Paris Hilton, who rose to fame as an heiress, is less than 3% the heiress she could have been. Her grandfather, Hilton Hotels patriarch Barron Hilton is leaving 97% of his $2.3 billion personal fortune to charity, leaving approximately $69 (what an appropriate number!) million available for everyone else, including Paris.

According to the Los Angeles Times, "The contribution to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, to come from the sale of Hilton Hotels Corp. and the pending sale of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. after the money is placed in a trust, is the largest in the foundation's history and will bring its value to about $4.5 billion."

But don't feel too bad for Paris. Even if she won't really be much of an heiress, she has already built her own empire based on her grandfather's wealth -- well, that and going to jail and such.

But still, it's refreshing to see Barron Hilton giving his money to people who deserve it. It's hard to imagine anyone less deserving than Paris Hilton, and maybe this will encourage her to stop acting like such a spoiled brat.

Poor Paris! Barron Hilton leaves 97% of fortune to charity originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Dec 2007 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NYSE Euronext (NYX) soars on addition to S&P 500 and S&P 100 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Negotiate your way to financial success and get rich!

Negotiate your way to financial success and get rich! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Oct 2007 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

How does one go about drawing a comparison between Paris Hilton and Ivanka Trump? In my estimation, although there a some mildly reasonable parallels between the two ladies, they are two significantly different people. It's difficult in this format to strip the comparison down to bare facts and then to build a picture of each woman's character and experience from there. So, what I shall try to do is give you just the basics to help you and then I'll leave you to determine which of these women you'd prefer to spend some time with. I'd be pleased if you would comment about which woman you would choose as a business associate, an employee, a national leader, or a life partner.

Continue reading Money Face-Off: Ivanka Trump vs. Paris Hilton

Money Face-Off: Ivanka Trump vs. Paris Hilton originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Insider trading has been running rampant on Wall Street and now the SEC has sent a Wells Notice to David Li, a board member of Dow Jones for insider trading and leaking information about the Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NYSE: NWS) bid for the company. David Li is Chief Executive of the Bank of East Asia -the third largest bank in Hong Kong so he is a little harder to get, but that is why they are filing suit.

Insider trading has given me plenty to talk about in recent blogs. Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ), aQuantive (NASDAQ: AQNT), Hilton (NYSE: HLT) and Energizer (NYSE: ENR) are a few of the companies I have spotted funny activity on recently.

Trading with inside information is illegal and everyone knows it. But it can also be very profitable. If you know what you are doing you can get 100%, 300% or 5,000% returns over night. Some of the options traded on Dow Jones had an over 5,000% return. Options bought for 30 cents became worth $15. If you have insider information and know what you are doing it can be like picking the winning lottery numbers. However, it does not take long for people to get suspicious, as it is sort of like winning the lottery multiple times in a row. Many times the illegal activity takes place and then it becomes a game of moving the money around, but sometimes the SEC catches up.

Continue reading SEC after Dow Jones board member David Li for insider trading

SEC after Dow Jones board member David Li for insider trading originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Stifel downgraded Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) to Hold from Buy at Stifel based on the recent acquisition.

• TD Newcrest cut TransAlta (NYSE: TAC) to Sell from Hold and doesn't consider an LBO of the company likely.

• Rodman cut Cascade (NYSE: CAE) to Market Underperform from Market Perform based on valuation.

• Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at JP Morgan based on valuation and the competitive environment.

• AG Edwards believes Atheros Communications (NASDAQ: ATHR) has a less favorable risk/reward and cut shares to Hold from Buy...

• Needham downgraded Kyphon (NASDAQ: KYPH) to Buy from Strong Buy.

• UBS downgraded Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) to Neutral from Buy.

• Deutsche Bank cut Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings (NYSE: CME) to Hold from Buy.

• Roche Holding Ltd (OTC: RHHBY) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Citigroup.

Analyst downgrades 7-11-07: ATVI, CME, HLT and TSM originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

No June gloom for hedge funds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A pair of lawsuits seeking class-action status accuse Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) management of breaching their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders when they agreed to sell the company to The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) for $20.1 billion. The investors claim the size of the offer was inadequate, and the $560 million break-up fee Hilton will have to pay Blackstone if it backs our of the deal is excessive. The amount is so large they contend, that it effectively guarantees that the private equity firm will go home with the prize.

There are a couple of interesting things about this. First, the break-up fee does seem excessive. The idea of a break-up fee, ideally, is to compensate the prospective buyer for its time/use of resources if a deal fails to go through. The $560 million figure would give Blackstone a huge windfall if the deal fails to go through. While the lawsuit is unlikely to go anywhere, I would ask Hilton why such a large break-up fee was necessary.

Second, this shareholder angst may be one of the factors that will lead to the decline of the buyout boom. In recent months it seems, shareholders have grown increasingly feisty in taking on buyout offers they deem too low. This wave of shareholder activism, which often leads to higher buyout prices, can cut into the private equity firms' margin for error.

But this is probably a good thing: If a private equity firm can take a company private and make a ton of money, it might make more sense for the company to stay public and provide that value to shareholders.

Hilton Hotels sued over sale to Blackstone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 08 Jul 2007 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman cut shares of Ruth's Chris Steak House (NASDAQ: RUTH) to Sell from Neutral following the company's preliminary Q2 sales, as they expect relative underperformance over the near-term. Goldman believes macro headwinds could weigh on Ruth's client base and keep traffic negative for the rest of the year.

• Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) was downgraded by a number of firms after the Blackstone Group (BX) takeout offer: Jefferies and Citigroup cut shares to Hold from Buy, Calyon downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy, Raymond James downgraded shares to Market Perform from Strong Buy, Suquehanna cut shares to Neutral from Positive and Bear Stearns downgraded Hilton Hotels to Peer Perform from Outperform.

• B. Riley downgraded shares of Champps Entertainment (NASDAQ: CMPP) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the buyout offer from F&H Acquisition Corp...

• B. Riley downgraded shares of ACR Group (AMEX: BRR) to reflect the company's merger agreement with Watsco Inc (WSO).

• Jefferies cut Dobson Communications Corp (NASDAQ: DCEL) to Hold from Buy.

• Piper Jaffrey downgraded Selective Insurance (NASDAQ: SIGI) to Market Perform from Outperform.

• Kaufman downgraded Parametric Technology (NASDAQ: PMTC) to Hold from Buy.

Analyst downgrades 7-06-07: DCEL, HLT and RUTH originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Before the bell 7-6-07: AAPL, BA, BP, HLT, BKC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Jul 2007 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the past Mike Fowlkes, Sarah Gilbert and I have pointed out what seems blatant illegal activity in Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) and Aquantive (NASDAQ: AQNT). Now there is activity in Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) worth taking a look at.

Hilton Hotels closed up 9.34 to $45.39 today on news the company agreed to be acquired by Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) in a deal valued at $26 billion. A reader pointed out interesting activity on Hilton Hotels.

With the stock up, let's look and see how many "lucky" traders picked up calls on the stocks. A call option gives the buyer the right to buy the stock at a set price. If you think a stock is going to go up you can buy the right to buy that stock at a set price, in the hopes that it does in fact go up, as you expect.

The Hilton July 35 calls (HLTGG) had a volume of 3,660 Tuesday with a high price of $1.90. That is above the average volume of 314 calls per day since the options were issued and just above the previous record high daily volume of 3,616 on 5/31. Those calls are now worth about $10.50 a piece so a 450% gain over two days isn't bad. I have to say this looks suspicious; sort of like a man running from a bank with a bag of money.

Looking at the Hilton August 40 calls (HLTHH) it becomes a little more obvious. Tuesday there were 5,844 contracts for 0.85 cents or less. In the past three weeks -- since the options came out there were only a total of 70 contracts traded. The contracts bought Tuesday are now worth about $5.80 a piece. A 582% gain in two days, representing about $2.8 million in profits.

If that isn't enough money ...there is more. The July 40 calls (HLTGH) saw 3,312 contracts trade Tuesday for less than 0.40. Now at 5.50 it is a 1,275% return for another $1.6 million in profits.

While I do not know who made the trades, their intentions and what they knew when; I am betting they will soon be getting a call from the SEC. In all fairness, just because I see a man wearing a black ski mask running out of the bank carrying a bag of money and a gun doesn't mean he is a bank robber. These trades could be legit, but they trades have all the tell-tale signs of insider trading. By the way has anyone been following Paris recently? Has she been meeting with Martha Stewart?

Kevin Kersten is an Options Analyst with InvestorsObserver.com. Do you have any deadwood in your portfolio? Check out the 18 Warning Signs That Tell You To Dump A Stock.

Disclosure note: Mr. Kersten owns and or controls a diversified portfolio of long and short positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about.

Is Paris Hilton taking stock trading tips from Martha Stewart? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cramer lists Mariott among potential hotel targets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Bear Stearns cut General Motors (NYSE: GM) to Peer Perform from Outperform based on valuation and growing fundamental headwinds.

• HSBC downgraded Aluminum Corp of China (NYSE: ACH) to Underweight from Neutral as they believe prices of lightweight metal have peaked.

• Greenbrier Cos (NYSE: GBX) was cut at Bear Stearns to Peer Perform from Outperform on valuation.

• Matrix USA downgraded Monsanto (NYSE: MON) to Buy from Strong Buy on valuation...

• Sandler cut Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL) to Hold from Buy.

• UBS cut Arris Group (NASDAQ: ARRS) to Neutral from Buy.

• AG Edwards downgraded Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) to Sell from Buy. Gabelli cut Hilton Hotels to Hold from Buy.
  

Analyst downgrades 7-05-07: ACH, ARRS, GM and HLT originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 10:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now that Blackstone (NYSE: BX) has bought Hilton (NYSE: HLT) for $26 billion, The Wall Street Journal is asking [subscription required] whether Marriott (NYSE: MAR) and Starwood (NYSE: HOT) might be next.

The question is reasonable. Hilton has outperformed the other two companies in the stock market over the last two years, with its shares up 50%. Some of that is due to recent takeover speculation.

Marriott's shares are up only 30% over that period and Starwood's only 15%. All three companies have market caps in the $15 billion to $20 billion range, so none is so large as to be outside the financial ability for a private equity firm to take them over.

But, Starwood may make the easier target. Marriott is still controlled by its founding family while Starwood has had a bit of musical chairs in its executive suite. The company's CEO left in April.

Starwood has had virtually no growth in revenue over that last four quarters, and had low operating income in its last reported quarter. If private equity interests think they can improve that, the company becomes an attractive candidate.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

With Hilton sold, will Marriott and Starwood be next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Buffett's biggest blunders, Martha Stewart vs. Katonah & Top 10 portfolio pitfalls - Today in Money & Finance - 7/5 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• At 8:30 a.m., the weekly job claims report is due, but will only be a prelude for tomorrow's June employment report.
• At 10:00 a.m., the Institute of Supply Management's non-manufacturing poll for June is due and could show a slight decline.
• At 10:30 a.m., weekly crude inventories are due. While expectations are generally for higher gasoline supplies and refinery output, oil prices rose today due to concerns over the summer driving season and violence in Nigeria. Oil remained above $71 a barrel.
  

Before the bell 7-5-07: Holiday mood continues, stock futures higher originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 07:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) volatility and volume elevated prior to Blackstone paying $26 billion. HLT announced Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) will acquire all the outstanding common stock of HLT for $47.50 per share. HLT closed at $36.05. I reported near the close of trading on 7/3/07 "option volume & volatility Elevated as HLT rallies 6%." HLT total volume of 32,490 contracts and HLT July option implied volatility of 39 was aggressive, above its 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update 7-3-07: Blackstone purchasing Hilton originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 06:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Blackstone reserves $26 billion for Hilton buyout originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday we learned that Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is taking another shot at the movie promotion business by pushing (for a cut of the action) the National Geographic movie "Arctic Tale." Starbuck's initial effort, last year's "Akeela and the Bee," had indifferent results.

While most of the big releases for 2007 already have commercial tie-ins, I thought about other companies that might make money by offering some targeted marketing. Perhaps

• Ratatouille -- KFC (Yum Brands, NYSE: YUM)
• The 40-year old Virgin -- Weight Watchers Intl (NYSE: WTW)
• Sicko -- The Church of Scientology
• Live Free or Die Hard -- Viagra (Pfizer, NYSE: PFE)
• Evan Almighty -- Chris Craft
• Transformers: The Mitt Romney Campaign
• The Simpsons Movie: Sylvan Learning
• Hairspray: Lane Bryant (Charming Shoppes, Inc., NASDAQ: CHRS)
• Hostel: Part II -- Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT)
• 1408 -- Hostelling International

And, as a special subscriber gift offer promotion,

• The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones, NYSE: DJ) -- Citizen Kane

Starbucks setting a new trend by promoting movies for a cut of the action? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Examining Carl Icahn's portfolio: Hilton Hotels originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.