Boston, MA 02/03/2014 (wallstreetpr) – PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) is planning to commit more money to the purchase of land this year than it did in 2013. The company stated that an additional $700 million will be used to buy land in 2014 despite the fact that there is a slowdown in the demand for homes due to the high interest rates. Having managed to attain significant gain in the most recent quarter, PHM is convinced that it has got a formula to deal with the current mortgage fallout. First, the company believes that home buyers will over time get used to the existing rates and will thus resume their buying habits. Moreover, PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) is raising prices on homes it builds so that it can make up for the reduced sales metrics.
Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) is feeling stung in the current market and economic situation. The company is facing growing competition from other tobacco companies, more so against its leading brand Marlboro. MO is also impacted by tax hikes, ban on smoke and increased campaigns against tobacco smoking. While the company’s management revealed at the recent earnings call that Marlboro was still a superior brand, there is admittance that keeping the brand at the top without adjusting the price will be an uphill task. But then price adjustment will only serve to hurt revenue. In the most recent quarter Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) saw its EPS decline by 56.4 percent to 24 cents. This was due to the already identified challenges.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) will have to do more to counter the growing wave of competition in the U.S. wireless communication market. AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has just kicked off the brutal contest to win over subscriber by announcing a wireless package that allows families to save on their call, data and text spending. The top four U.S. telecoms operators are out to cannibalize one another and at the target is Verizon which has a superior position in wireless offering. Analysts hope that Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)’s move to buy Vodafone out of Verizon Wireless with be a game changer in the U.S. wireless communication industry.
