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BlackBerry (BBRY), the Canadian smartphone maker, has started discounting its top end flagship phones, one week after it said that it would not get into price wars with its competitors. In my last article published a few days ago, I had asserted that BlackBerry would have to lower the prices of its premium Q10 and Z10 smartphones as they did not offer a good value proposition as compared to its competitors. BlackBerry refrains from discounting wars, but that strategy won't work BlackBerry has said that it will not get into a discounting war with its competitors. However, you can only go and implement this strategy if you have a unique value proposition. While the BB 10 OS is quite good and BBRY phones are solid products, they don't have a killer feature like older BBRY products (push email). Even the current king of smartphones, Apple (AAPL), is being forced

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama hinted in an interview aired on Monday that he may be looking for a new chief of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, saying current Chairman Ben Bernanke has stayed a lot longer than he had originally planned. Obama, speaking to Charlie Rose, host of a PBS interview program, compared Bernanke to longtime FBI Director Robert Mueller, who agreed to stay two years longer than he had planned and is to leave in the coming months. "Well, I think Ben Bernanke's done an outstanding job. Ben Bernanke's a little bit like Bob Mueller, the head of the FBI - where he's already stayed a lot longer than he wanted or he was supposed to," Obama said. Asked whether he would reappoint Bernanke if he wanted to keep the job, Obama did not answer directly. "He has been an outstanding partner, along with the White House, in helping us recover much stronger than, for example, our European partners, from what could have been an economic crisis of epic proportions," Obama said. Bernanke, who has tried to nurse along the ailing U.S. economy through the 2008 financial crisis, is widely expected to step down when his second term as chairman expires at the end of January. Obama is said to be considering a number of monetary experts for the job, including Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen, former Obama and Clinton aide Lawrence Summers, and former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. An announcement could come as early as this fall, to give the Fed nominee time to get through Senate confirmation by the time Bernanke's term is up. (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Copyright (2013) Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions Join the conversation about this story »

Like many, I have long stayed away from LinkedIn (LNKD), believing that the fundamentals and the price were substantially misaligned. After all, the price trades at a whopping 517 times trailing earnings as of Monday's closing. But, since its IPO, the stock enjoyed a strong run higher - and one thing I learned as a young trader is that the market can be wrong longer than you can stay solvent.That is to say that, until now, shorting LinkedIn would have been a far too risky proposition. However, after taking a closer look, I believe it is finally time for LinkedIn's price to come back to reality. Year-to-Date Performance I admit it: I didn't like LNKD at the start of the year when it was at $115. I didn't like it at $130, $150 or $200. But, it hit all those marks and, besides the last, is still trading above

On last night's Lightning Round on Jim Cramer's Mad Money, Jim recommended three stocks, eBay (EBAY), ConAgra Foods (CAG), and CarMax (KMX). Jim is famous for his quick buy or sell recommendations during the lightning round, but rarely goes into details as to why he likes or dislikes a particular stock. Let's dive further into his three most recent buy recommendations.eBay (EBAY)eBay was Jim's first call of the lightning round, with the caller stating that he had recently bought eBay but is currently down on his position. Jim reassured him that his charitable trust owns eBay, and to hold onto the stock.The stock has fallen after its most recent earnings release, particularly due to a slower growth rate than expected with eBay's payment system, PayPal. In terms of valuation, eBay does trade at a fairly large multiple of around 25, but is trading to

GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. (GNMK) June 17, 2013 4:45 pm ET Executives Nancy Torok Hany Massarany - Chief Executive Officer, President and Director Analysts William R. Quirk - Piper Jaffray Companies, Research Division Matthew O'Brien - William Blair & Company L.L.C., Research Division Shaun Rodriguez - Cowen and Company, LLC, Research Division Mark Massaro - Canaccord Genuity, Research Division Nicholas Jansen - Raymond James & Associates, Inc., Research Division Presentation Operator Good day, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to today's conference call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, Monday, June 17, 2013. I'd now like to turn the conference over to Ms. Nancy Torok of GenMark. Please begin. Nancy Torok Thanks, Tyrone, and thank you all very much for joining us this afternoon. Before we begin, I would like to inform you that certain statements made by GenMark during the course of

BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) has long touted the security of its mobile devices, and at one time the devices were the mobile device of choice companies and government institutions where security was top priority. Even when sales of its iconic smartphone were abysmal, that feature was the company’s life raft. But the political cyclone that was created by leaks from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has drawn BlackBerry into its vortex. NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW! On Monday, the British newspaper The Guardian reported that documents in its possession showed that British intelligence services spied on foreign politicians at two G20 political summits in 2009, intercepting phone calls and emails from their BlackBerrys . “New converged events capabilities against BlackBerry provided advance copies of G20 briefings to ministers…Diplomatic targets from all nations have an MO of using smartphones. Exploited this use at the G20 meetings last year,” read one document acquired by the publication. But BlackBerry remains “100 percent confident in the superiority of BlackBerry mobile security,” the company said after the report. Thus far, BlackBerry has not been drawn into the news cycle involving the leaks of classified information by Snowden regarding the alleged effort by the United States and Britain to collected data on telephone calls and Internet exchanges. It was not on the leaked list of companies the U.S. government officials indicated had cooperated in the effort, as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) were. However, according to The Guardian’s report, fresh documents leaked by the former NSA contractor said that British intelligence agency GCHQ was able to “penetrate the security of BlackBerry smartphones” to access advance copies of briefings for government ministers and other important documents. NEW! Discover a new stock idea each week for less than the cost of 1 trade. CLICK HERE for your Weekly Stock Cheat Sheets NOW! There was no evidence that BlackBerry was complicit in the breach, but the company’s reputation for super security among corporate clients and governments will likely be dented. One of the company’s Network Operating Centers, a key conduit for global BlackBerry traffic, is in the United Kingdom, a fact that could make owners of the company’s handsets even more concerned about the security of their data. BlackBerry’s devices are considered to be more secure than other smartphones because they sends emails through a proprietary network of servers, a feature that many analysts have highlighted in their assessment of the handsets. Elaborating on that system, the smartphone manufacturer has said that it is impossible for it to access clients’ data because only the corporate and government customers have the encryption keys. “Our public statements and principles have long underscored that there is no ‘back door’ to secure BlackBerry Enterprise Solutions,” a RIM spokesman said in a statement seen by The Wall Street Journal. Don’t Miss: Manufacturing Outlook Worsens Despite June Recovery. Follow Meghan on Twitter @MFoley_WSCS Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM): Closing price $33.73 GM is recalling roughly 231,000 additional SUVs which could be in danger of an electrical short that might spark a fire. The new move  is an expansion of a recall from August 2012 to check 249,000 SUVs for a short in a circuit board in the driver’s door. Vehicles involved in both recalls include the 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT, GMC Envoy XL, and the 2006 and 2007 model years Buick Rainier, Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy, Saab 9-7X and Isuzu Ascender. The company said that out of the more than 480,000 recalled SUVs, around 443,000 are in the United  States. Are these stocks a buy or sell? Let us help you decide. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX): Closing price $229.23 On Monday, Netflix and DreamWorks Animation announced a multi-year arrangement that makes the world’s number-one Internet TV network the premiere home of new original series from the creators of world box-office smashes including the Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon franchises. This agreement is also the first time that DreamWorks Animation’s characters will debut into the television market as a branded collection of shows. The deal encompasses in excess of  300 hours of new programming, and is a cornerstone of a major initiative by DreamWorks Animation to greatly expand its television production and distribution worldwide. Are these stocks a buy or sell? Let us help you decide. Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS)19.43 The Barnes & Noble subsidiary NOOK Media reported Monday that it will extend its Fathers Day promotion for the NOOK HD and NOOK HD+. The former will be available at $129 for 8 gigabytes and $149 for 16; the NOOK HD+ will go for $149 (16-gigabytes) and $179 (32 gigabytes) at Barnes & Noble bookstores and also on NOOK.com. This limited-time pricing on NOOK HD and NOOK HD+ is also available via other top retailers. Are these stocks a buy or sell? Let us help you decide. Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN): Closing price $19.43 The VOD operator LoveFilm, which is owned by Amazon, has reached a deal with Disney through which to stream movies that include Disney Pixar’s Wall-E and Lady and the Tramp to audiences in the United Kingdom on a branded on-demand service. Disney Movies on Demand on LoveFilm Instant builds on the ongoing content relationship between Disney and LoveFilm. Prsent LoveFilm subscribers will be offered Disney Movies on Demand’s collection without extra cost as part of their existing subscription, according to Amazon. Other titles include Ratatouille, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Dumbo, Sword in the Stone and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Are these stocks a buy or sell? Let us help you decide. Check out our Stock Picker Newsletter now. Don’t Miss: Another Boeing Plane Is Stuck on the Ground. Read the original article from Wall St. Cheat Sheet

Licensing has become an integral part of toy marketing. According to the NPD Group, toys based on licenses accounted for 30% of all U.S. retail dollars last year and about 25% in units. This is considerably higher than estimates a few years ago, which put the dollar share at 25%. Movie and TV Licenses Lead the Pack - For Now This year will see a large and diverse offering of toys based on movie and TV licenses. Here are the highlights: Movie Category Release Date 2013 Master Licensee Retail Sales US Forecast 2013 US $ million Box Office US Forecast 2013 $ million Transformers Beast Hunters [TV] Action Figure 2/13 Hasbro 50 n/a Max Steel [TV] Action Figure 3/25 Mattel 45 n/a G I Joe Action Figure 3/29 Hasbro 90 130 Iron Man 3 Action Figure 5/3 Hasbro 135 375 Star Trek Into Darkness Action Figure 5/17 Hasbro 50

Centene Corporation (CNC) June 17, 2013 8:00 am ET Executives Edmund E. Kroll - Senior Vice President of Finance & Investor Relations Michael F. Neidorff - Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Robert T. Hitchcock - Executive Vice President of Health Plan Business Unit Jason M. Harrold - Executive Vice President of Specialty Company Business Unit K. Rone Baldwin - Executive Vice President of Insurance Group Business Unit Jesse N. Hunter - Chief Business Development Officer and Executive Vice President William N. Scheffel - Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Treasurer C. David Minifie - Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President Donald G. Imholz - Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President Mary V. Mason - Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President Analysts Peter Heinz Costa - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division Ralph Giacobbe - Crédit Suisse AG, Research Division Justin Lake - JP Morgan Chase

Corn planting in the top 18 corn producing states finished over the past week as farmers now look to complete soybean planting. A slow start to the planting season due to excessive rainfall will draw attention to crop conditions throughout the growing season.As of June 16, 2013, corn that has emerged was at 92%, down 5% from the five year average and down 8% from the previous year. Corn conditions were 8% of the crop in poor or very poor condition, a percentage point lower than the previous year. Corn in good or excellent condition was 64%, compared to 63% last year.Soybeans planted were at 85%, behind the five year average of 91%. Last year at this time, 94% of soybeans had emerged, but only 66% have emerged as of June 16, 2013. Soybeans in poor or very poor condition was 6%, compared to 12% last year. Soybeans