Sirius Takes A Bite Of The Apple…

Thursday, January, 29, 2009 by Mel Phillips.

Even when the news is good for Sirius, there’s some bad news along with it.  Sirius and Apple will be hooking up over the weekend when the uSirius Starplayr program is submitted to Apple.  The third-party application, if approved, will get its official release through Apple’s App Store.  Techie sources feel that having a home in Apple’s storefront is huge.  It could take Sirius out of the in-car-only category.  The big question is whether or not consumers will pay up when Sirius raises prices an additional $2.99 a month in March for among other things - streaming.  And although they deny they have a quality problem, part of that money will go for upgrading the audio quality…

Now for the bad news. Barclay Capital has just joined Goldman Sachs in discontinuing coverage of the stock.  Calling Barclay or Goldman Sachs for a million shares of Sirius stock will get you a “Sirius who?” reply.  Barclay analyst James Ratcliffe: “we believe that the equity price is not being driven by fundamentals or the future of the underlying business, but rather purely by speculation as to the company’s ability to refinance or restructure upcoming debt maturities.”  In other words, it’s the debt, stupid.  There are 12 analysts that still cover Sirius but the Barclay announcement seems to indicate further erosion of the financial community’s confidence in the company’s prospects…

On top of the Barclay news comes a report from MSNBC.com that Motley Fool has called Sirius XM Radio their worst stock for 2009.  They equate Sirius to “shooting fish in a barrel, except that the barrel’s been drained and the fish have stopped flopping.”  The Motley Fool ‘Foolish bottom line’ says “if we’re right, then Sirius has the choice of either bankruptcy or massive dilution to deal with its immediate debt obligations.  And shareholders will, most likely, be wiped out.  The broader market will most assuredly not suffer a similar fate.  Thus, Sirius is an easy underperformer in Motley Fool CAPS.” 

10 Timeline Memories: 

1. 1845] ‘Quoth the raven, nevermore’: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is published for the first time in the New York Evening Mirror…
2. 1900] A junior graduates: The American Baseball League is organized in Philadelphia with 7 teams in addition to Philadelphia: Boston, Baltimore (which will move to New York and become the Yankees), Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C…
3. 1936] Going to Hall: The Baseball Hall of Fame holds its first induction. Elected are: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson…
4. 1958] Wedding Bells: Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward emote their way down the isle. Only the death of Newman ended their 50 years of marriage…
5. 1964] Premiered on this date: Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb)” starring Peter Sellers, opens nationally…
6. 1979] Commuter special: Jimmy Carter commutes Patricia Hearst’s seven-year sentence to two years…
7. 1980] ‘Happy Trails’: Legendary comedian Jimmy Durante says “Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are” at 86. Durante passes away from pneumonia…2007] Barbaro, winner of the Kentucky Derby who broke down in the Preakness, is euthanized after suffering from his leg injuries for months…
8. 1990] Guilty as charged: Joseph Hazelwood, former Exxon Valdez skipper, goes on trial in Anchorage (AK) for his role in America’s worst oil spill. He will be acquitted of all charges except for a misdemeanor…1999] The U.S. Senate delivers subpoenas for Monica Lewinsky and 2 presidential advisers for private videotaped testimony in Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial…
9. 1995] A Super Bowl 1st: The San Francisco 49ers become the first team in the NFL to win 5 Super Bowls by beating San Diego 49-26 behind Steve Young’s 6 touchdown passes, which breaks Joe Montana’s previous record of 5…
10. 2006] Wounded anchor: ABC ‘World News Tonight’ co-anchor Bob Woodruff and a cameraman are seriously injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq…

Music Memories:

• 1966] Released on this date: “I Fought The Law” - Bobby Fuller Four…
• 1969] Debuted on this date: “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” on CBS-TV…
• 1972] O Solo Mio: Smokey Robinson leaves the Miracles for a solo career…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday“:

Greg Louganis (49), Oprah Winfrey (55), Ann Jillian (59), Tommy Ramone a.k.a. Tommy Ederly (57), Tom Selleck (64), Katherine Ross (69) and John Forsythe (91)…

Timeline Countdown: 3 days until Super Bowl XLIII, 16 days until Valentine’s Day and pitchers & catchers report voluntarily and 18 days until Presidents Day…

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