Cedar Fair rides out financial waves caused by its purchase of Paramount Parks and a sagging Midwestern economy

You won't know for years.

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The NYSE boots Thornburg Mortgage from its listings.

Private Equity Involved In 62% Of Corporate Defaults: S&P

Here’s a look at the earnings review from today’s stocks, a chunk of which are Chinese ADR’s. In the background of the new stimulus program announced by the Chinese government, the Asian markets have seen a much needed rebound.[More...]

Strong cash flow and fat profit margins usually insulate the media industry during times of economic stress, but that may not prove to be the case in the current downturn because of secular pressures on traditional media as advertisers move to new platforms, according to Fitch Ratings. In its inaugural “Credit Encyclo-Media” report, Fitch said higher-than-usual debt [...]

Filed under: Consumer experience, Marketing and advertising

This post is part of our Ads Gone Bad series. Share your thoughts and memories of this ad in the comments, and be sure to check out our other posts on marketing gone wrong.

Thanks to our unfortunate history with slavery and the subsequent economic slavery imposed on minority Americans, we as a nation are very sensitive to charges of racism. So sensitive, in fact, that advertisers are often accused of such transgressions for the slightest intimation. Six Flags (NYSE: SIX), the amusement park chain, found this out recently.

The park created what I thought was a clever series of ads contrasting the humdrum routine of ordinary life with the thrills to be found at a Six Flags park. For example, one ad showed a lumpy teen attempting to dance, another a chortling woman teasing her cat with a laser pointer, both compared to gleeful coaster riders at Six Flags.

Continue reading Ads Gone Bad: Six Flags not so much fun

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Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Aetna Inc (AET), Wachovia Corp (WB), Analyst initiations, salesforce.com inc (CRM)

Analyst upgrades:

• William Blair raised Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm believes that the long-term fundamentals of the clinical laboratories sectors are still strong.
  
• UBS upgraded Massey Energy (NYSE: MEE) to Buy from Neutral on valuation.
  
• ArthroCare (NASDAQ: ARTC) was upgraded to Buy from Hold by Lazard, since the firm expects a small restatement while they believe a large restatement is priced into the shares.
• Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral by UBS.
• Merrill Lynch raised Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) to Neutral from Underperform.

Analyst downgrades:

• Piper downgraded Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the company's lower than expected deferred Q2 revenue.
• Goldman Sachs removed Amylin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: AMLN) from its Conviction Buy List.
  

Analyst initiations:

• Aetna (NYSE: AET) was initiated with a Buy by Banc of America, which believes the company will experience industry-leading member growth.
  
• Banc of America initiated Wellpoint (NYSE: WLP) with a Buy rating, as the firm expects the shares to rebound from near trough valuations.
  
• Wachovia (NYSE: WB) was reinitiated by Friedman Billings with an Underperform rating, as the firm expects the company to incur higher credit losses than the Street expects due to its outsized exposure to residential real estate.
  
• Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) was started with an Above Average rating by Caris.

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Nearly 90-degree drops, gut-wrenching turns, and nerve-wracking thrills - you can find them all at one of America’s favorite theme park giants[More...]

Six Flags (NYSE:SIX) ain't what it used to be.  I started following the soon to be doomed park operator after a trip there last year. After a recent Hershey Park vacation, I am even more convinced they are done...

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~ Today's Stocks & Topics: (URI) United Rentals Inc, (HXM) Desarrolladora Homex S A De Cv, (SIX) Six Flags Inc, (USG) USG Corporation, (GT) The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, investtalk.com, Sectors, (MEE) Massey Energy Company, 401K.