PowerTalk

Water - so simple and something that, if your like me, you tend to take for granted. But a report recently released from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency showed that $384 billion in improvements are needed for the nation’s drinking water infrastructure to continue to provide safe drinking water. But as you’ll soon learn, that $384 billion is only a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s ahead for water and the water industry. It’s a big topic and its the focus of PowerTalk this week. I’m your host Chris Versace and once again we’re taking you behind the scenes and in the know -- this time on water and the looming water crisis.  It’s a big issue and huge pain point -- so much so that it’s been a key theme in my investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits.  Over the last week, we’ve had a huge reminder of how important water is -- I’m talking about the heatwave that hit the Easter United States. But like I said, that was just a reminder as to how bad the drought situation is here in the U.S. While w

Investing can be fun and profitable at times, but it can also be a tricky thing. There are hundreds if not thousand of companies to choose from in dozens and dozens of industries. Some are new and thriving like wireless, broadband and social media. That’s great for companies like Qualcomm (QCOM), Entropic (ENTR) and Facebook (FB) and their shareholders. Others like newspapers such as the NY Times (NYT), book publishers and retail book stores like Barnes & Noble (BKS) are feeling the pain as their industry adapts to what I call the Always On, Always Connected society.  The economy and industry fundamentals are not the only thing to watch and listen to with your investing eyes and ears. One other aspect is the regulatory environment and more specifically new regulations. As we know, business has been saddled with a number of them over the last few years, but none have the ability to impact a businesses’s cost structure like the Affordable Care Act. You know that far better as Obamacare.  We’ve done a few

Joining me this week on PowerTalk is Ron Shaich, the Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Panera Bread (PNRA). As tends to be the case with these 1-1 conversations, we cover a lot of ground during our time together including the strategies that has led to strong growth in Panera’s revenues and stock price over the last several years. Focusing on the customer experience, transparency, and as Ron says simply “doing it right” are some of the strategies that led to that significant growth at a time when most competitors like Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc. (BAGL), Cosi (COSI) and others were been struggling. Ron and his team also successfully navigated the rise of many alternative eating styles -- Atkins, Paleo, raw and others -- by offering the customers a wide selection of products, including my favorite -- bear claws. Besides being a leader in the business community, Ron is  an advocate for getting our political leaders to work better together. He’s a part of No Labels, a growing citizens’ movement of Democra

This week we’re going on a ride. Not a magic carpet ride but rather a plane ride with the Founder, President and CEO of BlackJet, Dean Rothchin, to talk about how his company is helping change the aviation industry.  Here at PowerTalk, each week I bring you my 1-1 conversations with not only CEOs of public and private companies, but also those from the up and coming companies and disruptive apps that are likely game changers. That makes them potential disruptors in the world that I call PowerTrends. We’ve seen this time and again and that’s why I keep a close eye not only on publicly traded companies, but also venture and private equity backed ones as well.  If your a frequent traveler or even just an occasional one, you already know what a hassle traveling has become. Getting to the airport hours before your flight to face long lines and or flight delays or cancellations are just the start of it. It seems the airlines like American Airlines (AAMRQ), United Continental (UAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL), US Airwa

Thanks for joining me this week on PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace.  As you probably know each week I share my in-depth conversations with the movers and shakers in business with you. Some people ask me why I do this.....the answer is to bring you with me as I go behind the scenes and in the know so you can make more informed business or investing decisions.  Joining me this week on PowerTalk is Richard Demb, the co-founder and CEO of Abe’s Market - a company that is exploding given the explosive demand for natural foods and products as well as the surge in demand for specialty products that are gluten-free, Paleo-friendly, Kosher or Raw. Given how busy our lives are these days, there’s a good chance you haven’t heard of Abe’s Market.  I could be wrong, but if your not a person that is looking for organic food and natural products, gluten-free solutions or some other healthy alternatives you may not have heard of Abesmarket.com. Here’s the thing though, as you you through your local grocery store -

Ever since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the Fed could begin tapering its stimulating efforts, volatility returned to the stock market. There has been much discussion about when and how the Fed will deal with the sugar stimulus-addicted economy. The concern is if the Fed acts too quickly, much like a child on too much sugar, it will crash. This has led to the return of volatility to the stock market over the last several weeks.  My view, which I discussed this past weekend when I appeared on The Wall Street Report as well as with subscribers to PowerTrend Profits and ETF PowerTrader, is that the Fed is not likely to taper near term. Data collected over the last few weeks and as recently as earlier this week confirms the U.S. economy has once again entered yet another spring swoon. Just yesterday, the New York Fed's own Empire Manufacturing Survey for June boosted the case for no near-term tapering: • "The new orders index slipped six points to -6.7, the shipments index fell twelve points to -11.8, a

Ever since Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the Fed could begin tapering its stimulating efforts, volatility returned to the stock market. There has been much discussion about when and how the Fed will deal with the sugar stimulus-addicted economy. The concern is if the Fed acts too quickly, much like a child on too much sugar, it will crash. This has led to the return of volatility to the stock market over the last several weeks.  My view, which I discussed this past weekend when I appeared on The Wall Street Report as well as with subscribers to PowerTrend Profits and ETF PowerTrader, is that the Fed is not likely to taper near term. Data collected over the last few weeks and as recently as earlier this week confirms the U.S. economy has once again entered yet another spring swoon. Just yesterday, the New York Fed's own Empire Manufacturing Survey for June boosted the case for no near-term tapering: • "The new orders index slipped six points to -6.7, the shipments index fell twelve points to -11.8, a

Joining me this week on PowerTalk to discuss the growing threat we all face - cyber attacks -- as well as a set of new solutions to combat them is Martin Roesch. Martin is not only a founder of cyber security company Sourcefire (FIRE), but also its chief technology office and a Board Member.  With cyber attacks growing not only in volume, but with them happening to companies like Google (GOOG), Bank of America (BAC), Northrop Grumman (NOC), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo (YHOO), AOL (AOL), LinkedIn (LNKD), Tumblr, the Reuters news service and the BBC to name a few, it’s a cause for alarm.  Earlier this week I was talking with some folks at the American Chamber of Commerce and they pointed out several of the key concerns that are on the minds of its more than 3 million members. Those businesses that comprise the Chamber’s constituents -- from mom-and-pop shops and to leading industry associations and large corporations -- cyber security is increasingly on their mind.  How can it not be?  Symantec’s (SYMC) Interne

Thanks for joining me for another edition of PowerTalk - I’m  your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits. Joining me today to take you behind the scenes and in the know today is Tom Breitling, the co-founder and chairman of Ultimate Gaming.  As you may have noticed over the last few years, gambling has grown from being only in Las Vegas, Nevada and Atlantic City, N.J to a number of other states -- Maryland, West Virginia, Connecticut and Pennsylvania to name a few.  At the same time, technology has had a tremendous impact on our lives and has resulted in the increasing shift toward what I call an Always On, Always Connected Society. It’s hit certain industries hard  for example newspapers and The New York Times (NYT); classifieds, coupons and want ads all of which can be viewed with Monster.com, Groupon (GRPN) or on Valpak.com and more; we communicate less through postal mail and increasingly through email as well as other social media sites like Facebook (FB), Google’s

Joining me on PowerTalk this week is Michael Vivio, President of Cox Target Media. Now you may be scratching your head going, what company is that....but as you’ll soon learn, its the company behind that blue Valpak envelope you get each week in the mail. Each and every week, it’s packed with coupons, discounts and other offers that are designed to help you save money, while driving revenue at those establishments.  Since was named president of Cox Target Media in December 2010. Within a year, Michael has taken Valpak and Valpak.com to new heights with a newly re-launched website that has seen online traffic increase 400%, and new partnerships that doubled the amount of online coupons to 40,000. I don’t know about you, but at my house we go not only go through it each week, but I use the app on my iPhone religiously and I get to load great deals into Passbook. As I look at it right now, I can see coupons for Gold’s Gym, local dry cleaners, a bunch of restaurants that we go to and a bunch of other services. 

Folks -  As you know there’s a lot going on in the press these days -- the IRS targeting conservatives, the AP scandal and Benghazi to name a few. Another is immigration and immigration reform. Joining me this week on PowerTalk to sort through the issues on immigration is former Secretary of Commerce under President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2009, Carlos Gutierrez. Before he was the Secretary of Commerce, Secretary Gutierrez was the Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Kellogg Company (K). As PowerTalk friend economist Douglas Hotlz-Eakin recently wrote “Immigration reform resulting in net population growth and an increase in employment-based immigration would likely have wide-reaching economic benefits, and would provide a boost to the housing sector.” Companies poised to benefit include not only the homebuilders like Toll Brothers (TOL) and D.R. Horton (DHI), the nation’s largest homebuilder, but also furniture, paint and appliance vendors like Ethan Allen Interiors (ETH), Sherwin Williams (SHW) and Whi

This week on PowerTalk not only am I excited to talk to someone who is truly informed and that means a great conversation to take you behind the scenes and in the know, but  we get an answer to a question that many have been wondering if not asking - based on what we’ve seen over the last few years, how would President Obama fare if he were the CEO of a publicly traded company? Answering that question is none other than Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor in Chief of Forbes Media. I’m sure many of you have seen Steve on TV, read his widely followed Fact & Comment column in Forbes magazine or on Forbes.com or consumed his book “Freedom Manifesto: Why Free Markets Are Moral and Big Government Isn’t.” As you might expect Steve a fantastic guest and we cover a lot of ground -- the U.S. economy, what’s going on in Europe, growth vs. austerity, tax reform, Obamacare, and big government. We also touch on how Steve has revamped the business model at Forbes given the challenges faced by the traditional publishing

In recent weeks, we’ve heard from a number of cable companies like Comcast (CMCSA), Charter Communications (CHTR), Time Warner Cable (TWC) and others. All in all, it’s been a message that reinforces the increasing degree of what I call the Connected Society - WiFi, the Cloud, high speed Internet and on demand programming. Mix in the shift toward smartphones and tablets, and we find the notion of appointment TV viewing is nearly gone save for sporting events.  Those cable companies are battling with mobile operators, such as AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ) and others for consumer dollars. As they do this, the operators have made it more expensive for consumers to utilize their services even though new technologies have made it cheaper for those companies to deliver said services. Just this past December, Charter Communications instituted a price increase on its high-speed Internet service. At Comcast, price increases on video service and customers upgrading to HD packages and digital video recorders (DVRs) helped

Welcome back to PowerTalk - I’m your host Chris Versace and I’m taking you behind the scenes and in the know with conversations I’m having each week with CEOs and key business. If your new to PowerTalk, we’re going deeper into some of the key issues of the day to help sharpen your view when it comes to investing.  Last week we got the latest rash of economic data that shows that while the U.S. economy is not falling off a cliff, it’s not exactly lighting the world on fire. In recent weeks, we’ve gotten figures that point to more people falling our of the work force, heard more about cyber attacks and watched the tragedy in Boston while the issue of gun control percolates in Washington.  We’ve also started to realize what the true cost of Obamacare will be when its fully implement in 2014. Even The New York Times ran a story recently with the headline “Democratic Senators Tell White House of Concerns About Health Care Law Rollout” It also seems that many across the pond in the Eurozone are realizing that au

Thanks for joining me this week on PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits. If you’ve been here before, welcome back! As you know my goal with PowerTalk is to let you listen in on some of the conversations I’m having each and every week and to take you behind the scenes and in the know. If your a new listener to PowerTalk, this is the place where I bring you my 1-1 conversations with CEOs of public and private companies as well as other key people in business, politics and wherever else might be impacting the stock market and our investing decisions.  A few weeks ago, subscribers to my investment newsletter, PowerTrend Profits, were told about the opportunities to be had in the shares of Nuance Communications (NUAN), a voice and speech recognition technology company. Since then legendary Carl Icahn disclosed a sizable position in Nuance and the company went on to announce several new wins. At the same time, we’ve seen a number of other activities and in

Fellow investors, Thanks for joining me this week on PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits. If you’ve been here before, welcome back! As you know my goal with PowerTalk is to let you listen in on some of the conversations I’m having each and every week and to take you behind the scenes and in the know. If your a new listener to PowerTalk, this is the place where I bring you my 1-1 conversations with CEOs of public and private companies as well as other key people in business, politics and wherever else might be impacting the stock market and our investing decisions.  One of my Great 8 PowerTrends is Always On, Always Connected. That refers to the pervasive nature of the Internet and the connected society we live in today. You see this first hand day in and day out as we use our smartphones and tablets to read email, message our family and friends, check the latest on Facebook (FB) or LinkedIn (LNKD), stream a movie from Netflix (NFLX). With mobile ca

Fellow investors, Thanks for joining me this week on PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits. If you’ve been here before, welcome back! As you know my goal with PowerTalk is to let you listen in on some of the conversations I’m having each and every week and to take you behind the scenes and in the know. If your a new listener to PowerTalk, this is the place where I bring you my 1-1 conversations with CEOs of public and private companies as well as other key people in business, politics and wherever else might be impacting the stock market and our investing decisions.  One of my Great 8 PowerTrends is Always On, Always Connected. That refers to the pervasive nature of the Internet and the connected society we live in. With more time being spent online from mobile devices, the combination the smartphone and tablet along with websites and apps like Facebook (FB), Twitter, LinkedIn (LNKD), Netflix (NFLX), Path, Amazon.com (AMZN), Pinterest and others are

Thanks for joining me this week on PowerTalk. I’m your host Chris Versace, editor of the investment newsletter PowerTrend Profits.   If your a new listener to PowerTalk, this is the place where I bring you my 1-1 conversations with CEOs of public and private companies as well as other key people in business, politics and wherever else might be impacting the stock market and our investing decisions.  If you’ve been here before, welcome back! As you know my goal with PowerTalk is to let you listen in on some of the conversations I’m having each and every week and to take you behind the scenes and in the know. Over the last few years we’ve seen the explosion in smartphones, tablets and ereaders from the likes of Samsung, Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Amazon.com (AMZN) and others. Those devices along with streaming services, cable news, companies like Facebook (FB) and Twitter as well as apps like Flipboard are changing the way we consume news. That’s had a negative impact on the publishing industry, specificall