The New iPad 3 is a hit

HONG KONG (AP) — Apple-mania gripped Asia on Friday as the company's latest iPad went on sale, drawing hordes of die-hard fans to shops selling the highly anticipated tablet. Gadget fans lined up in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore so they could be among the first to get their hands on the device.

The third version of Apple's iPad also went on sale in Australia and it will be available in the U.S. and five other countries beginning at 8 a.m. local time, with 25 other countries getting it a week later. The new model comes with a faster processor and a much sharper screen. It also boasts an improved camera, similar to that of the latest iPhone.

For many customers, visiting a store in person — instead of having one shipped — offers consumers a chance to mingle with die-hard Apple fans. About 450 people lined up outside Apple's Ginza store in downtown Tokyo. Some had spent the night sleeping outside the store to be among the first when it opened at 8 a.m. — two hours earlier than usual. "I wanted to be able to show it off to my friends," said Norio Nakayama, a 33-year-old computer consultant outside Apple's crosstown shop in the trendy Shibuya district. "I think I'll give my older iPad 1 to my wife." In Hong Kong, a steady stream of buyers picked up their new devices at preset times at the city's sole Apple store after entering a random drawing online.

The system, which required buyers to have local ID cards, also helped thwart attempts by visitors from mainland China — Apple's fastest growing market — who have a reputation for scooping up Apple gadgets to get them earlier and avoid sales tax at home. "I'm happy I won the lucky draw," said Kelvin Tsui, a 26-year-old hospital worker who was allowed to buy two. Tsui said he would use the opportunity to make some money. "If I've got more than one, of course I'll sell the other one." The iPad's release date in China has not yet been announced.

Two years after the debut of the first iPad, the device's launch has become the second-biggest "gadget event" of the year, after the annual iPhone release. A year ago, thousands lined up outside the flagship Apple store on New York's Fifth Avenue. The device sold out on launch day, even though it didn't go on sale until 5 p.m. For some customers, standing in line will offer the only chance to get a new iPad on Friday. Apple quickly ran out of supplies it set aside for advance orders.

The company was telling customers Thursday to expect a two- to three-week wait for orders placed through its online stores. Some buyers feared even longer waits. "I knew that if I didn't buy it today it may be difficult in the future," said Anfernee Au, 33, who spent more than three hours outside a Hong Kong Apple reseller the day before for a ticket that allowed him to buy one iPad. The new iPad is called just that: "the new iPad." Apple declined to give it a name like "iPad 3" or "iPad HD." That is consistent with its naming practice for iPods, MacBooks and iMacs, but a break with the way iPhone models are named. Despite competition from cheaper tablet computers such as Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire, the iPad remains the most popular tablet computer.

Apple Inc. has sold more than 55 million iPads since its debut in 2010, including some 40 million last year. Researchers estimate that the iPad has more than 60 percent of the market for tablets. The iPad's accomplishments have contributed to the company's success on Wall Street. Apple's stock touched $600 briefly for the first time on Thursday.

Apple is the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of nearly $555 billion. It topped $500 billion for the first time in late February, a market value peak where few companies have ventured. ___ Sharon Chen in Singapore and Malcolm Foster in Tokyo contributed to this report. Svensson contributed from New York.

ZTE Optik Tablet for Sprint

ZTE hopes to help pave the way to becoming third largest handset vendor by 2015 with an array of eight new devices launched at MWC 2012. Although a global aspiration, the new devices will mainly target users in Europe, Japan, the USA and China.

Leading the way for ZTE is the Era, an Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) smartphone dubbed as “one of the thinnest quad-core smartphones on the market today”. The ZTE Era handset packs high definition multimedia capabilities with a 4.3 inch QHD screen. Further announcements on Android include the Kis and Acqua models with 3.5-inch and 4.0-inch screens respectively, providing additional price-points on Android 2.3 and the ZTE Blade II with an upgraded 1.0GHz processor. ZTE also announced the ZTE PF112 with a 4.5-inch high density (HD) screen, and 7-inch and 10.1-inch quad-core tablets for the European market. In tandem with the device launches is the first appearance of the ZTE MiFavor UI smartphone user interface for Android.

Available sometime in 2Q12, ZTE also announced its second Windows Phone 7 smartphone, the ZTE Orbit which has HD Voice and a 5Mpx autofocus camera with LED flash. The ZTE Orbit follows the ZTE Tania running Windows Phone, which launched in the UK in January and is shipping in the next few weeks.

ZTE has already gone some way towards its dream of breaking the top 3 as the company’s terminal shipments grew by 50% in 2011 and achieved a 400% increase in smartphone shipments, albeit from a small base, worldwide. This new, wide range of devices and user features should help the company drive that momentum, notably in the mid- to high-end, into 2012 and beyond. Led by the ZTE Era, this latest device line-up destined for major global markets across price tiers will lead to a new era for ZTE branded devices with every chance that the 2015 goal may come earlier than the company thinks.

AIG dumps $500 million Blackstone deal

The largest U.S. insurance company, American International Group , has sold its $500 million stake in one of the world's largest private equity firms, Blackstone Group , sources told CNBC Friday. The sale is part of a capital race for AIG (NYSE: AIG - News), as it seeks to pay back the U.S. government from its 2008 bailout. AIG originally bought the stake in Blackstone (NYSE: BX - News) in July 1998, long before the private equity firm's initial public offering in 2007.

Blackstone has long been an adviser to AIG, but the sale marks building tensions between the two firms.

The buyer of AIG's stake is not yet known, as both companies declined to comment further on the trade. The trade was executed before the market opened on Friday. Shares of both companies were down slightly on this news.

-Original reporting by CNBC's Kayla Tausche, written by Jennifer Leigh Parker.

BP $7.8 Billion deal to speed up

By Kathy Finn, Andrew Longstreth and Tom Bergin

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The estimated $7.8 billion deal struck by BP Plc with businesses and individuals suing over the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill could speed up payments to thousands of claimants and offers lawyers a potential windfall in legal fees.

London-based BP announced the deal on Friday with the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, or PSC, which represents condominium owners, fishermen, hoteliers, restaurateurs and others who say their livelihoods were damaged by the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig and subsequent oil spill.

The settlement, which delayed a giant trial that had been set to get under way in a New Orleans federal court on Monday is a step by BP toward resolving its liability in the case, which could stretch into the tens of billions of dollars. But the deal does nothing to settle charges brought by BP's biggest opponent in the trial: the U.S. government.

Eleven people died and 4.9 million barrels of oil spewed from the mile-deep (1.6 km-deep) Macondo oil well in by far the worst offshore U.S. oil spill.

In addition to the Justice Department, BP still faces lawsuits from five U.S. states whose coastlines were oiled, as well as its partners in the ill-fated Macondo well.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in an order late on Friday delayed the trial, saying the settlement "would likely result in a realignment of the parties in this litigation and require substantial changes" to the trial plan.

Barbier, who will preside over the three-part trial that could stretch through 2012, set no definite date for the trial to resume. Barbier would also have to approve the settlement.

BP has already paid out about $6.1 billion to compensate about 220,000 plaintiffs from the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, or GCCF, a trust fund administered by Kenneth Feinberg. The latest settlement will be in addition to that.

Lawyers for the PSC, Stephen Herman and James Roy, said the settlement would speed up compensation for thousands of victims, who would be divided into two categories: economic loss claims and medical claims.

"This settlement will provide a full measure of compensation to hundreds of thousands - in a transparent and expeditious manner under rigorous judicial oversight," they said in a statement. "It does the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people."

In a statement, Feinberg said the settlement "avoids a lengthy complex trial and uncertain appeals."

The proposed settlement could also be good news for attorneys, who could stand to charge big fees for negotiating claims.

"They're attempting to negotiate their fees," said Daniel Becnel, a Louisiana tort attorney who represents clients who have filed claims with Feinberg. Alhough courts have limited legal fees to 6 percent so far, "they (lawyers) want an open-ended claim fund."

Becnel predicted many potential claimants would opt out of the settlement. "I'm going to recommend to my clients, 'Let's opt out and go try our individual cases,'" he said.

Following pressure from the White House, BP created a $20 billion fund in 2010 to compensate victims of the spill that froze out trial lawyers.

NEW CRITERIA

The settlement sets new criteria for calculating compensation, and transfers claims processing from Feinberg's fund to a new court-supervised fund based in New Orleans. During the transition, which could take several months, claimants could be offered an unspecified percentage from the GCCF, with the rest paid by the new fund, the PSC said in a statement.

Those claiming medical benefits, including workers who helped clean up the spill, would be eligible for care for 21 years, the PSC said.

BP said the proposed settlement was not an admission of liability and that BP would assign to the plaintiffs some of its claims against Transocean and Halliburton.

Apart from BP, which owned 65 percent of Macondo, the main corporate defendants are Switzerland-based Transocean Ltd, which owned the Deepwater Horizon, and Houston-based Halliburton Co, which provided cementing services for the well. The settlement does not address legal damages that plaintiffs might seek from BP's well partners, which are also suing each other.

BP still faces claims by the U.S. government, which is pursuing violations of the Clean Water Act and other laws. BP has said it expects government fines to total $3.5 billion, but the maximum under law is in excess of $20 billion if gross negligence can be proven.

Market News

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks have proven the naysayers wrong so far in 2012. And the February jobs report could be just the ticket to keep the bulls going next week.

The five-month stock rally has been built on a string of improving economic data that suggests U.S. corporate profit growth will remain intact, according to some analysts.

Job growth is a big part of that picture. It has lagged most other parts of the U.S. economy, a point frequently raised by Republican presidential hopefuls.

But strategists have been calling for a pullback, especially since indexes are hitting new milestones and the fourth-quarter reporting period is winding down.

The Standard & Poor's 500 (MXP:SPX) is up for eight of the last nine weeks. This week, the Dow (DJI:DJI) closed above the 13,000 mark for the first time since May 2008, and the S&P 500 twice closed above 1,370, a closely watched technical resistance level. The Nasdaq (NAS:COMP) at one point crossed the 3,000 level this week and is trading at its highest since 2000.

Some say staying on this path may be possible with further supportive news on the economy.

"The rally will continue as long as better economic information continues. The question is, 'Are we seeing some sustainable improvement in the economy?' I think the answer is 'yes,' so I think there is going to be some continuation in the rally," said Bryant Evans, investment advisor and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset Management, in Champaign, Illinois.

The government's jobs report for February, due on Friday, is expected to show non-farm payrolls added 210,000 jobs last month, according to economists polled by Reuters, after gaining 243,000 in January.

That would mark three straight months of solid job gains.

The U.S. unemployment rate is seen steady at a three-year low of 8.3 percent.

It would also be further proof the economy is on the upswing. Among recent upbeat data was this week's report showing gross domestic product expanded in last year's fourth quarter at an annual rate of 3 percent - the quickest pace since the second quarter of 2010.

OIL RAISES A RED FLAG

Investors are focusing more on economic data lately, with a bailout package for Greece in the works and U.S. earnings news winding down.

But rising oil prices could create some anxiety.

Concern about supply disruptions from Middle Eastern oil producers has kept Brent crude oil above $120 a barrel, and analysts said that could affect the longevity of the stock market's rally.

"The economy has a pretty good head of steam, and a few data points here or there isn't going to derail that. But if you have some exogenous shock from oil, all bets are off. Things can and do change in the short run," said Doug Foreman, director of equities at Kayne Anderson Rudnick in Los Angeles.

Higher oil prices mean higher costs for consumers and businesses, and an even tougher time for Europe, which appears headed for a recession.

Greece's second bailout from the euro-zone countries will be in place once conditions are finalized. The first of the money can be paid out after the completion of a bond swap between Athens and private investors, which is to be concluded by March 9.

Those concerns aside, stocks' gains year to date could be reason enough for investors to pull back. The S&P 500 has risen 9 percent for the year so far.

"Once you start hitting targets, that tells you something," said John Kosar, director of research with Asbury Research in Chicago.

"From a pure money-management standpoint, the S&P didn't make any money last year. If you're a manager and sitting on almost 10 percent profit as of March 1st, wouldn't you want to take a little bit off the table?"

The S&P 500 ended 2011 virtually unchanged.

THE ECONOMY IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT

But it's hard to argue with economic data.

A stronger U.S. economy will create jobs and improve profits. That is seen as the key driver for the stock market's gains.

Even though the percentage of companies beating analysts' profit expectations is down from recent quarters, earnings growth for the fourth quarter is still at 9.4 percent, above a January 3 growth estimate of 7.9 percent.

Earnings growth is down from recent quarters as well, but analysts said an improving economy will keep that growth from slowing too quickly, and will help offset any negative effects from Europe's fiscal troubles.

"In our view, so long as the employment situation continues to improve, we're on the right trajectory," said Thomas Villalta, portfolio manager for Jones Villalta Asset Management in Austin, Texas.

Besides Friday's jobs report, next week brings a private- sector employment report from ADP on Wednesday.

On Monday, Wall Street will get a snapshot of the U.S. services sector for February from the Institute for Supply Management.

The U.S. international trade deficit for January will be released on Friday, at the same time as the non-farm payrolls report. Economists polled by Reuters expect the country's international trade deficit to have edged up to $49 billion for January from December's $48.8 billion.

Among the remaining S&P 500 companies to report results, tax preparation company H & R Block Inc (NYS:HRB) is on next week's agenda as well as filtration equipment maker Pall Corp (NYS:PLL).

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Lucia Mutikani and Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Europe fights Google, Atrinsic readies launch

Google Inc. (GOOG)’s changes to its privacy policy don’t meet European data-protection standards, France's National Commission for Computing and Civil Liberties said after a preliminary analysis. This could not have come at worse time for Google that's in a race with competitor Atrinsic Inc (ATRN) said to debut its latest product, also on March 1, known as "Spyder." The Wall Street Journal shows, "The company develops marketing media networks... consisting of proprietary content and licensed media to attract customers, corporate partners and advertisers." 

  

The tussle between Google and European privacy regulators comes at a delicate time for the search giant, whose business model is based on giving away free search, email, and other services while making money by selling user-targeted advertising, according to CNBC. Similarly, Atrinsic increases market share by helping users acquire more customers, more cost-efficiently while providing the highest level of brand protection.

In January Google stated it was simplifying its privacy policy, combining 60 guidelines into a single one that will apply for all its services, ranging from YouTube, Gmail and Google+.  

 

This will also allow the web search giant to pool all the data it collects on individual users across its services. Google has said this will help it better tailor search results and improve services although users cannot opt out of the new policy if they want to continue using Google's services. 

On March 1, Atrinsic launches "Spyder," a state of the art marketing tool that prioritizes data management of over 100 million websites. It would not come as a surprise with "Google's one company a week" purchasing frenzy to take notice of potential streaming revenues.

 

Finding Quality Value Stocks That Missed The Rally

I hate being late to the party. The recent stock market has rallied, which is bad news for buyers of stocks who now face higher prices and often higher valuations. Have prudent investors seeking attractive valuations been left high and dry? No-- fortunately not all stocks have rallied, leaving many quality companies with attractive valuations.

Finding Quality Value Stocks Which the Rally Left Behind

Consider the following stocks which are down over the past 12 months and trade at attractive valuations:

Ticker	Company	Performance (Year)	P/E	P/S	P/B
AEO	American Eagle Outfitters	-7.4%	14.91	0.9	1.98
ARLP	Alliance Resource Partners	-4.9%	8.71	1.42	4.18
BGFV	Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp.	-14.9%	12.33	0.22	1.23
CMC	Commercial Metals Co.	-0.6%	0	0.19	1.33
CSH	Cash America International	-0.4%	10.95	0.88	1.5
DV	DeVry, Inc.	-3.8%	11.01	1.14	1.82
GME	GameStop Corp.	-5.2%	8.33	0.32	1.06
GPI	Group 1 Automotive Inc.	-1.1%	14.76	0.19	1.44
HGG	hhgregg, Inc.	-17.4%	10.85	0.19	1.41
INTL	INTL FCStone Inc.	-0.6%	13.86	0.01	1.49
KR	The Kroger Co.	-2.3%	12.13	0.15	2.74
MGLN	Magellan Health Services	-1.4%	11.99	0.49	1.58
NAFC	Nash Finch Co.	-1.7%	8.44	0.07	0.87
NEU	NewMarket Corp.	-6.7%	12.26	1.15	4.51
PLCE	The Children	-8.6%	14.77	0.71	2
RCII	Rent-A-Center Inc.	-1.8%	13.67	0.74	1.58

Each of these stocks has declined in price over the last 12 months and trades at attractive valuations. In effect, these companies didn't participate in the rally.

Prudent investors should wonder if there is a catch to these stocks-- if these companies are value traps. The quality of these stocks can be assayed by confirming long-term positive equity returns and financial stability that can weather tough economic conditions. Fortunately, these firms have positive average equity returns over past 10 reported fiscal years and have "safe" Altman Z-scores:

Ticker	Industry	10-Year Average ROE	Altman Z-score
AEO	Apparel Stores	19.5%	7.00
ARLP	Industrial Metals & Minerals	55.5%	3.57
BGFV	Sporting Goods Stores	32.8%	3.66
CMC	Steel & Iron	10.8%	3.54
CSH	Credit Services	12.8%	3.69
DV	Education & Training Services	16.4%	5.29
GME	Electronics Stores	13.1%	3.46
GPI	Auto Dealerships	9.2%	3.88
HGG	Electronics Stores	48.8%	4.83
INTL	Asset Management	11.2%	28.89
KR	Grocery Stores	18.4%	4.89
MGLN	Health Care Plans	20.7%	5.39
NAFC	Food Wholesale	8.5%	5.60
NEU	Specialty Chemicals	12.0%	6.12
PLCE	Apparel Stores	12.0%	6.25
RCII	Rental & Leasing Services	15.9%	3.39

The strong credit metrics and long-term histories of growing shareholder wealth are indicators of quality, and suggest that these firms are not value traps.

Conclusion

Each of these 16 stocks is attractively priced, has quality attributes, and was missed by the recent stock rally. Value investors ought to consider these stocks as buy candidates, and might consider adding multiple names from this list since they hail from a diverse array of industries. Value investors still have much work to do: this is no time to hibernate with the bears.

*Please read the article disclaimer for this article and Altman z-score calculations.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Courtesy Seeking Alpha