Samsung Electronics (LSE: SMSN) is a big name in the consumer electronics field these days. Personally, I use a Samsung cellphone, color laser printer, LCD computer monitor and more. In many cases, Samsung products have entered my home due to good pricing, stylish quality and excellent craftsmanship. Those amenities are apparently not enough to keep large profits flowing into South Korea's largest company (by revenue).

Samsung continues to be the world's largest seller of flat-panel screens (computer monitors and flat-panel televisions) and is a staple in the cellphone world, serving virtually every global market that exists along with almost every wireless carrier in established wireless markets. But, even with that, the company's share price is down 10% this year, and the company is expected to report its fourth straight quarter of declining profit. What's happened?

Margins have plummeted in many areas where it leads, such as flat-panel technology and computer components (Samsung makes more computer RAM memory than any other company). The company has been slow to create market-leading awareness in higher-margin businesses (like color laser printers), and its recent quarterly results show this. Are customers increasingly being more satisfied with Samsung's products, thereby waiting on upgrading and considering price as the main factor when they do? Perhaps.

Consumers in emerging markets have these same concerns as well (especially price), so where are all these new high-margin product segments at, then? That's the magic 8-ball question. I'll say this: I've owned a high-end Samsung cellphone since January of this year and don't plan on upgrading it for a long time. Why? Well, it works great and has every conceivable feature I could ever need in a cellphone. Samsung doesn't want to hear that, though. In other words, it may be making many products so good that customers have a stagnating need to buy the latest and greatest.

The on-line travel business is coming out of its first major downturn. Who is positioned to benefit most from the current upswing? Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE) is being mentioned more frequently. So much so that the on-line travel giant announced a $3.5 billion share repurchase this morning.

Thomas Weisel believes Expedia is in the early stages of a potentially material turnaround, regardless of any LBO or buyback and has placed a $37/share price target, in a report published yesterday. Expedia's stock rallied late last week on news that it might be taken private. Barry Diller, the on-line travel giant's CEO, owns 58% of the voting stock.

Much of the on-line travel business has gone through considerable consolidation as financial buyers bought up Travelport (Cendant's on-line travel business) and Sabre Holdings, which owns Travelocity, was acquired by Silver Lake and Texas Pacific Group. The change in ownership helped add pricing discipline to the market.

Expedia has invested close to $1 billion in developing software to improve services and develop new products. So much for believing the Internet has low barriers to entry. Who is going to be able to replicate a decade of code writing to surpass the purest Internet travel play. The answer is no one.

Expedia changed management a year ago and is beginning to see the fruits of new strategies. In addition, Expedia appears to benefit from economic slowdowns as its on-line reservation platform is a great vehicle to reduce excess hotel room inventory. Stock upgrades, LBO speculation and improved operating performance all bode well for Expedia shareholders.

In April, we blogged twice that investors should start chipping away at the chip giant. However, it appears investors should become more aggressive as both sentiment and fundamentals are changing for the positive at Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC).

According to a report released by Citigroup's Glen Yeung, Intel is "likely to substantially accelerate" its share repurchase program in coming months. Historically, Intel has picked up its share repurchase program when earnings are about to re-accelerate.

Intel repurchased a measly $400 million worth of stock in the first quarter, but has $16.9 billion to go on its current repurchase program, according to Yeung.

We blogged in April that Intel was washed out, with not too many sellers remaining. In addition, it appeared gross margin expansion was on the horizon, another bullish sign for the stock. It is time to go from chipping away at Intel's stock and loading the truck up with the Santa Clara-based company. Intel has seriously wounded its nearest competitor AMD, once again, which means Intel has room to increase prices, margins and profits.

A Bloggingstocks reader recently scolded me for mentioning General Electric (NYSE:GE) too often. The reader claims that if I mention the stock it will drop in value again. The reader called it a jinx but I know it's not me, so of course being the loud mouth I am, here I go again. You may file this under "Being told to sit down and shut up never worked for me."

I myself have noticed (though not documented) the enigmatic traveling of General Electric share value. GE makes an advancement... share value declines. GE acquires a profit center... share value declines. GE appoints a stellar performer to an important position... share value declines. Market analysts or writers tout the stock... share value declines. Even after lemming leader Jim Cramer took a positive spin on GE, the inevitable value decline occurred.

By applying that portion of my brain in which resides a bit of healthy paranoia and by analyzing the present situation surrounding GE share value movements, my little experiment has led to one undeniable conclusion. There's an unexplainable dynamic at work here. Yes, the markets do often operate in ways that defy logic, but we've opened GE for discussion often enough that even if we can't find logic we can now assess the deeper patterns. I guess my training in police sciences may pay off after all...

So here's the game plan all you statisticians: Get your pencils out and get your brains in gear. What is the hidden force that is controlling GE share value here? I sure can't figure it out. Who's doing the buying and selling? Who is setting the share price? What insider transactions are taking place? Why are institutional investors so light in this stock? Why are investors so shy of this red hot bargain??? I'll entertain any and all theories on this situation. Conspiracy theories or cold hard calculations are welcome. Either way, over the last 60 days GE stock has been terribly battered without any good reason which I can find.

It's time for someone to explain why this stock is under $40.