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Posted
Oct 08 2009, 01:26 PM
by
Tobin Smith
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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. Bing: More on Smart Phones
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).
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Posted
Sep 24 2009, 11:04 AM
by
Tobin Smith
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 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.
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Posted
Jul 31 2009, 12:36 PM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 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.
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Posted
Jul 30 2009, 01:21 PM
by
Tobin Smith
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 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
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Posted
Jul 20 2009, 01:13 PM
by
James Dlugosch
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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?
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Posted
Jun 25 2009, 03:18 PM
by
Tobin Smith
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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
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Posted
Jun 18 2009, 11:43 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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.
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Posted
Jun 12 2009, 11:14 AM
by
Minyanville
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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 $71 billion the Treasury is raising over the next couple of days.
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Posted
Jun 05 2009, 05:59 PM
by
Charley Blaine
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Not finishing in the black for 2009 on Friday was probably a disappointment for many fervent watchers of the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($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
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Posted
Jun 05 2009, 03:41 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
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).
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