JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has received approval from the U.S. Federal Reserve to buy back $3 billion in stock in the first quarter of 2012. It has signaled to the market its plans to engage in more stock buybacks in 2013. By these moves, it is clear JPMorgan is going to prop up its stock in the coming year. The question is, do the fundamentals of America's largest bank also need propping up? The bank is turning a corner on strong fundamentals and a gradual shake off of debts from the financial crisis.

Following a year of robust lending to American businesses and consumers, strong fundamentals underpin record third quarter earnings. Net income increased 34 percent to $5.7 billion on revenue of $25.9 billion, up 6 percent from the year-earlier period. The boom in its mortgage banking business as the housing market makes a comeback is helping

In its bid to remain China's leading internet search engine, Baidu (BIDU) is seeking to create a captive audience. As more competitors enter the market, China's Google has announced its intentions to fill the wish list of mobile browser users - faster Internet browsing and seamless cloud management are on the way.

Baidu had been steadily growing its search engine market share. Over 50 percent of the searches of China's half a billion internet users pass through Baidu's search engine. In mobile browsing, the company has 90 percent of the search traffic of the 388 million mobile users who use mobile browsing, about one third of the 900,000 mobile users.

With 60 percent of Chinese not yet online, not surprisingly, more competitors are entering the market to grab some of Baidu's growing market share. Only 40 percent of China's 1.3 billion citizens use the Internet while

When it comes to being a successful force in the oil and gas industry, the companies that tend to be the best are those that enter into strategic joint ventures in order to achieve their aims. In this article, I will hone in on joint ventures between Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and an undisclosed party, BP and Sasol (SSL), Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) and the U.S. subsidiary of Osaka Gas, and Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP).

Anadarko recently entered into a joint venture with an undisclosed party. For a fee of $556 million this mystery collaborator will get a 7.2 percent working interest in the Gulf of Mexico Lucius oil and gas project. In return, Anadarko will receive funds to help it pay for the project until such time as production begins, which at this point I

Worldwide gold production could be entering a permanent decline - a state of affairs that could greatly boost gold-mining stock values. The reason that gold production could start declining is a theory called peak gold, which is similar to the peak oil theory. The peak oil theory states that at some point, world oil production will start falling because most of the world's oil has been pumped out. The peak gold theory states that we will reach a point at which gold production will start declining because all or most of the world's gold mines have been mined out.

The interesting thing is that we may have already reached peak gold - the height of global gold production. Gold production in a number of countries, including South Africa, has been falling for some time. In South Africa, gold production has fallen from a high of 1,000

Cloud computing appears to be the best way to go for technology companies looking to keep ahead of the pack. However, it seems that everyone has the same idea about how to compete in cloud computing, meaning that the competition is stiff. Today, I will focus on the cloud activities of Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Google Inc. (GOOG), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), and Oracle Corporation (ORCL) in order to determine what effect a focus on cloud computing may have on the stock of these companies.

First, I will look at Google and Microsoft. These two companies are competing frantically in the arena of cloud computing, but the problem is that they are both offering more or less the exact same set of services. Microsoft recently made a cloud server offering that is more widely applicable to a larger clientele base by introducing infrastructure-grade virtual machines

by Laura McPherson

Noble Energy (NBL) recently disclosed terms of the deal to sell certain assets in the Granite Wash and Marmaton fields to Unit (UNT). The divestiture to Unit is part of Noble's strategy to streamline its portfolio into attractive, high value assets, which in turn should allow it better flexibility with its capital expenditures. The strategy will eventually drive revenues higher with more rigs drilling on the plays that are most likely to return value to Noble.

Sale to Unit is First Step in New Strategy

Under the terms of the deal, Unit will receive Noble's 900 oil and gas wells across 84,000 acres of the Granite Wash and Marmaton, which are currently producing 60 mcf of natural gas per day, in a mix of 65% dry natural gas, 27% natural gas liquids, and 8% crude oil. Unit will pay Noble $617

While Goldcorp (GG) recently beat Barrick Gold (ABX) in a lawsuit regarding the ownership rights to an extremely lucrative gold and copper mining project, the win only paints part of the picture for Goldcorp's overall position in 2012. Goldcorp investors haven't gotten a whole lot of good news this year. The company's share price is down over 25%, and is currently near its 52-week low. It offers a small dividend, though nothing to write home about, and the company will need more good news to follow if it wants to stay ahead of the decline facing gold miners right now. In this article, I will show that, while the lawsuit victory is good for the company, investors should not forget that the gold industry is struggling overall.

First, The Good News

The lawsuit involves the ownership rights to the El Morro gold-copper project in Chile.

General Motors (GM) emerged from bankruptcy in 2010 with a new initial public offering and its share price has been slipping ever since then. However, General Motors presently possesses a very attractive fleet of automobiles that, with improving economic conditions, ought to compete with both domestic and foreign car makes in the United States and Asia. That said, GM, along with Ford (F), have had trouble with the European market and a number of economic factors in the United States and China. Additionally, I believe that both companies have competitive product lines that could result in price erosion as both serve as fierce domestic competitors.

General Motors stock is cheap by most metrics, so patient investors may be well positioned to make an entry on General Motors shares. Now that we are in earnings season, it is important to track news relating to the company's

Under Title II of the Dodd - Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, all banks with over $50 billion in assets over which the FDIC has jurisdiction is to eventually supply the agency with written summaries of their resolution plans in the event of the sort of economic meltdown that occurred late last decade. The idea of these plans is that they should allow for the orderly dissolution of the bank at issue without jeopardizing the banking system as a whole, and also without requiring taxpayer support such as the TARP program.

The first volley of these reports was for only those banks that included more than $250 billion in non-bank assets. As months go on, more and more subgroups of banks will be required to report, until all banks of over $50 billion have done so. The current batch of banks with over

Some energy companies have recently started to move away from the exploration and production of natural gas - Newfield Exploration (NFX) and SandRidge (SD) come to mind. These companies have made the brave decision to buck the trend toward cheap and plentiful natural gas and move into high margin oil exploration, development and production for growth and stability. Newfield wants to be known as an oil company and have gas removed from its business description entirely. Is this a good thing for the future of the company and its shareholders?

Despite the decrease in demand from Europe and Asia, the Saudi increase in production in advance of the Iranian oil embargo, and the Energy Information Administration reporting that increases in North American oil production have supplies at their highest levels in 22 years, Newfield is concentrating all of its efforts on

There has been a substantial headwind for mortgage REITs (mREITs) lately, sentiment wise. Many analysts claim that the so called "unsustainable" dividends being paid out by many mortgage REITs, even leading ones such as Annaly Capital Management (NLY), and particularly Armour Residential REIT (ARR), are going to lead to bankruptcy, and ultimately, the demise of the funds.

The beauty of a sustainable REITs, however, is that they have enough in the reserve to ride out a few bad years. Remember that dividends are paid not out of earnings, but out of cash reserves.

Let's take a closer look at ARMOUR Residential. Apart from the fact that net income for the fund has nearly tripled in the most recent quarter (ended March 2012), reaching $65 million compared with the previous quarter's $21 million, the firm has also kept its cash from operations level at about $35

Dendreon (DNDN) continues to be the subject of much debate and controversy about its future growth prospects. Market sentiment has soured, the stock is down substantially, and investors have lowered their expectations. According to benzynga.com and many other websites, there is also speculation about a possible takeover of Dendreon. I think that a takeover is unlikely for a number of reasons. The market is highly skeptical about the company and it is likely that would be acquirers share these sentiments. There is also the presence of Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Zytiga and Medivation's (MDVN) enzalutamide in the list of potential competitors. This is not to say that Provenge, Dendron's flagship drug is inferior to these two treatments, but only that market perception of the company has definitely deteriorated. If it were to be acquired now, any

VIVUS (VVUS) is a biotech company that has focused on anti-obesity treatment and its flagship drug Qnexa, as the objective of curbing obesity in patients. It uses an extended release capsule containing compounds that have been approved by the FDA, namely phentermine and topiramate. Phentermine is a drug that works by depressing the appetite of patients, while topiramate is a medication for convulsions that is used to control seizures, and also controls receptors that are associated with hunger pangs. The company is now waiting for a response from the FDA on its application for Qnexa. In October 2010, the FDA had rejected Qnexa on the basis of a rejection from an advisory panel. The reasons cited were ambiguities in the safety evaluation with regard to memory loss and depression. In addition, the increase in the heart rate evoked concerns about possible cardiovascular problems.

Questcor Pharmaceuticals (QCOR) came out with strong results in the first quarter of 2012, and recently experienced a spike in its share price when it launched its flagship drug H.P. Acthar Gel in the promising rheumatology space. First-quarter adjusted earnings of $.58 per share were 16% higher than consensus estimates, and more than 200% higher on an annual basis. Net sales jumped by more than 160% to $96 million, against the consensus estimate of $90 million. The company's policy is to reward shareholders through share repurchases, and approximately $20 million was returned to shareholders during the quarter. The company ended the first quarter with $223.7 million in cash and cash equivalents. The consensus estimate for earnings per share in 2012 is $2.43. Likewise, the consensus estimate for 2013 is $3.45 per share.

Questcor concentrates on the areas of treatments for multiple sclerosis, nephrotic syndrome and infantile

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) recently pleaded guilty to accusations regarding the illegal marketing of some of its drugs.

As a result of this plea, the pharmaceutical company will have to pay damages of $3 billion related to the "sale and marketing of its antidepressants Paxil and Wellbutrin and the diabetes drug Avandia". Specifically, the company is in trouble for mislabeling the antidepressant drugs and marketing them for purposes such as the treatment of obesity, anxiety, addiction and ADHD and depression in children which were not approved by the FDA. This is despite the fact that the company was warned of a number of possible side effects that the drug could have when given to the wrong patient population. According to Mercola.com, one of these side effects is an increased risk of suicide in children and teens. Another drug, Avandia, was tested by the FDA and linked

It is no surprise that the fallout surrounding the $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) would be around for a while. There was also little doubt that it would bring up a lot of the conversation that occurred after the financial crisis in 2008 regarding risky trading undertaken by big banks. This is exactly what banks did not need, especially with all of the current constraints on the growth of the industry. Even with all the problems recently incurred, JPMorgan has regained some of its stock value. It has still avoided the bottom end of its 52 week range, and actually had a fairly solid month of June. I don't believe it will completely gain back what it lost, but it is making up ground, slowly and surely.

If you are reading about JPMorgan, it is likely that you have heard much

Things in the auto industry are not looking so universally-positive anymore, and Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) are the auto companies struggling. There's not much good news for the American auto makers right now, especially as their foreign rivals, namely Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC), and Tesla (TSLA), are all pushing new features and involved in promising developments.

Let's start with Ford, which is clearly in more trouble than GM right now.

Ford is experiencing a drop in ratings due to the continuing weakness in Europe and the fact that demand is lower in South America than the company expected. Analysts have noted that the industry is strong in the United Kingdom and Russia, but the overall industry in Europe has not been doing well. As investors take note of this, they

Novartis AG (NVS) recently made a significant breakthrough in the domain of cancer treatment, making it one of the stocks to seriously watch. With some recent news about other breakthroughs, Novartis is poised to not only increase in this quarter, but for quarters to come. The stock is right in the middle of its 52-week high, though it's dropped off in 2012. Most of this drop is attributed to fears from the patent expiration of its drug Diovan, but there's now evidence that we will be seeing Novartis moving up sooner than later.

Of course, Novartis has never had a problem attracting investors. Even with fears over the expiration, investors were still drawn in by a dividend yield near 4.5%. Of course, healthcare stocks are no stranger to offering enticing dividend yields. Competitor AstraZeneca Group plc (AZN) has a dividend yield of 6.13%. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is only about a dollar and a half short of its 52-week high of $68. Although Johnson & Johnson offers a great dividend of $.61 per quarter and has achieved a fairly stable stock price over the past few years, I am not currently confident in buying Johnson & Johnson stock. The company has taken measures to continue its successful growth, but it has also been subject to lawsuits and unsuccessful pharmaceutical studies. With its price so high, and so little room for growth, the negative news will keep Johnson & Johnson from rising enough to truly reward investors.

Let's start with why Johnson & Johnson is trading so high right now.

Johnson & Johnson has recently completed a $19.7 billion acquisition of the Swiss medical device maker Synthes. Synthes is the world's largest producer of implants that mend

The outcome of last month's Greek election does not fundamentally change the situation in Europe. The pro-Euro and pro-austerity New Democracy Party won, but the situation in that country is still unstable and uncertain. Major debt problems in other countries, such as Spain and Italy, remain. So the debt crisis will continue.

That was very bad news for gold stocks because it caused bullion prices to fall. Bullion fell by 6.7% on June 28 because of concern that European leaders meeting in Brussels could not find a solution to the debt problem. That was the worst day for gold since 2004, according to Business Week.

This is also bad news for mining companies such as Newmont Mining (NEM) and Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), which are counting on high gold prices to make up for low prices for other metals, such as copper, silver, and platinum.