Here is a common sentiment about the stock market: "No fun at all. As I have said before, I believe it has turned into one big casino largely divorced from its original goal of providing capital to companies who produce something of value."

There's a lot of truth to what "granny" recently said to me in an e-mail. Fortunately she also noted "FYI Granny's up 5.86% + dividends." That would give her a gain of about 10% in the past ten months since I posted Where should granny put $50,000, suggesting a very conservative portfolio for an uncertain time.

Not only has she earned a very nice return, surpassing her CD account by 9.5% (20 fold), but she was able to do so with a great deal less volatility than the overall market most of us have lived through.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Granny Said, 'It Has Turned into One Big Casino'

Chasing Value: Granny Said, 'It Has Turned into One Big Casino' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

HP's new offering here will be to design private "clouds" companies can use to connect users and the information they seek using intelligent design unique to the needs of each business it consults with. This is something new -- and a step above "off the shelf" offerings by International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) -- and it puts HP in an enviable spot: designing private "internet clouds" for businesses from the ground up.

Continue reading Hewlett-Packard Chases IBM's Cloud Design Services

Hewlett-Packard Chases IBM's Cloud Design Services originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Your e-mail account is a goldmine. Technology companies push hard to keep your data secure, but there are plenty of scumbags out there who always seem to find a new way to gain an edge over the guys in white hats. Phishers, in particular, are eager to find new ways to profit from your identity and information, and they're getting some new tricks.

Phishing scam activity was quiet at the beginning of this year, according to a report in USA Today, but these attacks surged 200% from May through September, says the X-Force team at IBM (NYSE: IBM). Webmail, social media and gaming accounts are their primary targets. E-mail access, in particular, is highly sought after, since they can be use to push out spam ... while bypassing filters.

These "virgin" e-mail accounts command top dollar: a digital criminal can pick up as much as $2 for a clean account from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Live, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Gmail, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) YahooMail or AOL (NYSE: TWX). This is more than twice the amount typically paid for a stolen credit card account, according to Fred Rica, principal in the security practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Many webmail users actually do half the criminals' job for them, with 33% using just one password online and 48% using only a handful.

Continue reading Phishers using new lures

Phishers using new lures originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Raj Rajaratnam's life has just changed profoundly. The 52-year-old founder, fund manager, and partner at the Galleon Group has been accused of insider trading, conspiring with others (now named as defendants with him) to trade shares of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Hilton (OTC: HLNQ), and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA), among others. Rajaratnam generated $25 million in profits on these trades, but that's moot now.

Rajaratnam, who is #559 on the list of the world's richest people, with a net worth of $1.3 billion, now faces fines of up to $250,000 and from 5 to 20 years in prison. I doubt he'll be in the same slot on next year's list of billionaires.

Continue reading Billionaire hedge fund manager arrested on insider trading charges

Billionaire hedge fund manager arrested on insider trading charges originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) has a new champion: Dell (NASDAQ: DELL). The PC manufacturer is promoting the online sales force-enablement platform as a way to gain access to the hefty sums available in the technology services business. The deal would give Salesforce.com access to Dell's clients in the small and medium-sized business categories. Dell would sell Salesforce.com products and provide consulting services to help clients integrate the solution with their other enterprise applications. The dollars and cents of this union weren't disclosed.

Dell sees the margins of the services business and wants a piece of the action, particularly since the PC sector is low margin. Also, sales have been hit pretty hard as a result of the financial crisis. With PCs accounting for 60% of Dell's top-line, a bit of diversity isn't a bad idea. Currently, services account for only around 10% of Dell's sales.

Continue reading Dell promotes Salesforce.com, eager for a taste of consulting cash

Dell promotes Salesforce.com, eager for a taste of consulting cash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading IBM taking on Google in the enterprise email space?

IBM taking on Google in the enterprise email space? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Microsoft's Ballmer slams IBM's potential purchase of Sun Microsystems

Microsoft's Ballmer slams IBM's potential purchase of Sun Microsystems originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hewlett-Packard, Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) has been on a roll lately. The company has basically battered Dell, Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) in the last two years as it increased its PC marketshare in the consumer and retail arena.

Now it has set its sights on IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM), as it tries to become the largest computer service and consulting company in the world. It's already the largest by sales, topping $100 billion annually.

Continue reading Hewlett-Packard to face more pressure if IBM buys Sun Microsystems

Hewlett-Packard to face more pressure if IBM buys Sun Microsystems originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New Apple iPod chief fights IBM for right to go to work originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.