Posted Jul 2nd 2009 3:15PM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Activision Inc (ATVI), Technology, Nintendo (NTDOY)
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:
ATVI), a software publisher which competes with
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:
ERTS) and distributes games for consoles from
Sony (NYSE:
SNE),
Microsoft (NASDAQ:
MSFT), and
Nintendo (OTC:
NTDOY), is a stock I own in a long-term account. I've been thinking about selling at times, but for now, I'm holding on. The long-term prospects still look good for the most part.
But, I had been looking at various trading ideas and wanted to capture a shorter-term gain for a trading account. The market has been so tough this year. When the recent rally in the indexes started, I didn't want to become part of the group that was desperate to get in on the action, only to expose my portfolio to more risk than necessary. Believe me, when you're afraid of missing a rally, you just might end up with some bad timing.
Continue reading My Activision Blizzard trade
Posted Jun 30th 2009 3:40PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Next big thing, Technology

Yet again, a fast-growing tech company has struck gold in the IPO market. The latest is LogMeIn. Priced at $16 per share – and raising about $107 million – the shares have spiked 25% in today's trading (the initial price range was $14 and $16).
LogMeIn develops remote-connectivity business applications – primarily for small and medium-sized businesses. Some of the functions include: PC support, file sharing, backups and so on.
There is nothing to download; instead, LogMeIn's applications are web-based. This makes it easier to upgrade the different versions and as well as allow for affordable price points (there is no need for upfront technology costs or expensive consulting services).
Continue reading Logmein IPO connects with investors
Posted Jun 26th 2009 4:30PM by Tom Barlow
Filed under: Products and services, Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Technology

This morning
Microsoft (NASDAQ:
MSFT) coerced me into finally upgrading to Internet Explorer 8, and now my Google Mail is scrambled. So forgive me if I feel ambivalent about the strong response the company is experiencing to the 50% -off-retail deal it is currently offering on the next great OS,
Windows 7.
According to
InformationWeek, retailers such as
Amazon (NASDAQ:
AMZN) are experiencing brisk business for the new software, which is due for official release on October 22nd . The special deal, which began today and ends on July 11th, will drop the price of Windows 7 Professional to under $100, while the Home Premium Upgrade will run $49. Amazon is offering free release-date delivery, as well.
Continue reading Windows 7 presales strong
Posted Jun 19th 2009 5:20PM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Activision Inc (ATVI), Technology, Nintendo (NTDOY)
I was looking around today for a stock to buy. I came up empty-handed. One of my ideas was Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI). I was intrigued this week by reports that said the company wants to have the launch to end all launches for the next Call of Duty title. Quite frankly, I think there's a chance the company will succeed with this. So, naturally, my thoughts turned to shares of Activision Blizzard as a possible buy candidate. Although I already own the stock in a longer-term, taxed portfolio, I wanted a trade for my Roth IRA.
Well, I couldn't buy the company. It's up today (3% at the time of this writing), and I do not want to buy any stock when it's up. Not now, at any rate. The market has come too far too fast, in my opinion, and I want to trade carefully. But, while looking at Activision Blizzard, I came across this article from Ben Kuchera over at Ars Technica. He discusses comments made by the publisher's CEO, Bobby Kotick, on Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) and its PlayStation platforms.
Continue reading Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick needs to tone down rhetoric
Posted Jun 18th 2009 3:20PM by Daleela Farina
Filed under: Industry, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Next big thing, AT and T (T), Technology
Cloud computing is a type of on-demand hosting services on the internet. Not only a necessity for mainstream e-commerce sites, it also increases efficiency, is scalable, and lowers expenses. The monetary savings may be misleading to consumers and businesses who do not fully understand the potential risks involved.
With a pay-as-you-go type structure, users are only charged for the amount of traffic, bandwidth, and memory used. Online businesses become more efficient by only utilizing the storage and space needed, while also being assured capacity for any usage increases. The buzz has been building for years, so cloud computing has attracted a diverse customer base, ranging from popular social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, to educational websites of Arizona State and Northwestern University.
Continue reading Cloud computing: Advantages and disadvantage
Posted Jun 15th 2009 9:50AM by Jim Cramer
Filed under: Microsoft (MSFT), Cisco Systems (CSCO), Market matters, Adobe Systems (ADBE), Oracle Corp (ORCL), EMC Corp (EMC), salesforce.com inc (CRM), Cramer on BloggingStocks, Technology
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says these stocks have become too expensive without takeovers and a more robust economy. One after another after another, these software charts are amazing. And, I might add, a bit scary. How did
McAfee (NYSE:
MFE) (
Cramer's Take) make that kind of move just on security software? Didn't
Microsoft (NASDAQ:
MSFT) (
Cramer's Take) just say -- admittedly for the 4 millionth time -- that it was going to give away free anti-virus software? Or
Citrix (NASDAQ:
CTXS) (
Cramer's Take)? What's that all about? How could it return to those levels?
There were rumors of a
Cisco (NASDAQ:
CSCO) (
Cramer's Take) takeover a week or two ago, and, amazingly, when it didn't come true, the stock hung in.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Tech's unjustified super bull market run
Posted Jun 12th 2009 8:00AM by Steven Mallas
Filed under: Earnings reports, Intel (INTC), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Texas Instruments (TXN), Technology
As expected, chip maker National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM), whose colleagues include Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), lost money during its fourth quarter.
However, the loss wasn't as bad as feared. According to Trey Thoelcke's earnings preview, National Semiconductor could have lost up to 42 cents per share. Thankfully, according to the company's press release posted on Thursday after the bell, the business only lost 28 cents per share.
How thankful should we be? I must point out that the company earned 34 cents per share in last year's Q4 period. Also, sales dropped 39% during the past three months. Not only that, but cash from operations from the full fiscal year was down, as was the gross margin on a year-over-year basis (the gross margin increased, however, on a sequential basis compared to the third quarter, so that was a bright spot).
Continue reading National Semiconductor loses money in Q4, but what are the positives?
Next Page »