thinkstockJ.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) tried to calm the markets earlier today when the company indicated that same-store sales patterns were improving. Anyone who invested in the shares later in the day as…
ThinkstockImagine a world in which Americans do not have an Internet connection because they don’t want one. That world seems improbable, but it exists nonetheless. The primary reason is that many people in the…
courtesy of Google Inc.Boston Consulting Group (BCG) released its list of “The Most Innovative Companies of 2013.” As is the case with most of these types of lists, the conclusions are based on a…
ThinkstockCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill that will take the state’s minimum wage to $10 from the current $8 in two stages — $9 an hour next year and $10 in 2016. The…
StockCharts.comLike clockwork, every time the American stock market makes new highs, some people insist it cannot go higher. A subset of those believe the market will crash. Others even believe it will reset like…
ThinkstockAmazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) new Kindle Fire HDX has been described variously as a better tablet than the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPad, as an evolution of the earlier Kindle with upgraded screen resolution…
This past weekend I worked on my cultural literacy by reading Sheryl Sandberg’s manifesto, Lean In. It was recommended to me by a scientist who has conducted high-quality research throughout her career in a…
ThinkstockChina, with more than 600 million people who have wireless connections and 750 million people online, has been the Holy Grail for consumer electronics and enterprise telecom companies for years. Hammering that home, IDC…
Courtesy BlackBerryTwo provisions in the Fairfax Financial Holdings deal to buy BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) for $9 a share could alter the deal, or end it altogether. The more important of these is that…
ThinkstockBurger King Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: BKW) has a new product it calls Satisfries. The french fries have 40% less fat than the fast-food chain’s current product and 30% fewer calories. Of course, they also have “big…
Courtesy Chrysler Group LLCChrysler filed for an IPO today. It is one of the few major car companies in the world that is not public. Chrysler emerged from Chapter 11 three years ago, and…
ThinkstockAngela Merkel won a third term as Germany’s chancellor. Her Christian Democratic Union and a smaller ally took more than 41% of the vote. If Merkel can create a closely knit coalition, she can rule the…
courtesy of YouTubeThe largest Internet companies have described video content as critical to their futures. Video advertising carries a huge premium to the banner ads that have dominated the industry’s revenue stream for years.…
ThinkstockData from both China and the European Union showed that any post-recession slowdown will not turn into another dip. A few months ago, slowing PMI and EU economic numbers that dropped like a rock…
courtesy of Apple Inc.A long line of buyers, or sold out products, may not mean much. Yet, the media and some Wall Street analysts made out that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) had another raging…
ThinkstockMaybe it just feels like it (or looks like it), but the upcoming layoff of 4,500 people at BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) had some company this past week. A number of other firms across…
Leapfrog.comFor all the hundreds of millions of apps and the billions of downloads from the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) App Store and Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Play, the same apps dominate the top of…
courtesy of MicrosoftLooking back on Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer’s last presentation to Wall Street analysts, the most controversial, and likely to be most remembered, comment he made was that “We must…
ThinkstockWith tops across the Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500, concern is growing that, with a relatively poor economy and high unemployment, low interest rates cannot keep pushing the market upward.…
Courtesy of BlackBerryBlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) has released its new Z30 smartphone. And at about the same time, The Wall Street Journal reported that the company may fire 40% of its staff. Two things…