personal, and medical liability lines; and provides investment management and financial planning to individuals, families, small businesses, and associations, including cash flow analysis, investment review, tax planning, retirement planning, insurance analysis, and estate planning. As of July 13, 2011, Sandy Spring Bancorp operated 44 community offices in Anne Arundel, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties in Maryland, as well as Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties in Virginia. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Olney, Maryland.
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: Boom Logistics Ltd(BOL.AX)
Boom Logistics Limited provides crane logistics and lifting solutions to resource, energy, utilities, and infrastructure sectors in Australia. The company provides managed lifting solutions, contractual maintenance programs, crane integration for high rise construction, engineering services and maintenance, and equipment hire services. It also involves in the sale of cranes and crane parts; and the provision of repairs and maintenance services. The company offers a range of cranes, lifting equipment, and heavy haulage vehicles, as well as access and ancillary equipment. Its solutions include mobile, project, crawler, and tower cranes; heavy haulage vehicles, such as prime movers and low loaders; low profile prime movers; overhead jacking systems; and travel towers, under-bridge units, trailer lifts, spider lifts, boom lifts, knuckle boom lifts, scissor lifts, one man lifts, material lifts, material handlers, generators, and compressors. Boom Logistics Limited operates in a range of industry sectors, primarily industrial maintenance, commercial construction, resources and petro chemical industry, civil works, and heavy lifting sectors. It offers approximately 530 cranes and 2,500 items of access equipment. The company, formerly known as Australian Crane Company, was incorporated in 2000 and is based in Southbank, Australia.
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: LRAD Corporation(LRAD)
LRAD Corporation engages in the design, development, and commercialization of directed sound technologies and products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The company develops and delivers directed acoustic products that beam, focus, and control sound over short and long distances. It offers Long Range Acoustic Device, which creates directed acoustic beam to communicate at operational ranges in high ambient noise environments, primarily for military applications. The company also provides SoundSaber thin film magnetic speaker technology that provides high clarity throughout the audio range for emergency and mass notification, public address, and other sound applications. Its SoundSaber hardened panels are used in acoustic environments, such as hangar bays, industrial buildings, airports, and other facilities. LRAD Corporation sells its products directly to government, military, large end-users, and defense-related companies. The company was formerly known as American Technology Corporation and changed its name to LRAD Corporation in March 2010. LRAD Corporation was founded in 1980 and is based in San Diego, California.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By gurujx]
LRAD (LRAD): CFO/Secretary Katherine McDermott Sold 38,204 Shares
CFO/Secretary Katherine McDermott sold 38,204 shares of LRAD stock on Aug. 28 at the average price of $1.57. Katherine H McDermott owns at least 17,800 shares after this. The price of the stock has decreased by 10.19% since.
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: Bioanalytical Systems Inc.(BASI)
Bioanalytical Systems, Inc. provides drug discovery and development services for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, and government organizations primarily in North America, the Pacific Rim, and Europe. The company operates in two segments, Contract Research Services and Research Products. The Contract Research Services segment offers various services, including product characterization, method development, and validation; bioanalytical testing to measure drug and metabolite concentrations in complex biological matrices; stability testing to establish and confirm product purity, potency, and shelf life; in vivo sampling services for the continuous monitoring of chemical changes in life; and pharmacokinetic and safety testing services, as well as provides screening and pharmacological testing, preclinical safety testing, formulation development, regulatory compliance, and quality control testing services. The Research Products segment offers analytical products compris ing liquid chromatographic and electrochemical instruments with associated accessories; in vivo sampling products, such as Culex family of automated in vivo sampling and dosing instruments; and Vetronics? products consisting of instruments and related software to monitor and diagnose cardiac function, and measure other vital physiological parameters in cats and dogs. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Top 10 Stocks To Own Right Now: Sears Canada Inc Com Npv(SCC.TO)
Sears Canada Inc. operates as a multi-channel retailer in Canada. The company operates department stores that offer appliances, home furnishings and mattresses, home decor, lawn and garden, hardware, electronics and leisure, seasonal products, nursery products, cosmetics, jewelry, footwear, and accessories, as well as women?s, men?s, and children?s apparel; home stores, which provide home improvement products; and home dealer stores that offer furniture, home electronics, outdoor power equipment, and merchandise. It also operates outlet stores, which provide clearance merchandise; appliances and mattresses stores that offer appliances, mattresses and box-springs, and products of private label and various national brands; operates and franchises appliance specialty stores under the Corbeil name; and floor covering centers that offer an assortment of broadloom and hard floor coverings. In addition, the company provides a range of home services, including the sale, install ation, maintenance, and repair of heating and cooling equipment, roofing, doors and windows, flooring, window coverings, energy audits, kitchen and bathroom renovations, carpet and upholstery cleaning, and duct cleaning; and travel and logistics services. Further, it offers products directly through telephone, mail, fax, and online at sears.ca, as well as in person through its stores and catalogue agents. As of May 24, 2012, the company operated 196 corporate stores, 278 hometown dealer stores, 29 home services showrooms, 1,500 catalogue and online merchandise pick-up locations, and 105 Sears Travel offices, as well as a home maintenance, repair, and installation network. Additionally, it has joint venture interests in 12 shopping centers in Canada. The company was formerly known as Simpsons-Sears Limited and changed its name to Sears Canada Inc. in May 1984. The company was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Sears Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Sears H oldings Corporation.