Feb 4th, 2009 - Another sliver of sunshine in the economic clouds – two of them, actually – as the U.S. service sector shrank in January, but less severely than expected, according to a report released by The Institute for Supply Management. The ISM reported that its non-manufacturing index came in at 42.9 in... (Read More)

Jan 6th, 2009 - 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... (Read More)

Dec 8th, 2008 - 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... (Read More)

Dec 5th, 2008 - Is today the worst day of the recession? A lot of people seem to think so. I’ll get into that in a moment, in an otherwise light trading day for technology stocks. I think we’re seeing a run out of tech this week and into more stable companies, especially in the consumer staples marketplace. ... (Read More)

Dec 5th, 2008 - 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 to the housing market, the next most... (Read More)

Feb 3rd, 2009 - Topping the news this morning is an announcement by Citigroup that it will finally crack open its wallet, stuffed with over $45 billion tax-payer funded TARP cash, and start lending again. The financial giant had come under fire in recent months for taking the TARP money and sitting on it. Now... (Read More)

Jan 27th, 2009 - It’s Tuesday and all eyes on Wall Street are on Yahoo, where new CEO Carol Bartz is expected to lower expectations for Yahoo going forward as the tech behemoth issues its Q4 earnings results. We’re in the midst of the tech earnings season right now and there have been surprises and there have... (Read More)

Jan 23rd, 2009 - 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 (full disclosure: I... (Read More)

Jan 20th, 2009 - 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... (Read More)

Jan 4th, 2009 - 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 also said the... (Read More)

Dec 22nd, 2008 - 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 Elevation Partners agrees to infuse... (Read More)

Dec 22nd, 2008 - 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... (Read More)

Nov 30th, 2008 - 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 deal isn’t for... (Read More)

Jan 26th, 2009 - It’s a big bag, if a mixed one, for the financial markets and for technology companies today. Overall, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 42 points, buoyed somewhat by (finally) some good economic news. Check out Monday’s housing sales numbers, which unexpectedly rose off of record lows.... (Read More)

Jan 7th, 2009 - 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 the IBM... (Read More)

Dec 27th, 2008 - The Street.com is out with its 2009 tech guide and it’s a good read. You can check out the whole thing at http://www.thestreet.com/story/10454493/4/the-tech-investors-guide-to-2009.html; but here are a few highlights on what tech insiders predict will happen in 2009. Cloud clearing – 2009 will... (Read More)

Nov 30th, 2008 - 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 deal is... (Read More)

Jan 21st, 2009 - 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... (Read More)

Jan 15th, 2009 - 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... (Read More)

Jan 13th, 2009 - 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 on... (Read More)

Jan 9th, 2009 - 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 stocks. The Nasdaq Composite Index... (Read More)

Jan 6th, 2009 - 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 last... (Read More)

Jan 5th, 2009 - 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... (Read More)

Dec 29th, 2008 - 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. Over at... (Read More)

Dec 28th, 2008 - Feast or famine (probably famine); 2009 should be another interesting year for the tech sector. After all, any industry that can provide sexual performance drugs (Viagra) for the CIA to give to Afghan warlords is always going to find room on the front pages of every news outlet in the world. One... (Read More)

Dec 16th, 2008 - 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. official interest... (Read More)

Dec 10th, 2008 - 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 pros think we’ve hit... (Read More)

Dec 1st, 2008 - 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... (Read More)

Jan 19th, 2009 - 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 by up to 50%. In a company statement... (Read More)

Jan 4th, 2009 - 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 a downward spiral and now... (Read More)

Jan 14th, 2009 - 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... (Read More)

Dec 18th, 2008 - 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... (Read More)

Nov 24th, 2008 - 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 Federal... (Read More)

Jan 8th, 2009 - 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 that the TARP money that is... (Read More)

Jan 7th, 2009 - Intel is killing the tech sector this morning, down six percent in trading – to $14.40 per share – after a particularly dismal earnings outlook. I’ll get into the details in a moment, but it’s worth noting that we can’t just point the icy finger of guilt at Intel. I’m afraid the predictions of... (Read More)

Dec 15th, 2008 - 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 minority among home movie buffs. Netflix... (Read More)

Dec 10th, 2008 - 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 stability in... (Read More)

Dec 3rd, 2008 - 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 the U.S. stock market will rise, and... (Read More)

Dec 3rd, 2008 - 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... (Read More)

Dec 2nd, 2008 - 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 that a leading economic group has... (Read More)