Kind of a quiet day in the technology stocks world, which might be considered good news considering the drubbing the sector has taken this week. Sun Microsystems was in the news, signing off on a Solaris 10 distribution agreement with Dell to make the Solaris Operating System and Solaris support... (Read More)

I'm starting to think that technology stocks are at a breaking point. A few more sessions of significant losses and you have to wonder when tech stocks will be back in the black. You can't really blame the bad news on anything tech companies are doing -- unfortunately, it's the "wrong place at the... (Read More)

Remember the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"? If you do, then you also remember Ferris' boring economcis teacher, whose monotone delivery of "Bueller . . . Bueller . . . anyone . . . Bueller?" while taking attendance was recently ranked as one of the 50 most famous scenes in American film. The... (Read More)

Investors are in survival mode right now, just trying to hang on in a market that has given away much of this year's gains. Key culprits are the ongoing credit crisis, which has banks and lenders reeling under the weight of billion dollar losses (hello, Wachovia) and from a weak dollar, which... (Read More)

I'm not too big on recommending stocks to buy or sell, but I have no problem passing along some good stock tips from people who know what they're doing. One of my favorite stock-picking services is Zacks (www.zacks.com). The company has a daily sheet called the Zacks Rank/Buy Stocks, that... (Read More)

Can you find a profit in a techno-slag heap? That’s the promise of an up-and-coming stock I found on Morningstar.com this week. I do some consulting work for a mutual fund firm and this technology company fits the bill – across the board. First some background. The company’s name is Fuel... (Read More)

For a long while, it was easy to pigeonhole cell phones in three categories: those that don’t work, those that break down, and those that get lost. Fortunately, technology has improved cell phone performance in the first two categories (although we’re still losing them -- and at $500 a pop for... (Read More)

You guys know how big I am on video game makers as solid stock plays. But what about video game retailers? One of the big ones -- GameStop -- has seen its share price double to $58 during the past year. One of the big reasons why is the mushrooming market for used video games, which analysts say... (Read More)

Yesterday I laid out the risks and rewards of investing and trading stocks online. As I said, it's easy to do and actually kind of fun, but like going to Vegas, you have to be able to walk away from the table if you're losing money. To help you avoid that, if you really want to start trading... (Read More)

My friend and I were texting each other about the Red Sox World Series rout the other night -- way to go Sockies, how to beat 'dem Rockies! -- and, both being Boston natives, were having a grand old time. My pal won some money on the Series and had a strange question for me. Or maybe my friend is... (Read More)

Six weeks ago I wrote that video game stocks were going to be a good play for the duration of 2007 - - and probably well into 2008. As I said at the time, anyone with a 12-year-old boy in the house recognizes the familiar hoots and hollers from the den or playroom, when the kids fire up the Wii... (Read More)

Being sick in bed for the better part of the week is a real eye-opener. Besides the curious experience of buying Advil, Orange Juice, and one of those comical sleep masks you see people wearing on airplanes, at a Wegmens' at three o'clock in the morning, you get to pass the hours alternately... (Read More)

You may not realize it, but in the 401K market, where the fees you pay to the advisors who manage your plan can mean the difference, financially speaking, between a so-so retirement and a great one. How so? Check out the scenario laid out by the U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration: For... (Read More)

I haven't spent a lot of time -- okay, "any time" -- talking about the fast-growing biometrics market. Part of it was ignorance. I didn't know know much about it. But I'm all amped up on biometrics after reading a new white paper from BCC Research entitled "The Global Biometrics Market". Any... (Read More)

It’s back. The dot.com bubble, that is. And with it comes a new wave of venture capitalists that are pouring money not just into Internet companies, but in life sciences companies, as well. And in increasingly larger numbers. An October article in The New York Times says it all. “Internet... (Read More)

Are Americans brain-challenged when it comes to the economy? Or misinformed by the mainstream media? It's a question that must be asked today, after a CNN-Opinion Research Poll released this morning shows that nearly half-of Americans think we're already in a recession. That, after continued... (Read More)

In our last blog, I recommended that, whether you work with a broker or adviser or you trade on your own, you should always monitor your investments. By keeping an eye on your investments, you can prevent minor mistakes from turning into big problems. Mastering the following steps will allow you... (Read More)

Suppose you were on a non-stop flight from Los Angeles to Bombay and heard the following announcement: “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’re now traveling west across the Pacific Ocean. In a few hours, you’ll be able to look down and see land. When that happens, we’re... (Read More)

I've been focusing on consumer electronics a great deal in the past few months; partly because that's where so much of the action is and partly because American consumers have ignored the economic naysayers and have continued to shop and buy cell phones, PDA's, HD televisions, and satellite radios,... (Read More)

Okay, Halloween is only two weeks away, so what better time to introduce five "weird" internet & media content stocks that might be more treat than trick. The list is culled from the financial web site Barrellomoney.com. The site does warn that a few of the 'weird' selections might be high risk... (Read More)

Most 401(k) brochures that mutual fund companies hand out to companies are masters of the obvious – they don’t dig down and give employees the critical information needed to get the most out of a 401(k) plan. That’s an unhealthy situation for legions of 401(k) investors who deserve... (Read More)

I've been the first one to say in recent months that I've fallen hard for my new Blackberry . . . or "Crackberry" as I've taken to calling it. What's not to love? You can do just about anything on a smart phone that you can on a laptop, save for writing long documents and a few other things I've... (Read More)

Has there been a technology "leap" in the semiconductor market? Some people think so. But should investors go along for the ride? Earlier this year, George Scalise, the president of the Semiconductor Industry Association, was issuing talking points to the press over the relative health of the... (Read More)

Like the title suggests, it's a good news/bad news scenario for holiday retailers this year. The good news? More people than ever are buying their holiday gifts online, thus opening up an even wider revenue pipeline from web sales for retailers. The bad news? The holiday shopping season is... (Read More)

I know a lot of so-called water-cooler "experts" who say they make a bundle trading in the technology stock sector every day. But ask them what GDP means, or what the latest consumer confidence number say (and mean), and you get a decent impersonation of The Three Stooges doing their professor... (Read More)