Week in review: Apple is swimming in cash

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

Synaptics stock surges to its highest level in more than two years after the maker of smartphone touch-screens and notebook track-pads beats estimates for fiscal Q2. (Jan. 27, 2012)

Netflix shares rally on Q4 beat, but analysts see big challenges ahead. (Jan. 26, 2012)

Like Scrooge McDuck swimming in a vault of gold coins, Apple seemingly has more money than it knows what to do with — nearly $100 billion.
Apple now is exploring options for its $98 billion in cash and investments. Dividends and pre-buying components are likeliest choices. (Jan. 25, 2012)

Netflix beats expectations for Q4, offers mixed guidance for Q1. Shares jump 13% afterhours. (Jan. 25, 2012)

Apple shares jump to record high on huge holiday earnings, upbeat outlook and speculation of dividends ahead. (Jan. 25, 2012)

Apple shares hit record high after company posts stellar results for holiday quarter. Its iPhone accounted for 53% of total sales. (Jan. 24, 2012)

After an epically bad finish to 2011 that saw its stock pummeled, online subscription video service Netflix has set low expectations for 2012. (Jan. 24, 2012)

Top 5 things to watch for in Apple’s Q1 earnings report. (Jan. 24, 2012)

U.S. tablet ownership up to 19% after big holiday sales quarter for Apple and Amazon. (Jan. 23, 2012)

Hot iPhone sales to fuel Apple’s Q1 report. (Jan. 21, 2012)

Photos: Walt Disney’s Scrooge McDuck (top) as a metaphor and Apple’s iPhone 4S with Siri digital assistant.

Week in review: Intel up on Q4 earnings news, prospects for 2012

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

Intel shares reach 4-year high on strong Q4 results and 2012 outlook. (Jan. 20, 2012)

Intel beats Q4 forecasts and gives in-line guidance. CEO excited about 2012 product pipeline, including ultrabooks and mobile device chips. (Jan. 19, 2012)

Apple seeks to revolutionize textbooks and education with iPad initiative. (Jan. 19, 2012)

Microsoft expected to post 5% sales growth in fiscal second-quarter. (Jan. 19, 2012)

Intel forecast to deliver 20% sales growth in Q4; focus shifts to outlook. (Jan. 18, 2012)

Photo: Ultrabook notebook PCs on display at Intel's booth at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. (CEA 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: Apple’s specter will haunt CES

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

Apple will loom large at the annual Consumer Electronics Show this year, even though it isn’t exhibiting, as vendors showcase products to rival Apple’s MacBook Air, iPad and rumored iTV. (Jan. 6, 2012)

Marvell says new Google TV using its processor will make people forget bad memories of first-generation Google TV flop. (Jan. 5, 2012)

Netflix writes premature obituary for video discs. (Jan. 4, 2012)

MovieStop seeks to fill vacant Blockbuster stores. Retailer uses GameStop business model with DVDs. (Jan. 4, 2012)

2012 prediction: Twitter for your toaster - the next big thing in microblogging. (Dec. 30, 2011)

The year ahead in tech includes Facebook’s IPO, possible Apple TV, Intel’s redesigned chip, Microsoft’s Windows 8 and advances in mobile, social and cloud computing. (Dec. 30, 2011)

Photos: LG Electronics booth at the 2011 CES in Las Vegas (top); MovieStop retail store in Jacksonville, Fla. (bottom).

Week in review: Zynga goes public

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

Zynga’s success in social network games on Facebook is attracting competition, including Electronic Arts. Zynga became a publicly traded company today. (Dec. 16, 2011)

Adobe Systems beats Wall Street views in Q4, but faces headwinds ahead in digital media and digital marketing sectors. (Dec. 15, 2011)

Adobe Systems is in “perpetual fix it” mode, one analyst says. (Dec. 15, 2011)

Lam Research to buy rival Novellus Systems in an all-stock deal worth $3.3 billion that will create a major rival for No. 1 chip gear maker Applied Materials. (Dec. 14, 2011)

Best Buy missed Q3 forecasts because it had to price aggressively to compete with Amazon, Costco and Wal-Mart this holiday shopping season. (Dec. 13, 2011)

Best Buy shares fall 12% after the consumer electronics retailer misses Q3 profit and revenue estimates. (Dec. 13, 2011)

Intel lowers its Q4 sales outlook on hard-disk drive supply, but does seem to have some trends in its favor. (Dec. 12, 2011)

Days after Texas Instruments and Altera cut their revenue outlook for the current quarter, chip giant Intel followed suit with its own sales warning, blaming the global shortage of hard disk drives. (Dec. 12, 2011)

Week in review: Tablet holiday season

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

Analysts have cut their Apple iPad 2 sales forecasts for the holiday shopping season. Reasons: Diminished expectations, saturated market for early adopters, competition from Amazon’s Kindle Fire and consumers waiting for iPad 3 in early 2012. (Dec. 9, 2011)

The success of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet is boosting the fortunes of Monotype Imaging. (Dec. 7, 2011)

Wireless router maker Netgear is benefiting from the popularity of tablets, especially Apple’s iPad. (Dec. 5, 2011)

Worldwide semiconductor sales are forecast to accelerate over the next two years. (Dec. 5, 2011)

Photo: Apple’s iPad 2.

Week in review: Segway turns 10

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

Remember the crazy speculation 10 years ago over a mysterious invention called Ginger, or IT, that was going to change the world? Apple’s Steve Jobs and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos raved about it. The Segway didn’t change the world, but it did help the tourism industry. (Dec. 1, 2011)

Microsoft is predicted to buy Netflix and LinkedIn in 2012. Research firm IDC says those deals will be part of a flurry of tech M&A next year. (Dec. 1, 2011)

For those keeping tabs, Samsung won a legal round against Apple to sell its Galaxy Tab tablet in Australia. (Nov. 30, 2011)

Dell is gaining ground in servers while Hewlett-Packard slips. (Nov. 29, 2011)

Photo: Woman rides a Segway i2 personal transporter. Photo from Segway Inc.