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Nike







Business quiz! Nike's third-quarter profit was big news because: a) It gave newspapers a chance to run yet another picture of Tiger Woods; b) Earnings more than doubled from a year earlier; c) North American sales rose for the first time in a year. Answer: all of the above. As the global economy gets back on its feet, sales of Nike's athletic shoes and clothing are surging - especially in Asia.





Nothing says "Help! I'm stuck in the 1990s" like a giant Tommy Hilfiger logo emblazoned on your shirt. But it doesn't seem to have deterred Phillips-Van Heusen , which shelled out $3-billion for the tiresome clothing label. Phillips, which also owns Calvin Klein, aims to capitalize on Tommy's popularity overseas, where people apparently still think it's cool to wear a garish flag on your chest.







FedEx had a special delivery for investors this week: A huge jump in quarterly profit. Lifted by surging export volumes from Asia, the world's second-largest package delivery company said third-quarter earnings more than doubled from a year earlier, prompting it to raise its 2010 earnings forecast. Sure, domestic volumes were basically flat. But they'll improve. One day. Maybe.





Not fun: Working in a coal mine all your life. Fun: Owning shares of Western Coal . Fresh from getting admitted to the S&P/TSX composite index, the company expects to increase coal production by 75 per cent in fiscal 2011 as it takes advantage of a sharply higher price. Oh, and it has more than enough cash to fund its growth. The only thing investors are shovelling is cold, hard cash.







The 11 words that investors dread most: "substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern." Hobbled by debt and facing intense competition from Netflix, DVD vending machines and video-on-demand services, Blockbuster's stock has been sinking faster than a Jennifer Aniston romance. Without a restructuring, the company warned it could wind up in Chapter 11.



Blockbuster

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