Apple Expected to Announce Textbook Initiative (AAPL)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has tried to focus on the education market practically from the company’s founding. The Apple II was designed with a classroom in mind. Now Apple wants to push its iPad…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Higher
US index futures are higher this morning as European and Asian markets have all responded favorably to recent earnings announcements for US companies like Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS),…
China’s Pricey Answer to the iPad (AAPL, GOOG)
An unnamed Chinese company has begun selling a competitive device to the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad in China. The tablet is called the RedPad No. 1, and uses a version of the Android…
China May Ease Bank Reserve Requirements
After nearly a year of stepping on the brake to slow its over-heating economy, China appears to be on the brink of tapping the accelerator once again. The country’s economy grew at its slowest…
Italian Prime Minister Says Europe Needs Better Government
Italy’s prime minister, Mario Monti, has been meeting with other European heads of state in an effort to make clear what he believes his country needs to both get through its own debt crisis…
Walmart Kicks-off Contest for Inventors (WMT)
For the people who invent gadgets the big problem is not usually having enough ideas, it’s not being able to get your latest gadget onto store shelves. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is going…
Amazon Launches Cloud-based Database (AMZN)
The new DynamoDB from Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is not the first cloud-based database offering from the company, but it is distinctive. The new database is a highly scalable NoSQL database that is built on…
Transition to 4G Wireless Networks Creates New Jobs
How much economic impact is there when a new technology is adopted? One good example of the effects of new technology is new and faster wireless networks, which have gone through two generational changes…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (CHK, GOOG, KR, LNG, CCL, CREE, SCHW, FAST, GS, STT, CLWT, UEPS, COOL, KUTV, AAPL, MCD, NKE)
Markets opened slightly lower in the US this morning, but picked up steam in the morning and continued to rise, if slowly, for the rest of the day. The tech sector showed the most…
Settlement Near on Mortgage Reductions
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan told a conference of mayors today that the government is near a settlement with lenders related to foreclosure policies and practices. Donovan said that about 1 million…
El Paso E&P Assets Might Have a Buyer (KMI, EP, APO)
When Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) made its offer to buy El Paso Corp. (NYSE: EP) for $21 billion, the purchase included some assets of El Paso that Kinder Morgan is not particularly interested…
Harvard Study Says US Competitiveness Will Decline
More than 70% of those surveyed in a recent study conducted by the Harvard Business School expect American competitiveness to decline over the next three years. The survey was distributed to alumni of the…
Tech Stocks Leading Sector Today (TSM, ALTR, TXN, INTC)
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) is up nearly 5% today as semiconductor stocks are pushing the NASDAQ Composite up more than 1%, almost twice as much as the DJIA and S&P 500. A good…
Lightsquared Accuses FCC of Rigging GPS Tests
A month ago the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Aviation Administration released a report that said the signals emitted by LightSquared Communications’ satellite network interfered with GPS and other navigation devices. That report…
Reports Say President Will Kill Keystone XL Pipeline (TRP, KMI)
Just before Congress left town for the holiday, it passed and President Obama signed a bill to extend payroll tax cuts for two months. The bill included a provision demanding that the President rule…
Canadian Miner Likely to Be Taken Over (IVN, RIO)
About a month ago, Canadian miner Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (NYSE: IVN) lost an arbitration decision that would have prevented mining giant Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) from adding to its 49% stake in the…
Feds Charge Seven with Insider Trading
The US Department of Justice and the FBI have been investigating insider trading schemes for five years now, and today the investigation led to criminal charges against seven suspects. Four have been taken into…
US Homebuilders’ Optimism Rises (LEN, TOL, HOV, BZH)
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose 4 points, to 25, in December. That’s the highest index reading since June 2007, and the fourth consecutive monthly increase in the index.…
Morning Movers (CLWT, UEPS, HOV, COOL, STT)
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Euro Tech Holdings Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: CLWT), Net 1 UEPS Technologies…
Hess Closes Caribbean Refinery (HES)
Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) has announced that it will close its Hovensa refinery in the US Virgin Islands next month and use the site as an oil storage facility. The refinery is a joint…