NOTE TO EDITORS: The Following Is an Investment Opinion Being Issued by The Bellwether Report.

Books, barbs, and Barbies colored in the market's clunky coloring book this past week.

6:00 PM EST 08/29/08 BoardCentral StockTalk highlights AAPL, AMD, FNM, HPNN, ZBRA, CPPD, GOOG, CSCO, SIRI, GSPG as most popular stocks on the Web today. StockTalk is an intra-day resource focusing on stocks generating most Interest, Chatter and Hype across most popular financial message boards.

Words of wisdom from one of the world's greatest investors.

9:30 AM EST 08/29/08 BoardCentral StockTalk highlights AAPL, GE, AMD, FRPT, ELN, HPNN, GOOG, MSFT, GLCC, SIRI as most popular stocks on the Web today. StockTalk is an intra-day resource focusing on stocks generating most Interest, Chatter and Hype across most popular financial message boards.

4:30 PM EST 08/28/08 BoardCentral StockTalk highlights AAPL, AMD, GE, MLKNA, ELN, ASML, CSCO, AMZN, SIRI, GSPG, FRPT as most popular stocks on the Web today. StockTalk is an intra-day resource focusing on stocks generating most Interest, Chatter and Hype across most popular financial message boards.

Citi analyst Tony Wible sees a possible Federal Government bailout of the big three auto makers as offering a brighter outlook for Sirius XM Radio. In a report issued today, Wible noted that domestic auto makers may be seeking to tap up to $50 billion in[More...]

It is official. Chris Mad Dog Russo will be broadcasting his show on Sirius XM Radio. As we speculated here last night, the show will be aired on both the Sirius as well as the XM systems, demonstrating a synergy of the merged company.[More...]

Growth in satellite radio is coming from the OEM channel. This has been the case for quite some time, and despite having more installations than ever before, the fact that car sales are down weighs on the investors psyche. The perception is that poor auto sales result in bad times for SDARS.One silver lining in this whole situation is that there will be a slingshot effect at some point in the future, and satellite radio will benefit from it. Think about it this way. People are watching expenses a bit more than they were a year ago. People are stretching another year or two out of their cars. They can not stretch it forever though. At some point, they will be new car buyers again. It is only natural that a lull in sales will be[More...]

Sirius XM is the (only) satellite radio provider for the United States, providing 100% commercial free music to over 18 million subscribers, as well as sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather. They have exclusive rights to a dizzying assortment of personalities, including Howard Stern, Oprah, Martha Stewart, Jimmy Buffet, Barbara Walters, Opie & Anthony and Willie Nelson, as well as being the official satellite radio partner to the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, NHL, PGA Tour and major college sports. They offer various other products that take advantage of their satellite capabilities, including Sirius Backseat TV and XM NavTraffic, and they have exclusive arrangements with every major automaker in the country.

THE BAD: Only recently merged, Sirius and XM were two separate companies never having made a profit, leaving the combined company wracked with debt. Although the merger will eventually save the company vast amounts of money, it will take years to fully iron out all the synergies, and in the beginning they may see an increase in costs from the necessary severance payments. It will be months before they even release a radio capable of playing the combined companies content. Over 75% of Sirius XM's new subscribers are from their arrangements with the automaker industry, leaving them particularly vulnerable during this period of weak auto sales. Finally, many people, particularly investors, question whether satellite radio even serves a purpose, or is just the newest way of conning consumers out of their paychecks.

THE GOOD: Even before the merger, Sirius's revenue and subscriber base was increasing 25% annually, and analysts predicted they would make a profit within the year. With the merger complete, the company can save exorbitant amounts of money by eliminating duplicate job positions (already being done), duplicate company departments, and duplicate radio channels (two CNNs, two FOX news, two reggae channels). The resulting satellite bandwidth freed up may then be used for new products under development, or new radio content such as new channels and public access. In addition, all the potential subscribers unsure whether Sirius or XM was better, only have one choice now. The company has announced future a la carte programming, allowing users to choose their favorite 50 channels for half the price, which will draw in customers curious from the media buzz, and will help retain customers unwilling to dish out $12 a month. The exclusive arrangements with automakers are continuing to grow under the merged company (Sirius XM radio will be in 90% of new Mercedes Benz vehicles by 2010), providing the company with a fresh supply of new subscribers. There will be a dramatic shift from advertising to retaining. Years without a profit has left the stock price ravaged, Citigroup just called Sirious XM "massively undervalued", and CEO Mel Karmazin recently purchased 2 million new shares. And lastly, with 18 million subscribers, Sirius XM would be a very attractive buy to the big players, such as Google or Microsoft, who surely have their eyes on this cheap fiesty satellite provider.

Sirius and XM have spent the last seven years trying to prove satellite radio is important, while at the same time fighting each other for new subscribers, and it has made them strong.They have already learned from their previous mistakes and successes, and with the competition gone, they are ready to make money.

Filed under: Earnings reports, Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Kohl's Corp (KSS), Wachovia Corp (WB), Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF), Nordstrom, Inc (JWN)

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) posted solid Q2 results despite touch economic conditions.
• Apollo Management LP swung to a net loss on a write down and litigation, but is on track for an IPO.
• Cree Inc. (NASDAQ: CREE) beat analysts' expectations and raised its revenue guidance.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (NYSE: DPS) beat earnings estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
• 4Kids Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: KDE) widened its Q2 net loss more than analysts had anticipated.
• Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS) topped Q2 expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) unexpectedly swung to a Q1 profit as revenues soared.
• Macy's Inc. (NYSE: M) beat Q2 expectations despite lower sales, and warned of weakness ahead.
• Napster Inc. (NASDAQ: NAPS) Q1 net loss matched the previous quarter and the year-ago loss.
• Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) beat Q2 expectations despite a drop in earnings and lowered its guidance.
• Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) CEO predicted post-merger earnings next year.
• Thomson Reuters Corp. (NYSE: TRI) Q2 profit fell while revenue soared, but still missed estimates.
• UBS (NYSE: UBS) dismal Q2 results were accompanied by speculation of breaking up the bank.
• Wachovia (NYSE: WB) revised its Q2 loss to include auction rate securities settlements.

Also, Jim Cramer warns against bearishness on the financials and also suggests that the collapse of commodities will buoy earings.

For more highlights from this week, see: Wal-Mart, JCPenney, MBIA, Deere, Applied Materials and others

Upcoming quarterly reports include Lowe's (NYSE: LOW), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Target (NYSE: TGT), La-Z-Boy (NYSE: LZB), Saks (NYSE: SKS), BJ's Wholesale (NYSE: BJ), Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD), Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), Burger King (NYSE: BKC), Gap (NYSE: GPS), Heinz (NYSE: HNZ), and Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU).

Visit AOL Money & Finance for more earnings coverage.

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Schaeffer's Laura Houser takes a look at activity on the Street after the market close

Schaeffer's Laura Houser takes a look at activity on the Street ahead of the market open

Schaeffer's Laura Houser takes a look at activity on the Street after the market close

Schaeffer's Laura Houser takes a look at activity on the Street ahead of the market open

Just like that, Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SIRI) $3.3 billion buyout of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will mean millions of subscribers will be able to receive programming from both services, while executives say it will create huge cost savings for the industry.  Go Howard go!

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