293 Posted Topics
 | Google was up 7% in Friday trading, and that was enough to bounce the NASDAQ back up 1% - which seems like 10% consider the week we just had. Google, which came in with better-than-expected financials today, is also a good buy for investors right now, says CNBC’s Jim Cramer … |
| | There’s a lot of news coming out of the technology sector today. Let’s start with Apple and the growing chorus among shareholders for an SEC review. Bloomberg has the story this morning, and it has to be at least slightly troublesome for the Apple brain trust. Says Bloomberg; "U.S. regulators … |
| | It’s earnings week in Silicon Valley, even as the world is focused on the historic events in Washington today. Some heavyweights are on the financial reporting docket, including Google Inc., eBay Inc., Apple Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Here is a quick run-down of what we can expect this … |
| | Slow day in the markets on Monday, but we’re going to see a lot of 4th quarter financials come out of tech stocks this week, and the viewing, I suspect, won’t be pretty. One piece of news that has come out today is Intel cutting some of its chip prices … |
| | Apple shares have fallen, although not as steeply as many traders had imagined, after CEO Steve Jobs announced that he was taking a six-month medical leave of absence. My first reaction was surprise. Six months? That sounded serious. Then disgust, as Internet trolls had Jobs on his death bed. As … |
| | It’s another tough morning for tech stocks, with Apple, HP, Oracle, Motorola, Google, and Dell all seeing their stocks fall 2% or more. The falloff is primarily from the news that consumer/retail spending fell 2.7% in December – twice the amount that economists had expected. At least the companies I … |
| | A wild news day for tech stocks, with Sony posting its first quarterly loss in 14 years and rumors running rampant that Microsoft will start laying off employees after all. A week or so ago, Microsoft issued a statement saying that the company would avoid layoffs, and would instead focus … |
| | Not a good Friday on Wall Street, but then what else is new? The Dow is down 100 points, and the Nasdaq off 31 points, to 1,585 after a lousy jobs number (but not as lousy as many thought) and a seller’s run on Apple, Cisco Systems, and on semiconductor … |
| | If your company CEO is walking around with bags under eyes, clutching a balance sheet in one hand and a bottle of Chivas in the other, it could be because she can’t get financing to keep the company going. Business Week has a great article on this topic, pointing out … |
| | Bloomberg is out with a story this week saying IBM will lay off 16,000 more employees, on top of the 15,000 the firm has already cut. Since economic recovery usually lags job losses, it’s another morbid sign that we’re still in the teeth of this economic hurricane. Note also that … |
| | Tech talk has more predictions for 2009, and the news continues to be grim. Economist Gary Shilling, president of A. Gary Shilling & Co., was on the show this morning with a laundry list of dark projections for the economy and the stock market. Specifically, Shilling says the recession will … |
| | CNN’s Rick Sanchez is the latest victim of the “Twitter” curse. Sanchez, a CNN on-air anchor, reportedly fell victim to a phishing scam that could undermine the investment rationale for Twitter by big investors, one of the most popular social networking sites on the internet. In a “tweet” on Monday, … |
| | Martin Sosnoff, writing in Forbes.com today, offers one of the most comprehensive, clear-minded takes on the U.S. economy in 2009. He’s not bullish on tech stocks – yet – but he is cheerleading the biotechnology sector, which could offer investors some significant upside in a year where profits will come … |
| | Let’s get the bad news out of the way first, and it starts with the semiconductor sector. Last month I wrote how the market for consumer electronics was one of the first to go as consumers buckled down as the recession hit home. That has set the semiconductor market in … |
| | Will January be a big month for stocks? Maybe so. Stocks have already grown by 20% since November, as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Index. A new survey from CNBC suggests more of that is to come, with stocks expected to score double-digit gains in 2009. The CNBC report … |
| | No Santa Claus rally for Wall Street today, with trading activity light and most investors taking it easy before the grind begins anew next Monday. The markets were down, slightly with the Dow off by 31 points and the NASDAQ down 19 points. Some odds and ends worth noting, however. … |
| | The Street.com is out with its 2009 tech guide and it’s a good read. You can check out the whole thing at [url]http://www.thestreet.com/story/10454493/4/the-tech-investors-guide-to-2009.html;[/url] but here are a few highlights on what tech insiders predict will happen in 2009. Cloud clearing – 2009 will be the year of the cloud – … |
| | After a year featuring tectonic shifts in the stock market and the economy, 2008 is set to go out with barely a tremor. A quiet Monday in the technology market, with the big news that palm looks like it’s going to get its own version of a bailout. That after … |
| | There’s a light trading load on Wall Street this week, with trader’s thoughts turning to visions of sugarplum martinis dancing in their heads. Anything to help forget 2008, right? Although 2009 looks like it won’t be any better. This, from Subir Gokarn, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s, Asia Pacific. … |
| | Oracle, Research and Motion and Palm are all releasing earnings statements today, and that should pick up momentum in what has been a fairly dormant technology trading week. The web site Tradingmarkts.com thinks the earnings news means opportunity in two technology-heavy exchange-traded funds (ETFs); Technology Select Sector (SPDR ETF XLK); … |
| | The stock market is up today on news that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates to spur lending and, hopefully, economic growth. The Dow is up 78 points and the Nasdaq is up 24 points in mid-morning trading. Analysts say that the Federal Reserve will lower the key U.S. …  |
| | I've said before that I'm not a big fan of Netflix. Anything that makes me keep tabs on envelopes, stamps, and post offices is so 20th century. Plus, I already have video on demand via Direct TV and don't see the need. But guess what? That puts me in the … |
| | The stock market held its gains of earlier today, although doubts about how financial companies are going to raise capital when their balance sheets are in complete disarray are prevalent on the street. The Dow was up 70 points and the Nasdaq up 18 points - thus providing some relative … |
| | The stock market seems to be stabilizing after yesterday’s selloff, with the Dow Jones average up 120 points, and the Nasdaq up 24 points in early trading. We’re starting to see a trend where we have more days in positive territory than not – a historical sign that suggests the … |
| | I've been a nag about how many media outlets have been wrong about the reasons for the current economic breakdown we're experiencing. So many pundits who don't understand Wall Street want to make it political, and subsequently blame President Bush for "deregulating" Wall Street (not the reason, and besides, President … |
| | Investors were banking on a lousy jobs number, and the last two days of trading have reflected that point That’s what I’m hearing from the traders I know – shrewd peope I shared trading pits with back in the day – almost to a man (and woman) saying that next … |
| | It almost seems out of place – like a spritz of a lilly inching up through the crusted snow after a long winter – to report some good economic news these days. But there it is, in the form of an investment forecast by the investment bank UBS that says … |
| | Both the Dow and the Nasdaq are flirting with positive territory today, thanks in part to one biotechnology stalwart, Amgen, which is up three points in trading. Why? Well, the Street is getting excited about life sciences stocks again, as several research reports hit the street suggesting that the biopharm … |
| | It was the fourth-worst trading day in Wall Street history, with the Dow off 679 points (about 8% of the index's total value) and the Nasdaq falling almost 9%, to 1,398 for the session. There's a lot to point at here, but the main culprit seems to be the fact … |
| | Call it a tale of two headlines: "Microsoft and Yahoo in talks again on online unit": 30 Nov 2008/Reuters "Microsoft-Yahoo deal "total fiction:" 30 Nov 2008/Reuters So which is it? One of the key players originally mentioned as a possible replacement for Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang has told a Wall … |
| | An update on the report from the UK’s Financial Times and The Telegraph that Microsoft is all set to buy Yahoo’s search engine division for $20 billion: more media outlets are carrying the story on Sunday night, including Drudge and CNET. But CNBC found an inside source who claims the … |
| | The market’s four-day rally, where it has recouped 14% of its losses – the biggest pickup in decades – is about to get a legitimate curveball this week with a new report out from the UK-based Telegraph that Microsoft is in serious discussions to buy Yahoo. The proposed $20 billion … |
| | Trying, ever so hard, to find some good news amidst the doom and gloom on Wall Street. At least the market went up for a second straight session, with the DJIA up 400 points on Monday trading; that after rising 500 points last Friday. Investors seemed cautiously optimistic about the … |
| | Leave it to a Swedish postal worker to restore some credibility to the financial marketplace. Okay, Lars. G. Nordstrom isn't exactly a postal worker - just the head of the Swedish postal service. He's been at the post since July, and is paid the U.S. equivalent of $110,000 per month … |
| | The invaluable Tech Ticker pour more gasoline on the fire we started yesterday on the historical decline of the U.S. stock market in 2008. Says TT; "Any way you slice it, the 2008 is shaping up to annus horribilis for the U.S. stock market. Heading into Friday's session, in which … |
| | Is it 2010 yet? Few people want to wish their lives away, but Wall Street might gladly trade a year of its life for a time machine that would take the market straight to 2010, when hopefully this mess will be behind us. Today's Barron's lays out the numbers and … |
| | More news on the economy, this time from Bank of America Chief Executive Kenneth at a speech today at The Detroit Economic Club. He told the Club that it is "pretty clear" the U.S. economy is in a recession, adding there will be “no recovery until the housing market stabilizes … |
| | "Jerry, how can we miss you if you won't go away?" Such was the refrain from Yahoo investors for months on end, who could only watch helplessly as the company lost $20 billion in value under the reign of Jerry Yang. Sure, it's not all Yang's fault. The economy cratered … |
| | Barrons has a great article today on how tech industry chief information officers and chief financial officers can't keep up with the free-fall in consumer spending. That's why we're seeing so many downward adjustments in industry revenue estimates that, right now, seem to be spread way out into 2009. The … |
| | Monday through Wednesday of this week saw some of the worst damage to investors in stock market history - over $1 trillion lost in shareholder value. Buyers inched, and then flooded in after the S&P 500 bounced back from a trough that veteran traders hadn't seen in years. That triggered … |
| | Stem cell stocks have been trading higher this week on reports President-elect Barack Obama will allow federal funding of stem-cell research. According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, "Mr. Obama could also lift restrictions placed by President George W. Bush on the type of stem-cell research that can be funded … |
| | The competition between Apple and RIM appears to be taking on Ali-Frazier status, even though both companies are taking another beating, as it were, in trading today. Apple is down 3.33%, and RIM is down 2.4% at 3:40 EST - both victims of an overall market decline that once again … |
| | With all the focus on the imminent Obama presidency, the actual health of the economy has taken a bit of a back seat. That changed somewhat after President-elect Obama’s high level economic summit on Friday. In a press conference after the meeting, Obama called the economic data “sobering” and warned … |
| | Obama or McCain? The people speak today, but no matter who wins, Wall Street likes the fact that a regime change is underway, and change, by and of itself, is a ray of sunshine on the investment community. That's why the stock market is up over 200 points and let's … |
| | Halloween is well over but the pin-drop silence on the financial markets today was downright eerie. On one hand, a calm trading market is welcome relief after six weeks of extreme volatility. On the other hand, will tomorrow's election usher in a new period of market jitters, with today's placid … |
| | With loan foreclosures up 176% this year, compared to 2007, it’s high time that we took a good look at the software tool – and the company that makes it – that promises to help troubled mortgage holders work out more favorable terms for their mortgages. In doing so, Computer … |
| | At mid-afternoon trading today the Dow was up 339 points and the NASDAQ is up 47 points. I’m a bit surprised because most of the economic news coming out today was negative. Housing prices are down, foreclosures are up, consumer confidence is at its lowest point in 35 years, and … |
| | Stocks are mixed today, which isn't really bad news considering the overseas selloff we saw on Sunday night and early Monday morning. Helping U.S. markets was decent news from the housing sector, where home sales were up 2.7% for September, with some of the country's hardest-hit regions like the southwest, … |
| | The stock market is in apparent free fall again this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 387 points and the Nasdaq is off 56 points. Global markets are particularly hard hit, with Japan's stock index down 10% - at lows we haven't seen since 2003. Weirdly, gold and … |
| | Are we near a market bottom? That's the question on every investor's mind this week, even as the stock market falls another 500+ points in Wednesday trading. Lord knows we're on uncharted terrain here, and that we've experienced enough false bottoms to last us a lifetime. But increasingly, more and … |
The End.