This Week's 5 Smartest Stock Moves

Rick Aristotle Munarriz, The Motley Fool
Updated

If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.

1. Saluting the General
It's not too often that General Motors (NYS: GM) makes the cut in this weekly column, especially for something related to its costly OnStar telematics system.

In fact, just two weeks ago I was calling out OnStar for its creepy terms and conditions. However, GM is finally putting its OnStar system to good use. The auto giant is teaming up with RelayRides to make the peer-to-peer car sharing service easier for GM vehicle owners to use.

RelayRides allows car owners that infrequently use their vehicles to rent them out to neighbors for money. A major obstacle in the past has been that participating cars need to be outfitted with a device that can remotely unlock the car and track its whereabouts. Well, that's pretty much what GM can do, so now the two companies are making it easier for GM owners to begin monetizing their idle automotive time.

Renting out one's personal car may seem like a ludicrous notion, but with RelayRides covering the gas and insurance, the opportunity to make a little money on the side may be too tempting to pass up. With this slick move, GM is actually making its own OnStar cars that much more marketable.

2. There's an oldies section for you
Sirius XM Radio (NAS: SIRI) knows that folks aren't just buying new cars. The satellite radio giant is teaming up with Nissan and Infiniti dealerships to offer buyers of any pre-owned car with an existing satellite receiver three free months of access to Sirius or XM.

Giving used car salesmen a financial incentive to promote activations on secondhand cars can be pretty substantial these days, especially with drivers weary of big-ticket purchases.

Sirius XM has struck similar deals with other automakers in the past, but you can never have too many automotive dealerships as partners.

3. Pinch me to make sure I'm not streaming
Sticking to the automotive theme of the first two entries, Toyota (NYS: TM) announced that Pandora (NYS: P) is embedded in the Entune dashboard system of the 2012 Camry and Tacoma vehicles that are now rolling into showrooms.

In other words, anyone that has an Android, BlackBerry, or iPhone smartphone can access Pandora's free music app with similar dashboard navigation as terrestrial and satellite radio. Camry and Tacoma are the top-selling vehicles in their respective classes, so Pandora's reach is about to grow even wider.

4. Dusting off the classics
What's old is new again at Disney (NYS: DIS) . Encouraged by the success of its theatrical rerelease of The Lion King -- only this time spruced up in 3-D -- the family entertainment giant will give four of its box-office favorites new lives at the local multiplex with similar 3-D makeovers.

Starting with Beauty and the Beast in three months, limited theatrical runs for Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc.; and The Little Mermaid will follow over the next two years.

Disney knows how to work its valuable animation vault. There are also some serious style points to be awarded for the Monsters rerelease because it's timed to coincide with the Monsters University prequel that hits theaters a few months later. You know, just in case folks think that Sully and Mike Wazowski are the pilots that landed on the Hudson River a couple of years ago.

5. It's a small world
Disney isn't just maximizing the value of its past. It struck a win-win partnership with Yahoo! (NAS: YHOO) that will find its ABC News properties exploited through Yahoo!'s popular online portal.

Yahoo! has the quantity. ABC News has the quality. It's a pairing that makes sense since it gives Disney's news brand the online exposure that it's been lacking, while Yahoo!'s news sites gain the prestige of working with ABC News.

If you want to see if these companies continue to do the smart thing, track them through My Watchlist.

At the time thisarticle was published The Motley Fool owns shares of Yahoo!. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Walt Disney, Yahoo, and General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz calls them as he sees them. He does not own shares in any of the stocks in this story, except for Disney. Rick is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.

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