IDC Names Top PC Makers for Q2 (HPQ, DELL, AAPL)
Research firm IDC has named the top PC makers for the second quarter of 2012. The top 5 global makers are: Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), 13.4 million units shipped, 15.5% market share Lenovo Group…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Germany Bound for Depression — Soros
Investor George Soros laid it on the line in a speech today in Berlin: The policy of fiscal retrenchment in the midst of rising unemployment is pro-cyclical and pushing Europe into a deeper and…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — September 10, 2012: Markets Spend Another Day Around the Flat Line (AAPL, ITRI, NRG, CELG, S, PPHM, RFIL, JW-A, COOL, PANW, HSOL, UNFI, GERN, TITN, GMCR, KSW, AMZN)
The three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower this morning after a weekend of mixed news from Asia. China’s trade balance rose on falling imports and industrial production failed to meet estimates (more coverage…
Another Day, Another Tablet — For Kids (AMZN, AAPL, MSFT, LF, GOOG)
Privately held toy retailer Toys “R” Us announced today that it will offer a proprietary tablet device for kids called “tabeo” only at its own stores beginning October 21st. The new device may be…
U.S. Solar Installations Will Drop in 2013 (FSLR, SPWR, TSL, STP, LDK, JASO, YGE, CSIQ)
The U.S. solar PV market rose sharply in the second quarter of 2012, compared both to the previous quarter and year-over-year. Total solar PV installations in the U.S. during the second quarter amounted to…
Nevada Gambling Revenues Pop in July (MGM, LVS, WYNN, CZR)
In its latest report on gambling revenues in the state, the Nevada Gaming Commission said that total revenue for July 2012 came in at $1 billion, up 17% compared with July 2011. The Las…
Energy Stocks Mixed Up on Transactions, China (PXP, BP, RDS-A, RDS-B, RIG, ANR, BTU, KOL)
Energy stocks today exhibit all the signs of a market reacting to news that is difficult to categorize easily. First there is the $6 billion in acquisitions announced this morning by Plains Exploration &…
The High Cost of Wildfires
According to the federal government, so far this year more than 2 million acres have been burned by nearly 10,000 wildfires in the United States. The most damaging so far has been the Waldo…
Titan Results Shine Light on Machinery Sector Problems (TITN, DE, CNH, AGCO, CAT, JOY)
Farm equipment and machinery retailer Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN) this morning reported second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $0.25 on revenue of $410 million before markets opened. In the same period a year…
Parents to Kids: You’re on Your Own
Almost 40% of young people aged 13 to 22 (so-called Generation Z) expect to receive an inheritance and thus do not need to save for retirement. At the same time, just 16% of their…
Glencore Makes Best and Final Offer for Xstrata
Commodities trading giant Glencore International has presented its final offer for mining giant Xstrata and it is substantially the same as the preliminary offer Glencore made on Friday, just before Xstrata shareholders were to…
Transocean Raising Cash?
Drill rig operator Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) this morning announced the sale 38 of its shallow-water drilling rigs to a consortium of private equity firms called Shelf Drilling International Holdings Ltd. for $1.05 billion…
Shell Starts Drilling Offshore Alaska
After six years of back-and-forth with the U.S. government, Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) (NYSE: RDS-B) yesterday began drilling a well offshore of Alaska in the Chukchi Sea, and the company will begin…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — September 7, 2012: Markets Mostly Flat on Weak Jobs Report (APOL, GMCR, NVDA, WY, PCLN, MFRM, SWHC, CMVT, KR, LULU, PPHM, RFIL, TITN, JW-A, ANR, AAPL, AMZN, GOOG, INTC)
The three major U.S. stock indexes opened mixed this morning following a lower-than-expected increase in non-farm payrolls (more coverage here). In Asia and Europe, though, markets were higher for different reasons. Asian markets got…
Nokia — Rebound or Dead-Cat Bounce?
When Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) unveiled its new Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 smartphones earlier this week, the company’s already barely visible share price took a few more lumps. The phones were generally well-received…
New Highs for Some High Fliers (AAPL, AMZN, GOOG, RAX)
Despite the downturn in chip stocks today following the lowered outlook from Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC), there are some stocks doing quite well, thank you very much. Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and…
Chip Stocks Following Intel’s Lead (INTC, AMD, TXN, NVDA, MRVL, BRCM, QCOM, ARMH, MIPS)
This morning’s announcement from Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) that it would miss its third-quarter revenue forecast has cast a pall over many other chip makers. A few have avoided taking a hit today, but…
Some U.S. Stocks Jumping on Big News from China (BTU, ANR, ACI, JRCC, X, NUE, MT, AKS, STLD, CAT, JOY, DE)
We noted earlier this morning that China’s National Development and Reform Commission has approved a plan to spend RMB1 trillion (about $158 billion) on infrastructure projects in an effort to boost growth in the…
U.S. Consumer Spending at Highest Point Since December 2008 — Gallup
U.S. consumers spend more money in August than in July. August spending reached a level not seen since December 2008. In a self-reporting poll from Gallup, consumers’ average daily spending in August totaled $77,…
U.S. Video Game Sales Stalled (GME, MSFT, SNE, DIS, ZNGA, FB)
U.S. retail sales of video games, controllers and gear fell 20% in August compared with sales in the same month a year ago, according to a report from research firm NPD Group. The biggest…