amazon

AMAZON.COM $261.68 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206- 266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 452.1 million; Market cap: $118.3 billion; No dividends paid) has unveiled two new devices: the Kindle Paperwhite e-book reader and a larger version of the Kindle Fire tablet computer, named the Kindle Fire HD. However, even though its two new products have strong potential, Amazon must continue to deal with intense competition in the e-book market from big rivals like Apple, Barnes & Noble and Google. As well, the Apple iPad is now the dominant tablet, and significant new competitors, including Google and Microsoft, have entered this market. Amazon.com is still a hold.

EBAY INC. $48 (Nasdaq symbol EBAY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $62.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.8; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ebay.com) launched its online auction site in September 1995. It now has 104.8 million users worldwide. The company charges users fees to list and sell their goods through its websites.

On top of used goods, the company is also selling more merchandise from retailers. That’s helping it compete with Amazon.com. Right now, sales of new items at fixed prices account for over 60% of eBay’s total transactions.

The company also operates several other highly popular websites, including StubHub (live event ticket sales), Shopping.com (comparison shopping) and Rent.com (apartment and house rentals). In addition, it has local websites that sell classified advertising in over 1,000 cities. In all, eBay’s websites provide 54% of its revenue.

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APPLE INC., $691.28, Nasdaq symbol AAPL, unveiled the latest version of its hugely popular iPhone martphone this week. The new iPhone 5 features a larger touchscreen, faster processor and a longer-lasting battery. As well, the new model is compatible with long-term evolution (LTE) wireless networks, which are roughly five times faster than current networks. As well, Apple has upgraded iOS, the software that powers its mobile devices. It has also improved some of its other products, including its iPod music players....

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD, $49.95, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, reported sharply higher sales and earnings in its latest quarter. The company is the largest convenience store operator in Canada, with over 2,000 outlets. It also has nearly 3,700 U.S. stores. The Canadian stores operate under the Couche-Tard and Mac’s banners, while the U.S. stores mainly use the Circle K brand. If you exclude one-time costs related to its $2.7-billion purchase of Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA, Couche-Tard’s earnings rose 23.8% in the three months ended July 22, 2012, to $173.0 million from $139.7 million a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). Earnings per share rose 26.7%, to $0.95 from $0.75, on fewer shares outstanding. Sales rose 16.1% to $6.0 billion from $5.2 billion....

DUNDEE REIT, $38.84, symbol D.UN on Toronto, has announced plans to sell its portfolio of 86 industrial properties to a new trust called Dundee Industrial REIT. These buildings contain 6.6 million square feet of leasable space. No price has yet been set for the properties. Dundee Industrial REIT will pay for the properties by selling shares to the public through an initial public offering. The trust is selling off these holdings as part of its plan to focus entirely on office buildings. However, it does plan to retain an as-yet-unspecified interest in Dundee Industrial REIT after the share sale. That will let it continue to benefit from these properties’ future growth....

WINDSTREAM CORP. $9.59 (Nasdaq symbol WIN; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 588.0 million; Market cap: $5.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 10.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.windstream.com) reported revenue of $1.5 billion in the quarter ended June 30, 2012, up 49.3% from $1.0 billion a year earlier. The gain is mainly due to its December 2011 purchase of PAETEC Holding Corp., which sells telecommunication services to businesses. Integration costs cut its earnings by 43.4%, to $54.7 million, or $0.09 a share, from $96.7 million, or $0.19 a share. As a result of this purchase, Windstream now gets 68% of its revenue from broadband services, up 2.5% from a year earlier. That’s helping it offset declining traditional phone revenue. The company feels that closing overlapping functions will save it $50 million in 2012 and $100 million by the end of 2014. That should let it keep paying quarterly dividends of $0.25 a share, for a 10.4% annualized yield....

EBAY INC. $47 (Nasdaq symbol EBAY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $61.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.5; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ebay.com) is testing a new service called eBay Now, which provides same-day delivery of goods purchased from major retailers such as Macy’s, Best Buy and Toys R Us.

eBay Now lets users order goods using their smartphones for a small fee. A courier company then picks up the merchandise from a store and delivers it to the customer. eBay’s PayPal service processes all payments.

This new service should help eBay compete with Amazon.com, which offers two-day shipping for an extra fee. Moreover, using existing stores instead of building its own warehouses— as Amazon does— will help eBay keep its delivery costs down.

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Vale SA is one of the world’s largest iron ore producers. The company gets about 59% of its revenue from iron ore. The rest comes from base metals, coal and fertilizer.

AMAZON.COM $217.47 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206- 266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 450.5 million; Market cap: $98.0 billion; No dividends paid) has reportedly agreed to buy 3-D mapping company UpNext. UpNext offers interactive, threedimensional maps. Users can “drop down” into streets and tap objects to bring up information, directions or different viewpoints. Offering its own mapping capability through UpNext will let Amazon take full advantage of rising demand for mobile ads. As well, the company may be working on a smartphone, and it could use UpNext on that device....

Vale SA (ADR), $19.42, symbol VALE on New York (Shares outstanding: 3.3 billion; Market cap: $64.1 billion; www.vale.com), is one of the world’s largest iron ore producers. The company gets about 59% of its revenue from iron ore. The rest comes from base metals, coal and fertilizer. Vale was wholly owned by the Brazilian government until part of it (and part of oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA) were privatized in the early 1990s. The government has kept a controlling stake in Vale through holding companies, public-pension-fund stakes and other investments....