Insiders' Blog

Tandy Brands (Nasdaq: TBAC) was halted for volatility following the announcement of its second-quarter earnings report. Tandy reported EPS of 39 cents, trumping earnings of 10 cents per share reported in the same period last year.

Revenue for the quarter came in at $45.5 million, versus $42.9 million reported last year.

Traders may want to take note of an emerging counter-trend in the wireless sector: following the initial wave of euphoria as the iPhone became more and more popular -- meaning burgeoning new or renewed contracts at service providers -- Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) clout may now be getting ahead of itself.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) are great examples. While the stocks have become solid dividend plays (yielding 5.3 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively), shares have underperformed the broader stock market rather sharply this year. Verizon shares are down 6 percent in 2012, while AT&T shares have fallen about 1.5 percent. In contrast, the S&P 500 is up nearly 7 percent since the start of the year.

Investors may be starting to recognize the minimal profits drawn from the sale of any of Apple's iPhone models, a product which once brought on fuzzy thoughts of recurring earnings to investors in the wireless sector. Remember when Verizon or Sprint (NYSE: S) first got the iPhone? The headlines which followed were nothing short of angelic to shareholders.

Unprecedented demand for Apple's latest model, the iPhone 4S, drove the company's first-quarter figures well past what could accurately be called a "blow-out"; this is well known. On the other side of the transaction, however, both Verizon and AT&T missed the Street's estimates last quarter.

Although Apple certainly deserves its "fair" share of the profits, the company may be a large factor pushing carrier's margins to dangerously razor-slim levels.

Sharp increases in mobile phone data usage recently (with the iPhone certainly a large contributor to that trend) has required service providers to continuously lift their usage and plan rates and consequently deal with customer outrage. Providers have even implemented tactics such as slowing data speed on users who exceed data usage levels.

While Verizon undoubtedly wants to retain its position as the number one carrier in the U.S., management may need to consider at what expense is the title coming to them. In the future, service providers may look to go back to the drawing board with Apple and renegotiate the terms of their respective deals. New contracts in the future could call for a lower percentage of total device sales to go to Apple, or possibly require a percentage of App sales to be given to the service providers. When all is said and done, the future Apple may not be able to bake its cake and eat it too...

Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) is higher today following reports which have all but pegged the streaming content provider's next expansion target.

According to TheNextWeb, Netflix is aiming to enter the Russian market. Data comes from the very English-unfriendly online newspaper Vedomosti.ru.

In addition to Netflix, competitor Hulu is also mulling a deal in the region.

Currently, Netflix operates in Canada, the U.K., Ireland, and Latin America, with expansion plans for Spain expected to carry out in 2012. Hulu has gone as far as Japan, though speculation surrounding its next move has been quiet.

Interest from Hulu was piqued when Russia entered the World Trade Organization and also from recent comScore (Nasdaq: SCOR) data, which suggests Russian view more online video than Europeans.

Hulu is a joint venture between Comcast's NBC Universal (Nasdaq: CMCSA), News Corp's Fox Entertainment (Nasdaq: NWSA), Providence Equity Partners, and Disney-ABC (NYSE: DIS).

Shares of Netflix are fighting the market, up 0.3 percent on the overall down session.

Outsourcing isn't just a problem in the U.S.; many global companies are turning to Asia as input and overhead costs continue to rise and pressure margins.

Three major electronics/mobile device companies -- Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Sony (NYSE: SNE), and Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) -- are expected to shift large amounts of handset manufacturing to Taiwan-based original device manufacturers (ODMs), according to Digitimes Friday.

Earlier this week, Nokia announced it would layoff about 4,000 employees in Hungry, Mexico, and Finland, opting instead to shift manufacturing to Foxconn Int'l Holdings (FIH) and Compal Communications in Taiwan.

Motorola is also expected to strengthen ties with FIH and Arima Communications for continued manufacturing of Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android-based devices. Sony will begin work with Foxconn Electronics and Arima for low- and mid-range mobile devices. Of note, Foxconn Electronics also does work with Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), competitor to Sony, Nokia, and Motorola.

Shares of all three companies -- and Apple -- are lower Friday following the continued turmoil in Greece over new austerity measures.

The U.S. stock market will experience a very important test Friday. Will it pass?

Everyone knows the market has rallied significantly so far this year, with the S&P 500 up over 6 percent since the start of the year. U.S. investors have been asking themselves if this rally is based on the situation in Europe improving or the realization the U.S. economy is improving. We've clearly witnessed both.

Stocks are down this morning on the back of the still-unclear situation in Greece, which can't get its own act together let alone get the rest of the Eurozone to agree. With the action, investors may be able to get some important insight into how the market is thinking.

If we rally into the close on our own it could suggest that the U.S. market has de-coupled from Europe, which would be huge. This would be confirmation that we are in a “buy the dip” market - ALL ABOARD

If we continue to trade off headlines in Europe it could indicate that we have a rough road ahead. After improving significantly, headlines from Europe will likely only get worse for the next little while. CAUTION FLAG

So there you have it - Are we a US-driven U.S. stock market? - or - a Eurozone-driven U.S. stock market? Today may give us an answer.