Friday's Most Suprising Stock?

One stock yesterday refused to be trodden down by investors running pell-mell from Wall Street. While most of the market slumped, the Brown Shoe Co. (BWS, $10.99) soared. It climbed 25% on surprising quarterly sales and upbeat guidance.

The St. Louis company is best known for selling moderately priced women’s shoes, mainly through its Famous Footwear stores. For the most part, the company features a number of lesser-known brands, but includes a smattering of big ones, from Dr. Scholl’s elderly orthopedics and to Vera Wang‘s tony handbags. (Did we mention that the product line ranged a bit?) It should not be confused, though, with the similarly named H.H. Brown Shoe Co., a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.

The Brown Shoe is midway through a turnaround. The overhaul began last year when CEO Diane Sullivan laid out plans to cut costs and stop a two-year slide in sales. Half the analysts covering the stock rate it as Hold; the others give it an Overweight or Buy rating. Some prudence seems sensible before lacing up and jumping into the stock.

To be sure, Brown Shoe made some progress with its turnaround this past quarter. Excluding one-time items, it earned 23 cents a share, climbing from 16 cents a year earlier. This beat analysts’ expectations of nine cents a share. It raised its full-year earnings forecast on Friday, from 83 cents to 95 cents a share, up from 78 cents to 92 cents.

Needing to trim, expenses in the March period dropped 6.5%. Meanwhile, same-store sales at Famous Footwear rose 2.5%, as the company shuttered poor performing stores; Brown Shoe now sees revenue between $2.57 billion and $2.59 billion, up from $2.55 bullion to $2.58 bullion. Looking ahead, the stock looks cheap, trading at 9.6 times forward earnings.

The stock sports an attractive dividend. An investor today would see a 2.6% yield. That beats the S&P 500′s 2.1% and the 10-year Treasury’s 1.72%. In five years, it more than doubled the cash on its balance sheet, going from $54 million in 2007 to $127 million in 2011. That cash hoard amounts to roughly $3 a share. Still, its free cash flow has been erratic and, at times, non-existent. It posted a loss of $57 million last year after a $68 million gain in 2010.

Like any retailer, its fortune depends on its fashion mix. Unfortunately, the scant amount of well-known brand names in its portfolio hurts. If customers face any reason to cut back, Brown Shoe would be the first to receive the boot from shopping plans.

“The firm has competed admirably with Wal-Mart and Kohl’s for more than a decade, but economic headwinds have driven consumers to the mass channel,” says Morningstar’s Jeremy Cohen. It also competes with other stores like J.C. Penney and Sears Holdings. Cohen likes Brown Shoe’s ability to attract repeat customers, pointing out that nearly half of Famous Footwear’s 2010 sales came from shoppers in the loyalty rewards program. “However, we caution that a tenuous state of spending and perceived weakness in the economy could drive even more of its patrons toward the discount big-box stores,” says Cohen. If the market tumbles too often now, Brown Shoe could trip up.

Reading Bradbury for the 1st time, a fan was born

It was in a sixth-grade English class that I first encountered the work of Ray Bradbury, in a short story called "The Sound of Summer Running." It wasn't the science fiction Bradbury became famous for; the story took place in the real world, and was told through the eyes of a boy longing for new sneakers.

But the way Bradbury captured the angst and dreams of an ordinary kid was captivating to me as a young reader, opening up a whole new and thrilling world of literature.

Until then, I'd mostly read formulaic, plot-driven stories for kids, so forgettable that not one of them sticks in my mind. But from the opening paragraph of "The Sound of Summer Running," I was hooked.

A boy named Douglas sees sneakers in a store window but can't turn away fast enough: "His ankles were seized, his feet suspended, then rushed. The earth spun." It wasn't about aliens or time travel, but about Bradbury's way of using words on a page to turn human emotion almost into three-dimensional figures.

Stuck in his old, dead sneakers, Douglas imagines shoes with "marshmallows and coiled springs in the soles," with the "hard sinews of buck deer." That night he dreams of rabbits running. And the next day, he suggests to a shoe store owner that the owner try on a pair of shoes. Transported by that experience, the old man gives a new pair to Douglas and says the boy can work the cost off through chores.

Douglas puts the sneakers on, his feet "deep in the rivers, in the fields of wheat, in the wind that already was rushing him out of the town."

"Antelopes? Gazelles?" the old man asks.

Douglas nods and vanishes.

No, it wasn't science fiction. But Bradbury didn't need to conjure up the rain on Venus or an exploding space ship to pull readers in. The essence of his books or at least what intrigued me as an adolescent and kept me going back to them throughout my life was Bradbury's ability to put in words what it feels like to be human — whether stranded on a planet light years from earth or standing in a shoe store, staring at the sneakers of your dreams.

Lindsay Lohan is no clothes: no more money and the wardrobe goes up for auction

Even the rich are crying . It never seems more appropriate phrase these days for Lindsay Lohan . The former child prodigy of Disney, including legal fees and court, bills and fines, would be in serious financial difficulties. In recent years the actress has spent more time in jail and rehab rather than in September and the film are the major revenue got some photo shoots (such as nude for Playboy ) and to be ambassador for various products.

The actress until a few years ago it was considered the true rising star in Hollywood, but now seems to only twenty-five who is practically broke and forced to face an economic emergency not indifferent. For this reason he decided to sell part of her wardrobe , which includes shoes, clothes and bags are all completely signed. According to the usual well-informed Lindsay would have even filled a truck directly to Crossroads Trading Company in Los Angeles who would buy all for $ 14,000. Not a staggering amount, but enough to pay off the debts of the first young star , who just completed his period of compulsory social services: fifty hours spent in a morgue.

It seems that Lindsay has finally learned the lesson and is willing to take up his career , starting next role, that of Elizabeth Taylor in the film, Liz and Dick . His goal now seems to plunge headlong into work on winning back the trust of the people, according to him, now seem afraid of her.

Summer all about having fun with fashion

When a man is confused about what to wear, what’s the best thing he can do?
When you are confused,keep it easy and simple! Opt for a classic look which doesn’t allow you to go wrong. A good bet would be to wear a white or black shirt with denims and team that with a pair of black or brown shoes and belt. Black aviator shades could be used as an accessory to enhance the look.
Where do men usually go wrong?
Men tend to go wrong while choosing the right look for different occasions. It could be the colour or texture of the attire or even the wrong accessory. Formal attire teamed with casual accessories are a mismatch. In their attempt to make a statement, even men become fashion victims.

What are the must-haves for men during this season?
This summer, linen trousers or shorts, linen kurtas or bandhgalas and shirts, chinos, cotton t-shirts or shirts, wayfarers or aviator shades, a pair of loafers and slippers, colourful belts and a hat is a must.
What kind of head gear should men don during summer?
Hats are the best head gear for men this summer. However, caps and linen scarves can also be used as a headgear this summer.
What fabrics work well as men’s fashion in summer?
Fabrics like linen, cotton, khadi work well for men’s fashion in summer. These fabrics are light weight and comfortable. They act as a second skin allowing our skin to breath in the humid summer weather.
What are the accessories men should try out?
In terms of footwear, loafers, chappals and canvas shoes are the ones to try out. Sunglasses like wayfarers and aviators are in fashion. A watch with a coloured strap, oxidised silver rings or pendants can also be tried out. Men can also sport hats and caps. In fact, make a statement with big man bags too.