Week in review: Microsoft to buy Nuance; Taiwan Semiconductor Q1 earnings

The following is a roundup of my stories from Investors.com.

Rumored Apple Car, cloaked in mystery, could recharge Apple stock. (April 16, 2021)

Netflix to lap early Covid subscriber gains with first-quarter report. (April 16, 2021)

Dell stock looks to shed “conglomerate discount” with divestitures. (April 15, 2021)

Taiwan Semiconductor earnings edge estimates for first quarter. (April 15, 2021)

Apple stock pauses ahead of spring product launch event. (April 14, 2021)

Roblox stock breaks out on partnership with toymaker Hasbro. (April 13, 2021)

Nvidia stock hits buy point on data center, AI advancements. (April 13, 2021)

Chip shortages are a tailwind for semiconductor stocks. (April 12, 2021)

Microsoft acquisition of Nuance called strategic “no brainer” move. (April 12, 2021)

Photo: Dell PCs (Dell)

Week in review: Best Buy, Nuance earnings; EA ‘Star Wars’ game released

The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com.

Fitbit, Apple Watch demand up ahead of holidays. (Nov. 20, 2015)

CIOs see Apple taking more enterprise business. (Nov. 20, 2015)

61% of U.S. iPhone users have 6 series models. (Nov. 20, 2015)

Square, Match rise in first-day trading after IPOs. (Nov. 19, 2015)

Best Buy down on cautious holiday sales guidance. (Nov. 19, 2015)

Square prices IPO below expected range, Match weak. (Nov. 18, 2015)

Drones ready for takeoff this holiday season. (Nov. 18, 2015)

GoPro hits new low on holiday sales concerns. (Nov. 18, 2015)

“Apple-as-a-Service” commands higher valuation. (Nov. 18, 2015)

Bulls charge back into Netflix stock. (Nov. 17, 2015)

Cable firms add broadband users as video users flee. (Nov. 17, 2015)

Nuance Communications stock surges to 2-year high. (Nov. 17, 2015)

EA’s new “Star Wars” game gets “disappointing” reviews. (Nov. 17, 2015)

Apple iPhone winning where it counts: profits. (Nov. 16, 2015)

Best Buy faces “deteriorating sales trends,” gets downgrade. (Nov. 16, 2015)

Photo: “Star Wars Battlefront” video game from Electronic Arts.

Week in review: HP earnings, Apple Music subscriber retention

The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com.

Amazon “prime” target for comedians. (Aug. 21, 2015)

Apple TV falls behind in streaming device market. (Aug. 21, 2015)

HP predicts rough PC market for next several quarters. (Aug. 21, 2015)

HP stock falls on mixed Q3 report, guidance. (Aug. 20, 2015)

Netflix stock sinks as investors take profits. (Aug. 20, 2015)

Synaptics down as rival Fingerprint Cards gains. (Aug. 20, 2015)

Panasonic winning war for EV battery business. (Aug. 19, 2015)

Apple Music facing subscriber retention problems. (Aug. 19, 2015)

Netflix getting boost from promotional offers. (Aug. 19, 2015)

Fitness tracker interest high, but usage data troubling. (Aug. 18, 2015)

Nuance brings professional-grade speech recognition to mobile. (Aug. 18, 2015)

Apple Watch seen holding majority share through 2020. (Aug. 18, 2015)

Expected iPhone sales decline not a big deal, analyst says. (Aug. 17, 2015)

Samsung Pay could leapfrog Apple Pay, Android Pay. (Aug. 17, 2015)

Photo: Samsung Pay in action.

Week in review: Kim Kardashian helps Glu Mobile; Netflix boosts TV show library

The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com.

Nuance rocked by sale chatter, Apple Siri developments. (July 3, 2014)

Netflix, Amazon focus on hit TV shows, fewer movies. (July 3, 2014)

Best days of Redbox now behind it as DVD rentals slow. (July 2, 2014)

Apple could see higher Q3 gross profit margin. (July 2, 2014)

Percentage of PCs running Windows 8 fell in June. (July 1, 2014)

Goldman Sachs becomes a believer in Netflix. (July 1, 2014)

Voice messaging could be Apple iWatch’s killer app. (July 1, 2014)

Kim Kardashian lends Midas touch to Glu Mobile. (June 30, 2014)

While IAC grows online dating business, comics crack wise. (June 30, 2014)

New iPhones, iPads could feature vibrating screens. (June 30, 2014)

Photos: Kim Kardashian game for Glu Mobile; Netflix promotional photo.

Consumer Electronics Show 2012 in review

The following is a roundup of my stories from the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, published in Investor’s Business Daily and on Investors.com.

If Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn got to choose, the Super Bowl likely would feature the Houston Texans against the San Francisco 49ers. (Jan. 12, 2012)

Accessories for smartphones and tablets take center stage at CES. (Jan. 11, 2012)

When Microsoft finally enters the tablet business later this year with Windows 8, it may find itself shut out of a market ruled by Apple’s iPad and Google Android devices.
Also, iRobot “welcomes” competition from Samsung and LG. (Jan. 11, 2012)

Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm sees Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system for ARM-based processors as a big opportunity.
Also, OLED televisions and ultradefinition, or 4K, TVs take CES by storm. (Jan. 10, 2012)

Health-and-fitness gadgets were a big trend at CES 2012. (Jan. 9, 2012)

Following Apple’s lead with its Siri voice-command software on the iPhone 4S, consumer electronics vendors are adding speech-recognition functions to their televisions, notebook computers and other devices.
Nuance Communications is a key beneficiary of the trend. (Jan. 9, 2012)

Photo: Panasonic’s booth at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (CEA photo)

Week in review: Netflix on fire, Blockbuster on the ropes

It’s a tale of two video rental firms.
Netflix has taken a leading role in the industry, while one-time king Blockbuster is fading fast.
The following is a roundup of my recent stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s Tech Blog.

Netflix stock hits new high; rival Blockbuster on the ropes. (Aug. 13, 2010)

U.S. video game sales fall for fourth straight month. PC game sales hopping with Activision’s hit “StarCraft II.” (Aug. 12, 2010)

Coinstar invests in mobile phone recycling kiosks. (Aug. 11, 2010)

Netflix shares approaching record high on streaming video deal with Epix. (Aug. 10, 2010)

Netflix says its streaming service is a plus for premium cable channels (Aug. 10, 2010)

Disney, Google among big players lining up to play the social-networking games game (Aug. 9, 2010)

Coinstar’s Redbox expanding to CVS stores. Deal will add 7,000 DVD rental kiosks to Redbox’s current 23,000. (Aug. 5, 2010)

More than a third of iPhone 4 owners say they’ve had a problem with reception. And 7% call it a “very big problem.” (Aug. 4, 2010)

Netflix is leading a revolution in television called “over-the-top TV,” which could upend the pay TV business. (Aug. 4, 2010)

Sonic Solutions, maker of DVD burning software, is in no rush to offer DVD ripping app, despite copyright rules change. (Aug. 4, 2010)

Apple iPhone 4 users very satisfied, despite antenna issue. (Aug. 4, 2010)

Nuance Communications pitches dictation software as back-to-school item. (Aug. 3, 2010)

Week in review: Apple dominates news again

Fresh from launching its iPad tablet computer, Apple continued to dominate the news this week with the next version of its iPhone software.
Apple’s iPhone OS 4 includes enhancements such as multitasking, unified e-mail, and folders for organizing apps. But the biggest news was Apple’s entry into the mobile advertising space with its iAd platform.
The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s Tech Blog.

“Avatar” comes out on home video April 22, but Netflix won’t make it available to subscribers until May 20. The smash hit sci-fi drama will arrive 28 days late because Netflix has agreed to delay renting new films from News Corp. and two other studios.
(April 9, 2010)

Apple gets into the advertising business with latest version of iPhone software. (April 8, 2010)

Harman International hopes to get its auto infotainment systems into more midrange vehicles, not just luxury cars. (April 7, 2010)

Social games like Zynga’s FarmVille on Facebook are changing online interaction. (April 7, 2010)

Good news for Ancestry.com: NBC renews its genealogy show “Who Do You Think You Are?” (April 6, 2010)

Another Apple product launch, another Steve Jobs magazine cover. Check out the gallery of Jobs magazine covers. (April 6, 2010)

Apple declares iPad a hit, but some analysts got a little carried away with sales estimates. (April 5, 2010)

Lots of companies are riding on Apple’s iPad coattails, including Netflix, Cisco Systems, Electronic Arts, Activision, Nuance Communications, News Corp., Time Warner and Disney. (April 5, 2010)

Week in review: Tech nerd Barbie; earnings reports from Activision, EA, Coinstar

The corporate earnings season is in full swing.
Investors this week cheered quarterly reports from Activision Blizzard and Harman International, but booed results from Coinstar, Electronic Arts and Nuance Communications.
On a lighter note, Mattel announced that online voters had chosen a new career for its Barbie doll. Computer engineer Barbie will debut this fall.
The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily at Investors.com and Click, IBD’s Tech Blog.

Nintendo’s sales show the power of evergreen video games. (Feb. 12, 2010)

Redbox struggles with movie studio restrictions. (Feb. 12, 2010)

Sign of the times: Barbie is a tech geek. Mattel introduces Computer Engineer Barbie. (Feb. 12, 2010)

Coinstar raising fees for its coin-counting machines. (Feb. 11, 2010)

Activision beats forecasts, starts paying dividend. (Feb. 10, 2010)

GameFly files for IPO. GameFly is the Netflix of video games. (Feb. 10, 2010)

Apple, other Silicon Valley tech firms looking to hire. (Feb. 9, 2010)

Electronic Arts takes a beating on diminished outlook (Feb. 9, 2010)

Audio electronics firm Harman tunes operations, boosts profits. (Feb. 8, 2010)

Speech recognition tech company Nuance Communications beats earnings views, but sales lag. (Feb. 8, 2010)

Week in review: Dolby, Panasonic, Sony earnings; Super Bowl on radar

We’re in the thick of quarterly earnings reports from public companies now. Dolby Laboratories, Panasonic, Sony and Sonic Solutions were among the firms reporting financial results this week.
Meanwhile, TV vendors and video game publisher Electronic Arts were focused on Sunday’s Super Bowl, but for different reasons.
The following is a roundup of my stories from Investor’s Business Daily on Investors.com and from Click, IBD’s Tech Blog.

Microsoft expands Bing search engine reach through deals, such as new Facebook pact. (Feb. 5, 2010)

What do Apple CEO Steve Jobs and President Barack Obama have in common? (Feb. 5, 2010)

Panasonic swings to profit, raises guidance. (Feb. 5, 2010)

Nuance Communications is benefitting from the growth of health care tech spending. (Feb. 4, 2010)

Sonic Solutions narrows third quarter loss. (Feb. 4, 2010)

Sony returns to profitability and sales growth. (Feb. 4, 2010)

Dolby Laboratories sounds off on upbeat first quarter. (Feb. 3, 2010)

Movie Gallery store closings a boon for Netflix and Redbox. (Feb. 3, 2010)

EA sees perfect combo in football fans and violent video games. Dante's Inferno ad to run during Super Bowl. (Feb. 2, 2010)

TV makers, retailers hope for Super Bowl win. Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Sears promoting deals on big screen HDTVs. (Feb. 1, 2010)