AACE ==> The March Madness Winner!

[New-born baby]

Every Kindergarten should have one

I just spotted an Ace Cash Express branch located in a Sunoco gas station in Northern Ohio. Has anyone else seen such a matchup?

billyjoe

I haven't invested just yet. I am waiting for them to team up with the public schools first. Just think of the possibilities!

[mrmarket]

earnings are due October 27...estimates are $0.20/share.

[billyjoe]

Mr.Market,
It looks all uphill from here for AACE . It's performance over the last 4 weeks vs. s&p 500 is better than that of CME and other giants in its industry group. I'm not a bottom fisher , but this one looks very tempting. How about it Spike , New-Born ?

billyjoe

[MEA_1956]

Here Fishey Fishey

I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH AACE, Their ####'sss speak for them self. At the first of the month is when I went ( what I call double down ) , EXCEPT, this is my forth entry on this stock.

I'm Also looking at HELE again. I feel this one is setting up for a nice gain.

===> M.E.A.

[mrmarket]

Has anyone checked out the 2 month chart on AACE? Very very nice!

[billyjoe]

Mr. Market,
What does your crystal ball show for next quarter earnings ? A blowout , perhaps?

billyjoe

[New-born baby]

What??!!!!

Has anyone checked out the 2 month chart on AACE? Very very nice!

I didn't think you ever looked at such things


Out of sympathy for all you FA guys who do not consider a chart much more than toilet paper ala Warren "Eugene-baby" Buffett (sometimes known as "Bubba")--here's the LYE-LINK:

http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/972/chart14wj.gif

[billyjoe]

New-born,
Thanks for continuing to post the Lye links. I do occasionally glance at a chart at the last moment before pulling the trigger , but I don't know what exactly I'm looking at. Just so it isn't pointing down. Tried to read Bulkowski's book and it started out simple enough , but after a couple pages it was like explaining nuclear fusion , same problem I have with understanding chemistry.

billyjoe

[New-born baby]

my sideline

New-born,
Thanks for continuing to post the Lye links. I do occasionally glance at a chart at the last moment before pulling the trigger , but I don't know what exactly I'm looking at. Just so it isn't pointing down. Tried to read Bulkowski's book and it started out simple enough , but after a couple pages it was like explaining nuclear fusion , same problem I have with understanding chemistry.

billyjoe

BillyJoe,
Preaching doesn't always cover all the bills, so I run a little business on the side. The by-line of my business is:

"From rummage sales to nuclear reactors, we do it all!"

Oh, by the way, just so LYE-baby doesn't think I am picking on him, is it alright if I occasionally call the LYE-link a BILLY-link?

[billyjoe]

New-born,
I always said you were a multi talented dude , I mean reverend. It would be an honor to have a link named after me. Lye and me must be the only 2 with the homemade heathkit computer.

billyjoe

[mrmarket]

Cramer's 2 cents

Ace Cash Express (AACE:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take): "These are companies that make the easy money on the people" who are a little difficult to integrate into the banking system. Cramer cautioned that this company could be affected by immigration reform, although he expressed skepticism that such reform would take place.

[jiesen]

Look at this little monkey go:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=AACE...l=on&z=m&q=l&c=

[mrmarket]

Time for a recovery?

Walmart, in this story advises that they will NOT get into consumer lending. The threat of this is what knocked AACE off of its momentum track in the first place.

==============================================

Reuters
Wal-Mart defends bank bid as others voice concerns
Monday April 10, 11:37 am ET
By Kristin Roberts


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wal-Mart on Monday defended its bid to open a limited purpose bank and took aim at one of the most regularly voiced concerns about its proposal -- saying it has no plans to open branches and it is committed to keeping independent banks in its stores.

At the first of four days of public hearings on Wal-Mart's (NYSE:WMT - News) widely watched bank application, the company confronted concerns raised by its vocal and aggressive opposition, including some members of Congress and community banks, as well as groups that regularly criticize the company, such as labor and environmental groups.

Jane Thompson, president of Wal-Mart Financial Services, said the retailer had abandoned previously contemplated plans to move into retail banking and now wants to start financial operations solely to process its electronic payments.

"We have absolutely no plans to open bank branches," she said at the hearing.

"Our commitment not to branch and our independent in-store branch strategy is not simply a promise; it is a very visible and rapidly growing reality, locked in by hundreds of long-term contracts," she told the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or FDIC, the regulatory agency reviewing the retail giant's bank-related application.

Wal-Mart has applied to open an industrial bank, or industrial loan company known as an ILC, in Utah to process electronic payments from its stores. According to its application, the bank will not serve the general public or offer processing services to other retailers.

Industrial banks are state-chartered and state-regulated, and fall under the FDIC's supervision. Commercial companies may own them because federal laws that bar nonfinancial companies from engaging in banking do not classify industrial banks as banks.

SKEPTICS CITE WAL-MART'S RECORD

Still, the retailer's bid has generated intense opposition from groups that say Wal-Mart could push community banks out of business and pose a risk to the U.S. payments system if financial troubles within the company bleed into its bank operation.

Others, including Democrat Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio, say they just don't believe Wal-Mart's assurances that it has no retail banking intentions.

"All you have to do is look at the Wal-Mart model," Tubbs Jones said in response to a question from the FDIC. "They started small, and expanded and expanded and expanded in not only our country, but across the world."

Others in opposition accuse the company of violating labor laws and engaging in unsavory business practices.

John Bovenzi, the FDIC's chief operating officer, raised those accusations at the start of the public hearing, saying the company's character had been called into question.

Wal-Mart's Thompson, in response, said the company abides by labor laws and has built into its operating systems mechanisms to ensure compliance.

"We are upstanding citizens of the community," she said.

RISK TO SYSTEM?

Thompson's testimony took aim at other criticisms, specifically statements from the banking industry that Wal-Mart's bank would threaten the payments system and would not be adequately capitalized.

Wal-Mart, however, said its bank would reduce, not increase, risk to the payments system by serving only Wal-Mart stores and handling "highly predictable and low-risk payment transactions," Thompson said. That, she added, means Wal-Mart's bank would have a lower risk than similar banks that serve thousands of retailers and businesses.

The retail giant will cover any potential risk to the bank's capital with a formal indemnification agreement and the bank will maintain an earmarked deposit account of at least $1 million, according to Thompson's testimony.

Thompson was followed mostly by critics of both Wal-Mart's application and industrial banks in general.

Some, including Federal Reserve officials, have urged Congress to clamp down on industrial banks or ILCs because they benefit from a "loophole" in federal law that lets commercial companies buy banks, but escape full supervision by bank regulators.

While America's Community Bankers, a trade group, said the FDIC should not act until Congress considers ILC-related measures, others say the broader debate is beyond the scope of the regulator's consideration of Wal-Mart's application.

In fact, some analysts and lobbyists say if the FDIC follows statute and precedent, there is little reason Wal-Mart's bid should be denied when rival Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT - News) and other corporate heavyweights such as General Electric (NYSE:GE - News) have succeeded.

[mrmarket]

earnings earnings earnings

ACE Cash Express Reports Fiscal 2006 Third Quarter Results; Comparable Store Sales Increase 6.8%
Thursday April 27, 4:01 pm ET


DALLAS, April 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ACE Cash Express, Inc. (Nasdaq: AACE - News) announced fiscal third quarter 2006 net income of $9.9 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.68, compared to fiscal third quarter 2005 net income of $9.9 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.71. The current quarter includes the previously disclosed $0.04 after-tax charge related to the termination of the Company's relationship with H&R Block. During the fiscal third quarter of 2006, ACE's total revenue increased 16 percent to $91.2 million from $78.5 million in the prior year period, due primarily to a 19 percent increase in check cashing fees, an 18 percent increase in loan fees and interest, and a 33 percent increase in bill payment services.
Comparable store revenues increased 6.8 percent compared to the prior year period. Major contributors to this comparable store revenue increase include:


* Comparable store loan fees and interest increased 11.0 percent, and in
states not impacted by the revised FDIC Guidelines for PayDay Lending,
increased by 12.4 percent.
* Comparable store check fees (non-tax check fees) increased by 4.4
percent.
* Comparable store tax check fees declined by 2.0 percent. Comparable
store tax check fees cashed in company-owned stores declined by 0.3
percent. Comparable store tax checks fees cashed by self-service
machines (SSMs) located in H&R Block locations declined by 9.5
percent. As previously disclosed the SSM business in H&R Block
locations has been discontinued.

"Third quarter financial results reflect continued success in offering our customers a full suite of retail financial products in an expanding network of stores. This strategy resulted in strong comparable store sales increases, particularly in our core check cashing business, the short-term consumer loan business and the stored value card business," said Jay B. Shipowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer.


Among ACE's accomplishments during the fiscal third quarter 2006 were:

* The total ACE store network, including franchised stores, had a third
quarter record 11.3 million customer visits and processed
approximately $3.5 billion in transactions.
* Comparable store sales increased 6.8 percent compared to the fiscal
third quarter of 2005.
* ACE company-owned stores cashed over 3.4 million non-tax checks, with
a face value of approximately $1.4 billion, resulting in check-cashing
fees for the quarter of $31.6 million, up 19 percent from $26.5
million in the fiscal third quarter of 2005. Comparable store check
cashing fees increased 4.4 percent compared to the prior year period.
* ACE company-owned stores processed over 519,000 loan transactions,
disbursed over $148 million in loan proceeds and generated loan fees
and interest of $25.0 million. Comparable store loan fees and interest
in company-owned stores increased 11.0 percent over the prior year's
period.
* ACE introduced the CSO Loan product in Texas on March 1, 2006.
* ACE company-owned stores processed over 2.2 million bill payment and
debit card transactions, producing a revenue increase of 33 percent,
to $7.1 million from $5.4 million in the prior year period.
* ACE company-owned stores sold approximately 89,000 stored value cards
in the third quarter of fiscal 2006, an increase of 86 percent over
the prior year period.

"Our network grew to 1,557 stores at the end of the fiscal third quarter of 2006, reflecting our long-term disciplined growth strategy of de novo store development complemented by opportunistic acquisitions. During the last 24 months, we have opened 122 ACE Cash Express stores and 63 ACE Cash Advance stores that have not yet contributed meaningfully to our bottom-line. These new stores are meeting our performance expectations and as these stores mature we should begin to see an increasing bottom-line contribution from them over the next several quarters," commented Mr. Shipowitz.

Results for the Nine Months Ended March 31, 2006

For the first nine months of fiscal 2006, ACE's total revenue increased 12 percent, to $229.6 million, from $205.2 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2005. Net income decreased 15 percent, to $17.7 million from $20.8 million in the prior year period, resulting in a decline in diluted earnings per share of 15 percent, to $1.26 per diluted share from $1.49 cents per diluted share in the prior year period. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2006 includes a net after-tax charge of $0.7 million related to losses from Hurricane Katrina and an after-tax write-off of $0.5 million related to the Company's decision to discontinue operating SSMs in H&R Block locations. Comparable store sales increased by 4.6 percent during the first nine months of fiscal 2006 compared to the first nine months of fiscal 2005 as a result of continued strength in loan fees and bill payment services.

Amended Bank Facility

During the quarter, ACE amended its existing bank credit facility to extend the maturity date, increase the facility size and improve pricing. Under the amended bank facility the new commitments increase total availability from $200 million to $275 million, including a $200 million working capital facility and a $75 million seasonal facility available during each tax season, and the maturity date is extended from June 30, 2008 to December 31, 2010. The pricing on the facility was also reduced to LIBOR plus 200 basis points from LIBOR plus 225 basis points and can be further reduced to LIBOR plus 175 basis points based upon the company's leverage ratio.

Store Openings

For the quarter, the Company opened 30 company-owned stores, including 14 ACE Cash Express stores and 16 ACE Cash Advance stores, and acquired 2 stores. ACE franchisees also opened an additional 13 stores during the quarter. ACE ended the quarter with 1,328 company-owned stores, 229 franchised stores and a total network of 1,557 stores.

Update on Hurricane Katrina Impacted Stores

During the fiscal first quarter of 2006 ACE recorded a pre-tax charge of $1.7 million related to losses from Hurricane Katrina. This charge included the write-off of fixed assets and loans receivable. During the fiscal third quarter of 2006 ACE reversed $0.2 million related to better than expected collections of the previously written-off loans and received an initial reimbursement payment from its insurance carrier of $0.2 million related to its claim. At this time, six of the company's 22 stores in the greater New Orleans market remain closed.

Relationship with H&R Block

Following the end of the quarter, ACE announced that it will not operate self-service machines (SSMs) in H&R Block locations during the 2007 tax season. As a result of this decision, ACE took a one-time pre-tax charge during the fiscal third quarter of 2006 of $848,000 related to the termination of the SSM leases and the early extinguishment of the DZ Bank facility, which was used to finance the SSM business.

During the 2006 tax season, ACE operated 128 SSMs in H&R Block locations. These SSMs generated approximately $3.1 million of revenue for ACE and a pre- tax loss of approximately $275,000 during the quarter, excluding the $848,000 charge included in the fiscal third quarter of 2006.

Fiscal 2006 Business Guidance

The statements in the bullet points below are the Company's outlook or forecast for the Company's business for the fourth quarter ending and the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006. These statements are made only as of April 27, 2006 and indicate only the expectations of the Company's management as of that date. These statements supersede any and all previous statements made by the Company regarding the matters addressed. These statements are "forward- looking statements," cannot be guaranteed and may prove to be wrong.


* The Company expects to open 6 to 16 additional ACE Cash Express stores
in the fourth quarter for a total of 50 to 60 stores in fiscal 2006.
* The Company expects to open 10 to 20 additional ACE Cash Advance
stores in the fourth quarter for a total of 50 to 60 stores in fiscal
2006.
* The Company expects to close 4 to 6 additional stores in the fourth
quarter for a total of 20 to 22 stores in fiscal 2006.
* The Company currently estimates franchisees will open a total of
approximately 26 to 30 stores in fiscal 2006.
* The Company expects its fiscal 2006 tax rate to be 39 percent.
* The Company began expensing stock options in fiscal 2006 and expects
to record stock option expense of approximately $1 million.
* At this time ACE currently offers its customers the following loan
products:
-- Short-term consumer loans offered pursuant to state regulation
(ACE Loan) in 23 states and the District of Columbia;
-- Short-term consumer loans in Arkansas and Pennsylvania offered by
Republic Bank of Kentucky (RBT Loan). ACE expects to cease
offering this product on June 30, 2006;
-- Installment loans with a 20-week term in Arkansas and Pennsylvania
made by First Bank of Delaware (FBD Loan);
-- CSO Loans in Texas.

[df21084]

Good read on WWE

I own WWE stock in my "buy and die" portfolio...mainly for 2 reasons:

1. Wrestling has been around forever and it will always be around.
2. I like reading their annual report.

Nice little article on WWE. I am long WWE.