IBM posts
FeedPosted Nov 1st 2009 10:10AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), International Business Machines (IBM), EMC Corp (EMC), Technology
Neither company is saying a thing yet, but word is Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and EMC (NYSE: EMC) are joining up to sell a new collection of products designed to deliver cloud computing capabilities, Reuters reports. Called vBlock, the cloud solution is intended to help the companies compete more effectively with IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ).
The partnership, which no one is admitting to, involves a joint venture between Cisco and EMC that will sell vBlock. The former will supply the networking equipment and servers, with the latter kicking in the storage gear and virtualization technology through its VMWare (NYSE: VMW) subsidiary. The joint venture will put the systems together, integrate the components for clients, and make the whole pile of cables and silicon work. A formal announcement is expected next week.
Continue reading Cisco and EMC link up in the clouds
Posted Oct 30th 2009 9:30AM by David Schepp (RSS feed)
Filed under: Industry, Competitive strategy, International Business Machines (IBM)

In an era in which employers increasingly are having to shift more health-care costs onto employees,
IBM (NYSE:
IBM) is taking the unprecedented tack of opting to pick up
all expenses related to primary care for U.S.-based employees, beginning next year. In doing so, IBM is is among the first U.S. companies to cover primary care at 100%, the Armonk, N.Y.-based computing giant said Thursday.
The move means employees will not be subject to co-pays or deductibles for in-network primary care with their internist, general or family practitioner, pediatrician or primary osteopath. IBM said it was able to boost coverage due to the company's success in implementing wellness programs, an effort begun five years ago.
Continue reading IBM eliminates co-payments on employee health plans
Posted Oct 28th 2009 1:50PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Bad news, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Time Warner (TWX), International Business Machines (IBM)
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
Posted Oct 20th 2009 3:20PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), International Business Machines (IBM), Technology
Yahoo! (NASDAQ:
YHOO) will be reporting Q3 data after the bell today. Is the market excited over the Internet portal's prospects? Well, judging by the price action I'm seeing on my screen right now, I'd have to say the answer is a definite no. The stock is down 1.7% as I write this in early afternoon trading.
According to Earnings.com, Yahoo!, whose colleagues include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), is expected to say it made 7 cents per share in the third quarter. That won't be so great, since it will represent an earnings decline compared to last year's income stat. Of course, we should remember that it won't be just about the earnings per share. We'll have to hear what management has to say about future prospects.
Continue reading Yahoo! preview: Will stock see a bid after Q3 report?
Posted Oct 18th 2009 2:40PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: International markets, Coca-Cola (KO), Exxon Mobil (XOM), International Business Machines (IBM), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), Procter and Gamble (PG), Sunday Funnies, Recession, Financial Crisis
Since the stock market bottomed in March of this year, it has been firing on all cylinders -- except for those in the auto industry who manufacture the most cylinders of course. This year has not been kind to them.
For months, many have been surprised at the rapid rise, given the level of unemployment. During this same period, Wall Streeters have been dancing up and down, looking forward to more bonuses.
As the number of unemployed has climbed and the period of same has lengthened, many have wondered how business could be improving during a time when the consumer (those still left) has transformed from spender to saver.
Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Market rising in spite of high unemployment
Posted Oct 17th 2009 2:40PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Google (GOOG), General Electric (GE), Intel (INTC), International Business Machines (IBM), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Citigroup Inc. (C), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Bank of America (BAC), Domino's Pizza (DPZ), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Mattel, Inc (MAT), Allegheny Technologies (ATI), Harley-Davidson (HOG)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: C, GE, GOOG, HOG, INTC, IBM, JNJ, JPM, MAT, NOK ...
Posted Oct 16th 2009 9:20AM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, Earnings reports, Forecasts, Good news, Rants and raves, General Electric (GE), Intel (INTC), Market matters, International Business Machines (IBM), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Serious Money, DJIA

For the past 48 hours people have been asking me if I thought the market would pull back after the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed the milestone of 10,000. Business journalist's and guru's alike have suggested that there might be some profit taking or "selling into strength" and the recent highs would not hold.
As the market proved yesterday, up about a half percent across the board, with the Dow closing at 10,062.94, up 47.08 in last-minute buying -- that is just a lot of noise.
Continue reading Serious Money: Dow 10,000 is meaningless
Posted Oct 15th 2009 5:15PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), International Business Machines (IBM), Technology
International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) reported Q3 results after the bell on Thursday. Net sales decreased 7% when compared to the year-ago period. Okay, that doesn't sound like a great start. Wait, though, because things are about to get better from here.
Sales actually increased 1% on a sequential basis. Net profit on a dollar basis went up 14%. Net margin improved. And on a per-share basis, net income jumped 18% to $2.40. According to our earnings preview, this was two pennies ahead of analyst projections.
Continue reading IBM's incredible third quarter -- would you sell on these numbers?
Posted Oct 11th 2009 12:30PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Forecasts, Google (GOOG), International Business Machines (IBM), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs Group (GS)
Goldman Sachs upgraded the banking sector last week, and this coming week we'll get a chance to see whether Goldman and other big banks reporting third quarter results will live up to the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) looks set to be this week's earnings game winner. Analysts expect this dividend-paying company to report a third-quarter profit of $4.24 per share, which is 57.3% higher than in the same period of last year. Revenue for the period that ended in September is expected to be $11.0 billion. So far, the full-year forecast is for $17.74 per share on $44.6 billion.
Continue reading Week in preview: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Google, IBM and more earnings
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 11:50AM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Products and services, Launches, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), International Business Machines (IBM), Options, DJIA
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is a true Goliath in the online world, exerting its dominance in search, Web-based e-mail, maps, software, and more. Despite this fact -- or perhaps because of it -- it seems that tech companies can't wait to do battle with Google. IBM (NYSE: IBM) is the latest rival to throw down the gauntlet, with the company launching its own internet-based e-mail service for businesses.
The new service, known as LotusLive iNotes, is geared toward employees who might not be able to access their company e-mail remotely. The no-frills program features basic applications such as messaging, calendar, and contact management. LotusLive iNotes is being offered at prices as low as $3 per user per month. (Google's Google Apps service, with e-mail and Web-based applications including word processing, is priced at $50 per user annually.)
Continue reading IBM takes a swipe at Google with Web-based e-mail
Posted Sep 28th 2009 4:00PM by Douglas McIntyre (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), International Business Machines (IBM), Citigroup Inc. (C), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Bank of America (BAC), Xerox Corp (XRX), S and P 500, DJIA, NASDAQ
Traders had on their rally caps today, and the DJIA moved as high as 9,823 as it renewed its ascent toward 10,000. The index moved back down a bit at the end of the day as traders got lazy during a session in which most of the news came before the bell.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) and Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) both announced deals today that pumped some air into the M&A business. Financial shares are mostly moving higher because increased M&A activity generally means more fees for financial services companies. Trading volume was light, mostly due to the Yom Kippur holiday today.
Today's numbers:
Dow 9,789.44 +124.25 (1.29%)
S&P 500 1,062.88 +18.50 (1.77%)
Nasdaq 2,130.74 +39.82 (1.90%)
Continue reading Closing bell: M&A gives market a boost; Coffee also provides stimulus (C, BAC, ACS, DDRX & GMCR)
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