Search results matching tag 'Research in Motion'

Google grabs slice of smartphone pie

Tobin Smith — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:26:00 GMT

There’s no doubt about it. The fiercest battle in the corporate world today is being fought over smartphones.

The latest salvo in this war comes from Google (GOOG) via its new Android mobile operating system. In recent weeks, Google has confirmed no less than nine new devices set to use Android. The pipeline for new Android-equipped smart phones is bursting, with handset makers Motorola (MOT) and Samsung firmly on board. Verizon Wireless (VZ) will be coming out with two new Google Android phones in the weeks ahead.

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Hey, I’m a big fan of competition, and I love a heated fight for market share. And while I will be keeping a close eye on the impact Android is sure to have, according to the ChangeWave Alliance Research Network surveys, the really interesting battle in the smart phone wars still is being waged by industry titans Research In Motion (RIMM) and Apple (AAPL).

Our data shows that current smart phone ownership has risen sharply over the past two years, and that consumer smart phone buying plans are at near record high levels. A September ChangeWave survey took an up-close look at the impact of the new Apple iPhone 3GS and rival Palm (PALM) and its new Pre smart phone on the market. Of course, the big boy of the smart phone battles still is Research In Motion and its iconic BlackBerry.

According to the latest September numbers, RIM is the current market share leader among consumers. That lead, however, has slipped ever so slightly from the previous survey conducted in June. Also, RIM’s market share among consumers now is at its lowest level in two years.

Meanwhile, Apple has seen a huge market share jump since the previous survey, and is now within striking distance of the number one spot in the consumer market. Now keep in mind that we are talking about consumer smart phone purchases, and not corporate smart phones. RIM still remains the overwhelmingly dominant player on that front.

In an encouraging sign for Palm, this was the first Alliance survey that didn’t see the company’s market share slide. These positive results for Palm are undoubtedly partly due to the favorable impression new Pre owners have given their smart phones.

Of course, when it comes to customer satisfaction ratings, Apple’s iPhone continues to amaze. The company boasts the highest customer satisfaction rating in the cell phone industry, with nearly three quarters of owners reporting they’re very satisfied with their iPhone.

I say if you want to profit from the smart phone wars as an investor—and I know I do—then the best way to do so is to own both Research In Motion and Apple, which I have in my Top Stocks Portfolio at Wall Street Survivor. Both of these companies are on my personal buy list, and I think both have plenty or room to keep dialing up big gains for investors.

At the time of this writing, Tobin Smith owned both AAPL and RIMM.

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RIM filled to the brim?

Tobin Smith — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:04:00 GMT

Earnings for Research In Motion (RIMM), makers of the iconic BlackBerry smart phone, are just a few hours away, and it will be interesting to see what the numbers look like.

Wall Street expects a bottom line number at $1 per share on $3.62 billion in sales. Certainly, if RIM is able to dial up an earnings beat, it will be great news for the world’s leading smart phone maker. But regardless of whether RIM fills analysts' expectations up to the brim this quarter, our ChangeWave Alliance Research Network tells us that RIM remains the undisputed heavyweight smart phone champion.

According to a corporate spending survey conducted in August, Research In Motion maintains its huge market share dominance in the corporate smart phone market -- and remember, that it’s the corporate market that provides the lion’s share of RIM’s smart phone revenue.

Although distant rivals Apple (AAPL) and Palm (PALM) are slowly creeping higher in terms of those who say they’re likely to buy smart phones for their companies in the future, their respective market shares pale in comparison to RIM.

In terms of the overall smart phone environment, it’s here where the climate is not so rosy for RIM. According to our survey, 35% of corporate survey respondents report their company plans to buy smart phones next quarter. This number isn’t bad, but it is down slightly from the previous quarter.

Of course, the corporate smart phone market isn’t the only market for the BlackBerry. The company introduced its Storm touch-screen smart phone aimed at the consumer market last November, but that didn’t go so well.

However, RIM did hit the mark with the consumer sales of its Bold, Curve (pictured) and Tour models. It’s because of the recent success of these models that we could see a nice earnings report this quarter.

Now, from a trading perspective, RIMM shares have climbed about 14% since Sept. 1, and are nearing the June highs of over $85. This $85 market is a key resistance level, so from a technical standpoint it will be interesting to see if RIMM shares can break out on good earnings news.

I think if you own RIMM shares (and I do), then you should stick with the stock barring some kind of really bad earnings forecast. However, I don’t think now is the time to put new money to work in the shares. I currently rate the stock a hold, at least until I see an uptick in overall corporate smart phone planned purchases via the ChangeWave Alliance Research Network.

Tobin Smith owns shares of RIMM; however, he currently rates the shares a hold.

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My Kindle ate my homework?

Minyanville — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:36:00 GMT

This article was written by Minyanville's Scott Reeves

A Michigan teen has a novel excuse for not getting his homework in on time: Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle ate his book report.

Justin Gawronski, 17, is a contemporary kid, so he got an attorney to press his claim against Amazon in federal court.

Mixing high-tech and lawyers suggests the old ways are best: Pen, paper, and the family dog have served generations of slackers admirably.

Gawronski, an advanced-placement student, said his notes lost all relevance when Amazon deleted electronic copies of George Orwell’s "Nineteen Eighty-Four" from his Kindle during a copyright dispute.

Gawronski says he used the electronic book reader’s note function to make comments and annotations as he read the book, when -- zap! -- the text of the novel disappeared, thanks to the Thought Police at Amazon. This left him with comments referring only to empty disc space.

Had he been a student of history, he might have used a typewriter to complete his assignment. He could have taken this tack:

(See Also: Amazon Reserves the Right to Steal From You!)

"In 1984, George Orwell’s dystopian novel, government censors destroy all copies of news or books that contradict Big Brother by tossing them down the 'memory hole' -- a chute to an incinerator. Today, Big Brother’s apostles do this remotely, one of the wonders of the digital age.

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"Amazon, masquerading as an online retailer based in the Pacific Northwest, is in fact a dastardly, rapacious, and conniving destroyer of goodness and light, not to mention my homework…"

For book-lovers, Kindle is several notches below evil incarnate. But the devil may win this struggle.

Electronic distribution of books cuts costs for publishers and retailers, but will rob future generations of one of the great pleasures in life -- wandering the stacks in a bookstore.

It’s time to stand astride this Internet thing and yell, “Stop!”

As symbolic gestures go, that’s a doozy. Alas, electronic books appear to be taking off. Barnes & Noble (BKS), the nation’s largest bookstore chain by revenue, recently announced a free application that will allows users to read e-books on Research In Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry.

Sony (SNE) also offers an e-book reader and recently struck a deal with Google (GOOG) to give readers free access to about 500,000 titles in the public domain that Google has digitized. Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone also offers applications for e-books, so it will be impossible for lovers of black ink on a white page to slay the e-book monster.

The conspiracy widens: Last Christmas, Oprah Winfrey flexed her marketing muscle on her nationally televised show by proclaiming Kindle her “favorite new gadget.”

As for young Justin and his snarling shyster, here’s betting the hard-hitting lawsuit is filed the old fashioned way -- on paper.

It’s all right there in Matthew 26:52: Live by the pixel, die by the pixel.

This Minyanville writer does not hold shares of Amazon stock.

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Can the Palm Pre save Sprint?

Tobin Smith — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:21:00 GMT

Certainly a lot of Sprint executives and shareholders hoped the launch of the new Palm (PALM) Pre smartphone in June would give Sprint (S) a revenue boost. As the exclusive wireless carrier for the Pre, Sprint was poised to reap big rewards if the Pre took off big.

Sprint still claims the Pre launch was succesful, but when the company released its earnings for the second quarter yesterday, it was clear the Pre wasn't successful enough to give Sprint the boost it so desperately needs.

Sprint reported a loss of $384 million, or 13 cents per share in the three months ending June 30. That was an even bigger loss than the $344 million it lost in the same quarter of 2008.

A big culprit was a drop in wireless revenues of 9%. Sprint saw 991,000 annual contract-signing customers disappear. In the same quarter, Verizon (VZ) added 1.1 million subscribers and AT&T (T) added 1.4 million.

To be sure, the Pre faced tough competition from the Apple iPhone 3GS, introduced in the same month. And while my research from the ChangeWave Alliance Network shows strong future demand for the Palm Pre, that demand is still largely limited to existing Palm owners.

What's more, it is still far behind demand for the Apple iPhone or Research in Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry products.

But here's something Sprint shareholders should pay close attention to: Even if the Palm Pre did somehow magically become the market share winner in the smartphone wars, it still would not be able to lift Sprint out of its doldrums.

That's because it is precisely the exclusivity deals with the phone carriers -- the Pre's deal with Sprint and the iPhone's deal with AT&T -- that is preventing some consumers from buying those smartphones in the first place!

Indeed, 16% of consumers the ChangeWave Alliance surveyed said they won’t buy a Palm Pre because they would have to use Sprint as their wireless carrier. And one-in-four (20%) consumers say the most important reason they’re not considering buying an Apple iPhone is because they don’t like the requirement they have to use AT&T.

Clearly, if these new smartphones were supposed to breathe new life into the profit-leaking phone carriers, they won't be delivering on that promise.

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Apple, Research In Motion get smart

James Dlugosch — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:13:00 GMT

We've come a long way from Maxwell Smart and his shoe phone. Today, there is a sea change taking place with respect to smartphone technology. At the center of that change are Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM).

Considering that Apple, along with Research In Motion, controls only 3% of the cell phone market, there is huge upside as more customers transition to this exciting technology.

Even better for those who own Apple stock, the 3% market share translates into 35% of the operating profits worldwide. This is astounding news.

What is going on here?

Over the weekend my wife and I, both duly noted "PCs," spent time shopping for new computers. We could not help but spend an inordinate amount of time at the Apple Store.

Have you been in one these stores? They're astounding. I'm not amazed easily, but I was awestruck the second I walked in.

5 Reasons Why Apple is a Must-Own Stock

For starters, the place was packed. Now, granted it was Saturday night, but I thought we're in a deep recession? Clearly there is something special going on with Apple.

Although I was visiting the store in search of a new home computer, I could not help but notice the iPhone. Having only seen one in passing, I was curious as to why the smartphone is doing so well.

Now I know. The iPhone is truly special. There is much more to the device than all the bells and whistles. The iPhone is a productivity magnet, and that is what makes the device all that it is -- and more.

I'm always looking for ways to be more productive, and I could see very quickly how the iPhone would help my effort. From e-mail to twittering to everything else I do, the iPhone adds value.

No wonder these phones are selling like hotcakes and are doing so at huge profit margins. Apple is deserving of a significant premium multiple in the marketplace simply based on sales growth with the iPhone.

From an investment perspective, products that improve productivity are the Holy Grail.

There is a ton of money to be made here as the smartphone expands its market share. Investors should get smart to this fact and pick up shares before it is too late.

The iPhone explosion is just one reason why AAPL is a must-own stock. Here are four more reasons why you should buy AAPL now.

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Is Palm worth the money for investors? My take on the latest smartphone salvo

Tobin Smith — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:18:00 GMT

The smartphone wars continue raging with ferocity reminiscent of the new Transformers film. The battle of the machines is here folks, and today Palm (PALM) fired the latest salvo.

The company reported a loss of 40 cents per share in its fiscal fourth quarter, excluding one-time items. Sales for the most recent period hit $113.2 million on a non-GAAP basis. Industry analysts expected the company to post a quarterly loss of 62 cents a share on sales of $81 million. The Street liked what it heard, as the shares surged in after-hours trading immediately following the news.

The interesting thing about Palm is that despite the better-than-expected earnings and revenue numbers, I really don’t think this quarter’s results matter all that much. The real ordinance from the Sunnyvale, Calif., tech firm will likely come next quarter, and the data from our latest ChangeWave Alliance Research Network smartphone survey suggests just that.

Our survey of over 4,000 cell phone owners, conducted June 9-15, was taken immediately after the release of Palm’s new Pre smartphone and just as Apple (AAPL) made the announcement they would be releasing the new iPhone 3GS. What we found was that overall smartphone ownership continues rising, with a record number of respondents saying they are likely to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days.

Who Will Win in the Smartphone Smackdown?

Palm’s percentage of planned smartphone purchases among consumers has doubled since our previous survey, indicating the Pre is getting off to a very solid start.

At the same time, the release of the iPhone 3GS, along with price cuts to their basic model, have led to a big spike in future demand for Apple.

This is certainly positive news for Palm and Apple, but keep in mind that the real giant in both the corporate and consumer smartphone market is Research In Motion (RIMM) and its ubiquitous BlackBerry.

Now, considering Palm shares have risen 356% year to date, I think a move into the shares now would be pretty risky just on a pure valuation basis. I am, however, bullish on smartphones; I just think you can get much better, much more sustainable portfolio winners if you buy Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM).

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RIMM moves to earnings beat

Minyanville — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:43:00 GMT

Research in Motion (RIMM) is set to report earnings after the bell, and option traders appear ready for a rockin' good time. It appears people are betting on a repeat performance of the huge gap higher, following last quarter’s positive earnings (which sent shares up some $13 the next day).

Yesterday saw nearly 5 times the average daily option volume with a preponderance of call buying. Open interest in the June calls, which expire tomorrow, increased by 35,000 contracts. The options are currently pricing in about a $6 or 7.5% move. In fact, one player -- possibly with memories of last quarter’s 20% price surge following the earnings release --seems to think the options are cheap and is underestimating the magnitude of any ensuing move.

Rather than pick a direction, the strategist purchased 25,000 of the June $80 calls and 25,000 of the June puts for a total net debit of around $6 for the strangle. This means he needs shares to trade below $69 or above $86 to begin seeing a profit. With Research in Motion currently trading around $77, that translates into an $8, or 10.5%, price move.

For my part and that of OptionSmith, I don’t think lighting will strike twice. I've sold an iron condor that will profit if shares stay between $71.50 and $83.50, with the maximum profit coming if the stock is between $75 and $80 on tomorrow’s expiration.

While that $3 move from current levels might be tight, I like getting short premium ahead of the report, as it will benefit from the steep drop in implied volatility and final day of accelerated time decay following the release.read

The loss is limited and the risk/reward profile is better than 1:2, giving it an attractive probability of turning at least, hopefully, a small profit.

Top Stocks blogging partner Todd Harrison is founder & CEO of Minyanville.com. This post was written by Minyanville Contributor Steve Smith.

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5 things to know for the week ahead

Minyanville — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:14:00 GMT

This post was written by Minyanville Executive Editor Kevin Depew.

1). Credit crisis abating

Last week I talked about rising bond yields affecting equity prices and how the most-watched events of the week would be the Treasury auctions. I was wrong. I began this week fiercely determined to remain awake long enough after churning out one of these daily columns to closely monitor three days' worth of Treasury auctions; the 3-year, 10-year and 30-year auctions collectively known as "refunding," a *** misnomer that was probably once an inside joke that just happened to stick. So much for that. The action isn't in Treasury funding at all, but corporate issuance.

On Tuesday, the following note on Anadarko Petroleum (APC) scrolled across my Bloomberg screen:

* ANADARKO PETROLEUM TO SELL $750 MILLION OF 5-, 10-YR DEBT

But that's not what happened. As it turned out, demand was so strong APC boosted the size of its sale from $750 million to $900 million. As well, the spread (the difference in yield for this debt above Treasurys) estimated to be in the 305-337.5 basis point range, actually came in lower, 295 to 325 basis points.

OK, that's one company, but all told there were more than $2.2 billion in corporate bonds issued last Tuesday, in spite of a record $71 billion the Treasury is raising over the next couple of days.

This means only one thing: The credit crisis, for now, is abating. It doesn't matter what stocks think, not right now. What matters is that the credit market is seeing new demand for debt issuance. This credit buying will eventually spill over into equities, as happened in 2003. Of course, at the end of the day the debt crisis remains, but that's a story for another day.

2. TARP paybacks

If you don’t remember TARP, it stands for Troubled Asset Relief Program. The idea behind the program was the U.S. government would buy equity in financial institutions in order to keep them from going under during the financial crisis.

The government set aside $700 billion for this program. The good news is that after more stimulus from the government -- printing money -- the banks -- well, some of the banks anyway -- can now pay the government back the money it loaned them.

The Treasury is allowing 10 banks to repay up to $68 billion. These TARP repayments will begin Wednesday when JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS) and American Express (AXP) are expected to make payments.

Now, this has been seen as a non-factor by Wall Street, but combined with signs the credit crisis is abating, don’t underestimate the positive psychological signals being sent here.

3. 944.43

Having said that, 944.43 has been the S&P 500 battleground over the past nine consecutive sessions.

944.43 is the TD Absolute Retracement level from the March 6 low. See chart here.

What we have been watching for is a qualified break of that level to signal the SPX is ready to put that in the rear-view mirror and attempt to scale to a new level above 1,000. Thursday's higher close following a prior down close "pre-qualified" that level as a potential breakout, but in order to meet all the requirements we needed for Friday's open to be above Thursday's close. That was not the case, so the battleground level remains.

Meanwhile, note that Thursday's high, 956.23, finally met the TD Propulsion Up Exhaustion level at 954.12 (shown in light blue on the chart).

All of this increases the probability that the significance of 944.43 remains valid as a ceiling, and that the churn is closer to wearing out buyers than eliminating sellers.

4. Dude, Dell is making a deal

On Thursday, Dell (DELL) CEO Michael Dell said his company is interested in making an acquisition in servers and other corporate data services. Dell said, “We are focused on data centers, service, software, servers and storage. Those are likely areas for Dell to use its capital for non-organic growth.”

Now that we know Dell is on a shopping spree, who will it possibly buy?

Research firm Kaufmann came out with a note of potential acquisition targets, saying it would make more sense for Dell to acquire a smartphone maker, such as Palm (PALM) and Motorola (MOT). The firm said Dell should look this direction -- instead of the one mentioned by the CEO -- because it would be a bold step allowing Dell to go head to head with Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM) in the fast-growing smartphone market.

Whoever Dell buys, expect the deal to come sometime this summer.

5. The socionomics of pandemics

The main tenet of socionomics is that social mood drives social action, not the other way around. This view upends traditional causality and how events are presented in the media. For example, it would be a natural assumption by most people that pandemics, such as the rapid spread of the H1N1 "swine flu" virus, would cause people to become more negative and fearful. The reality, however, may be that negative social mood trends make people more susceptible to pandemics.

This thesis was recently outlined in a new publication from the Socionomics Institute, called "The Socionomist."

"Socionomics posits that the trends in social mood -- widely shared feelings including those of optimism and pessimism -- unfold in a hierarchical pattern of similarly shaped waves that are visible in charts of stock prices, our most sensitive meter of social mood. Major epidemics occur near lows in social mood -- often near significant, fearful bottoms in stock prices -- and can persist well into the subsequent uptrend."

The silver lining here, if there is one, is that the potential peak of the spread of the H1N1 pandemic, which the CDC believes may occur later this year and early next during the typical flu season, will likely coincide with a significant low in stocks, if we have not already seen it.

Take a look at the charts here compared side-by-side. The first chart, from Realty Trac, shows a map of incidence of foreclosure. The second one shows incidence of H1N1 spread via MSNBC.

Top Stocks blogging partner Todd Harrison is founder & CEO of Minyanville.com. This post was written by Minyanville Contributor Kevin Depew.

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Maybe it's time to call this a bull market

Charley Blaine — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:59:00 GMT

Not finishing in the black for 2009 on Friday was probably a disappointment for many fervent watchers of the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU).

But they can take solace in this signal: The index did finish above its 200-day moving average for the first time since May 19, 2008 -- nearly 13 months ago.

Why should you care? How a stock or an index trades against a moving average is a measure of investor confidence. When the stock or index moves off a low and climbs above a moving average is a strong signal of returning confidence.

The 200-day moving average is very closely watched. Why? I offer Nicholas Lewarne's note in a recent post on the Naked Hedge Fund blog as simple explanation. "The 200 Day MA is the Great Wall that separates Bull market from Bear market."

Bull market: That's a word few people have dared utter for months. Maybe it's worth learning how to say it again.

The fact is, the Dow is the last of the three major indexes to cross its 200-day moving average. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) crossed the threshold May 28 and is now trading a bit more than 2% more than its 200-day average. The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) moved above its 200-day moving average on May 26 and is now trading nearly 10% above the average.

With Cisco Systems ($CSCO) replacing General Motors (GMGMQ) in the index on Monday, the Dow has a good chance of moving beyond the 2008 close fairly quickly. Cisco is up nearly 22% this year. Travelers (TRV), which will replace Citigroup (C) on Monday, may be down 3.2% for the year, but Citigroup finished Friday off 48.4%.

With the 11th weekly gain in the 13 weeks since the big market rally erupted on March 9, the major averages continue to defy the logic for a pullback.

The Dow is up 2,216 points -- 33.9% -- since bottoming on March 9, with the S&P 500 up 39% and the Nasdaq up a whopping 45.8%.

By contrast, when the market began a big breakout in March 2003, the Dow climbed 14.3% over the next 13 weeks, with the S&P 500 up 16.3% and the Nasdaq up 22.2% over the next 13 weeks.

Twenty-nine of the Dow stocks have risen an average 58% since March 6, just before the big rally began. The one loser is GM, whose shares became basically worthless with its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing on June 1.

Since March, the top 200 S&P 500 stocks have risen anywhere from 53.9% for Stanley Works (SWK) to financial company Genworth Financial (GNW), up more than 600%.

Among Nasdaq-100 stocks, the leaders since March are Joy Global, (JOYG), Sun Microsystems (JAVA) (which is merging with Oracle), travel site Expedia (EXPD) and BlackBerry mobile device maker Research In Motion (RIMM). Joy Global, which makes coal-mining equipment, is up 131% since March 6. Research In Motion is up 128%.

So, if this is a real bull market, how long can this last? That's the rub. You've had the big runup since March, which says a pullback of 10%, maybe more, is as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning.

Then, there's lots of chatter about how the government's efforts to jump-start the economy -- combined with big recoveries in Russia, India and China -- are going to set off a huge new wave of runaway inflation, rising interest rates and worse.

Creditors in Chrysler's bankrupctcy want the Supreme Court to block sale of its assets to Fiat. If the court does block the sale, it could cause havoc with recapitalizing General Motors.

Make no mistake. All this chatter has a lot of money backing it. Legendary hedge fund manager Julian Robertson has bet billions on it. Investor Jim Rogers, co-founder of the Quantum Fund, is convinced there will be a dollar crisis by the end of the year. He's pouring millions into the idea.

Bond traders have pushing the idea heavily, with the 10-year Treasury yield jumping from 3.12% at the end of April to 3.86% on Friday.

But it may also be that the U.S. economy does right itself. The huge housing surplus gets worked off, the auto industry is stabilized and, slowly, the jobs picture starts to show signs of recovery.

If that happens, the dollar will strengthen, and some smart people could find themselves on the short end of the trade.

Then again, the mere act of suggesting this may be a bull market could simply turn the rally off.

In the meantime, here's how the Dow stocks have performed since March 6. I've included Cisco and Travelers' performances as well.

How the Dow components have fared since March bottom
Company	Fri. close	Chg. from March	Company	Fri. close	Chg. from March
Bank of America	$11.86	277.71%	IBM	$107.24	24.97%
Citigroup	$3.46	235.92%	Kraft Foods	$26.63	23.17%
American Express	$24.95	143.18%	Chevron	$69.37	19.05%
JPMorgan Chase	$34.55	116.89%	Johnson & Johnson	$55.93	16.59%
Alcoa	$10.94	109.58%	Procter & Gamble	$53.18	16.34%
General Electric	$13.54	91.78%	McDonald's	$59.87	14.87%
Boeing	$52.65	74.92%	Merck	$26.07	14.64%
Caterpillar	$38.47	65.60%	Pfizer	$14.51	13.98%
DuPont	$27.00	60.05%	Exxon Mobil	$72.97	13.96%
Walt Disney Co.	$24.95	57.61%	AT&T	$24.56	8.77%
United Technologies	$56.39	46.32%	Verizon	$29.25	7.22%
3M	$60.94	45.68%	Wal-Mart Stores	$51.07	4.42%
Microsoft	$22.14	44.90%	General Motors	$0.87	-40.34%
Hewlett-Packard	$37.35	38.44%
Home Depot	$24.17	34.28%	The Newbies
Intel	$15.92	28.28%	Cisco Systems	$19.87	40.13%
Coca-Cola	$49.44	26.45%	Travelers Companies	$43.75	27.03%

Addendum, June 7: I got curious about where the 10 sectors of the S&P 500 stand for the year and compared with their 200-day moving averages, figuring that looking at the sectors offers a broader view of the market's health.

Four of the 10 sectors are in the black for the year; four sectors are close to being in the black.

Six of the 10 sectors are now trading above their 200-day averages. They're led by the technology sector, up 24% on the year and trading 12.2% above its 200-day average.

The laggards right now are utilities, telecom, financial and healthcare.

Six-to-four is a pretty healthy ratio, certainly compared with March 9, when the market hit its most recent bottom. That day, all 10 sectors were down for the year AND were trading at least 23.3% BELOW their 20-day averages.

The financial sector was the basket case that day, down 50.4% from Dec.31 and trading 61% under its 200-day average. Yes, things were that that bad.

Since March 9, the financial sector index has nearly doubled in value. It finished Friday off just 2.4% for the year and 2.6% below its moving average.

Here's where matters stood Friday for the S&P 500 and its 10 sectors -- for the year and against their moving averages.

S&P 500 and its sectors as of June 5
Sector	Fri. close	Chg. YTD	200-day MA	Difference
Information Technology	229.86	24.41%	256.21	12.55%
Consumer discretionaries	188.79	11.45%	174.35	8.28%
Materials	165.27	20.13%	153.46	7.70%
Energy	399.30	3.35%	392.39	1.76%
Industrials	207.06	-0.07%	205.82	0.60%
Consumer staples	243.42	-1.31%	242.10	0.54%
Healthcare	297.63	-3.81%	304.83	-2.36%
Financials	164.83	-2.35%	169.29	-2.63%
Telecommunications	102.35	-8.36%	106.18	-3.60%
Utilities	136.77	-7.54%	148.00	-19.35%
S&P 500 Index	940.09	4.08%	918.32	2.37%
200-day MA is 200-day moving average. Difference is the gap between Friday's close and
the sectors' moving averages.

The three reasons Apple needs Jobs back

Douglas McIntyre — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:41:00 GMT

Analysts have said that Apple (AAPL) does not need Steve Jobs. Apple shares are up 60% since he took a break to work on his health with his doctors. Because the form of cancer he has can be particularly deadly, a large number of investors believed that he would never be back. The Apple board would be forced to replace an icon.

But, The Wall Street Journal says Jobs will be returning soon, at just about the time the company will release a new version of the iPhone, one with more multimedia functions. Apple may also release a less expensive version of the handset to bring in consumers who have stayed away because of the device’s high price.

Everything is not OK at Apple. The iPhone faces threats from new versions of the Research In Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry, the Palm (PALM) Pre, and new smartphones from global handset leader Nokia (NOK).

There is also plenty of evidence that Mac sales are slowing. It may be that because many corporations use Windows, and Mac market penetration is reaching a ceiling. It may be that cheaper PCs, including netbooks, are taking market share.

The last and most important challenge to Apple is the that iPod is eight years old. Almost 200 million iPods have been sold and the rate at which sales of the device are rising has slowed significantly.

Apple needs Jobs because he is the world’s most formidable genius at creating and marketing consumer electronics, and Apple needs some new winners.

Top Stocks blogger Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

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