Asif Suria

iPhone Stock App Review

@mtkoren, I noticed that as I was wrapping up my review of DailyFinance and it certainly makes the native app more user friendly. Wish they had done this sooner.

I still prefer the charts and real time quotes of DailyFinance.

Following Big Money Pays Off

Infogrames already owns a majority stake in Atari and uses the Atari brand for its games. Hence the 2 cent premium offered to buy out the rest of Atari. I still remember the day Infogrames bought the Atari name and the stock doubled from $3 to $6 overnight. Lackluster sales of the Matrix games and loss of the Unreal Tournament franchise has left this stock in the dumps despite a raging gaming market.

I agree with Serge that you may be too late to the party or in the case of Atari, its obituary.

Was Strangling Apple a Good Idea?

Interesting website Neil. I am assuming you are back from all your adventures now.

Using Options To 'Strangle' Apple, Research in Motion

Thanks for the feedback John and Ray. It is a strangle that is not using deep out of the money options and hence almost resembles a straddle.

As for implied volatility, it does spike up around earnings and I may have set this up a little late. However the sudden drop in Apple yesterday combined with my bullish outlook makes me believe that this could be a profitable trade. The position is posting a small profit now but we will know for sure over the next few days.

iPod Wars: Microsoft and Toshiba Team Up Against Apple

Thanks for the reminder Thomas. I do recollect now that Real was founded by a former MSFT exec. While I cannot speak for the Real Media player or their gaming arcade software (I have not used either in a long time), their Rhapsody service is very cool.

I used it for over a year before I decided to give Yahoo Music Unlimited a try in the hope that they might have artists like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin in their catalogue. I absolutely hated Yahoo Music and switched right back to Rhapsody even though it costs me almost 50% more.

iPod Wars: Microsoft and Toshiba Team Up Against Apple

Carl, check out the Sandisk Sansa e250. It has the potential to give the iPods a serious run for their money. Err, did I just say that? All Apple enthusiasts please ignore the last statement.

I already own a Sandisk Sansa as I wanted something that would work with Rhapsody To Go and noticed the e250 (there are 4GB and 6GB versions as well) when I went to pick up a Sansa M240 for someone. This is one of the few MP3 players from a company other than Apple that actually has the "cool" factor and costs less. As Rhapsody continues to gain traction (last I checked they had 2.25 million subscribers), I expect the Sandisk Sansas to do well.

I still don't understand why Microsoft decided to get into the highly competitive music download segment instead of acquiring a company like Real Networks.

One Page Barron's Summary

Probably the following statement by the CEO Antonio Perez during the Kodak conference call when asked whether Kodak was on track for back to school <i>"I never said we’re going to be back to school. We’re still on track with our project. We are — I have no news really to report, and you know why I don’t want to report news until the closest possible time, the latest possible time. So but we keep investing in that business. We are accelerating things and I feel that we are in good shape, but there is nothing else to report."</i>

It is interesting to see the generic drug maker Teva (TEVA) back where it was a year ago. The run-up that started last year was in anticipation on looming patent expirations at big pharma companies like Pfizer (PFE) and Merck. I feel that the Zocor pricing move by Merck is likely to be negative for the generic drug companies like Teva, Ranbaxy, Mylan and Dr. Reddy's but would barely affect Pfizer. Pfizer raised its dividend about six months ago and I doubt they would do it again anytime soon.