MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Sunday, May 27, 2012
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4:02 PM The NYT's Nick Bilton claims multiple sources indicate a Facebook (FB) phone will arrive next year - a prior report suggested a Q3 launch. It's added Facebook has hired Apple engineers with iPhone experience, and is exploring multiple smartphone projects. The news comes as Facebook comes under pressure to improve mobile monetization, and rolls out a PC/mobile app store and an HTML5 app development platform. Facebook is also rumored to be interested in browser maker Opera. Comment!
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Saturday, May 26, 2012
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11:25 AM Among giant U.S. IPOs of the last 10 years, Facebook (FB), which is now down 16% from its $38 offering price, has posted the worst performance, according to Bloomberg's data. Of course, many pre-IPO investors are also underwater: a SecondMarket chart shows Facebook reached current levels in Feb. '11, and largely remained above them until this week. Options trading begins on Tuesday, and could bring additional volatility. 6 Comments
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Friday, May 25, 2012
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7:08 PM Responding to a report from The Verge that Google (GOOG) had acquired H-P's (HPQ) webOS team, H-P clarifies that "some key members" of the team working on the webOS-based Enyo app development platform have left the company, but "the majority of the engineering and leadership team remains." It adds the Enyo team is looking to hire new engineers. 4 Comments
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6:52 PM Buying Nokia (NOK) under $3 today is like buying Ford under $2 in '09, argues SA's Jacob Steinberg. As was the case with Ford back then, Nokia commentary is filled with talk about market share losses, cash burn, and credit rating downgrades. However, also like Ford back then, Nokia maintains a powerful brand and significant cash reserves, and is rolling out compelling new products. 8 Comments
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6:37 PM Is Google Wallet (GOOG), off to a sputtering start, a victim of its dependence on NFC technology? Not only are NFC chips found in only a small (albeit growing) percentage of phones, the technology requires an ecosystem that doesn't exist, in part due to rival agendas. Meanwhile, PayPal (EBAY) is rolling out an app-based service that allows users to pay before walking into a store, and Starbucks has had success with a solution that scans barcodes appearing on a phone's display. Then there's Square. 1 Comment
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6:01 PM Quest Software (QSFT -0.1%) shares dived in the final minutes of trading to $25.15 after Reuters reported Dell (DELL) is expected to reach a deal to buy the company, perhaps as soon as this weekend, but at a price of $23-$26/share. Before the story broke, Quest traded as high as $26.73 on a Bloomberg report that mentioned Dell's interest, but didn't name a price. Reuters adds Dell's post-earnings crash led a prior deal to fall apart. Comment!
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5:52 PM Though Apple (AAPL) continues to heavily promote Siri - it just hired John Malkovich to do some ads - the voice assistant service, which is powered by Nuance's (NUAN) voice recognition technology, remains a lightning rod for criticism. Disgruntled user Jon Friedman calls Siri a "gimmick for self-indulgent people with a tremendous amount of time on their hands." "Steve would have lost his mind over Siri," a former Apple employee recently told Adam Lashinsky. 6 Comments
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5:41 PM Morningstar's Theo Francis takes a look at the 14-A filed by Dell (DELL) for its July 13 stockholder meeting, and finds some interesting details. Among them: Michael Dell's compensation package for the year rose over 3x to $16.1M, in spite of his company's less-than-stellar performance; $2.7M was spent on security for Dell and his family; and services chief Stephen Schukenbrock received $1.9M in relocation benefits in order to move 200 miles. 2 Comments
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5:19 PM On a week when Yahoo's (YHOO) Axis visual search engine/mobile browser gave it some much-needed positive ink, the company is shutting down its Livestand mobile reader app. Livestand had mixed reviews, and never gained a huge following in the face of competition from Flipboard, Pulse, Google Currents, and several other rivals. Comment!
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5:08 PM Engadget's review of Samsung's (SSNLF.PK) Galaxy S III is positive, but far from glowing. The device's performance, camera, and display are praised, but its software, which Samsung has heavily emphasized, is found lacking, and the site declares HTC's One X a better high-end Android (GOOG) option. The Verge is more enthusiastic, calling the S III a "technological triumph." Though Samsung currently looks unstoppable in the Android market, it's worth remembering HTC looked the same way a year ago. 4 Comments
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4:55 PM Thanks to Nokia's (NOK) Lumia releases, Windows Phone (MSFT) managed to account for 4.1% of Western European smartphone sales in Q1, per IDC. Android (GOOG) had 55% of the market, the iPhone (AAPL) 25%, and BlackBerry (RIMM) devices 9% (down from 17% a year earlier). A Microsoft exec recently claimed Windows Phone had 7% of the Chinese smartphone market. Nokia's high-end Lumia 900 was launched early in Q2. 16 Comments
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4:47 PM ARM (ARMH) can hold its own against Intel (INTC) as the latter company enters the mobile app processor market, argues UBS' Gareth Jenkins, who's upgrading shares to Buy. Among Jenkins' arguments: 75% of the top smartphone apps are specifically written with ARM-based processors in mind; the company continues to innovate with solutions such as its big.LITTLE architecture; and Intel has to compete with 15+ app processor vendors (most of whom use ARM CPU cores). (also) 3 Comments
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4:28 PM FalconStor Software (FALC) says its CFO Bryan Urquhart is resigning from position effective immediately. Louis Petrucelly has been promoted to Vice President of Finance, and appointed Treasurer and Acting CFO. Petrucelly was most recently the company's Director of Finance. Comment!
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4:21 PM It's not just founder Mike Lynch who's leaving H-P's (HPQ +2.6%) Autonomy unit: an anonymous exec tells Reuters 15%-20% of Autonomy employees (about 250 people) have left since H-P struck a $10B deal to buy the company last August. Discussing Autonomy's eye-opening FQ2 license revenue drop, the exec says issues related to handling sales leads played a role. "We have had to do things the HP way and the HP way has proved to be cumbersome." (earlier) Comment!
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4:06 PM Indian carrier Bharti Airtel has invested $165M for a 49% stake in a Qualcomm (QCOM) subsidiary that bought $1B worth of Indian 4G spectrum licenses in 2010. Qualcomm was finally granted the licenses, which will be used by Bharti in its TD-LTE 4G network build, earlier this month. Bharti's price suggests Qualcomm may have to take a write-down on its purchase. The company's investments have often gone awry - FLO TV and Globalstar are two prominent examples. Comment!
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3:34 PM Fresh off a big contract win to provide hardware and software for China National Petroleum's Turkmenistan gas fields, Recon Technology (RCON +12.2%) shares spike again on rumors of a potential contract with Sinopec (SNP). Comment!
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2:51 PM Maxwell Technologies (MXWL -11.4%) is plunging to new multi-year lows following a downgrade to Neutral from Wedbush. The firm says its checks indicate new competition in Maxwell's ultracapacitor business from China's Lishen, while adding it believes Lishen's sales go against the spirit of its outsourcing partnership with Maxwell. (previous) Comment!
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2:30 PM Facebook (FB) is reportedly interested in buying Opera Software, maker of the namesake browser. Opera's mobile base (NetMarketShare estimates it has a 12% share of mobile browsing, though that's down sharply Y/Y) could be of interest to Facebook, which is reportedly prepping a smartphone and continues to push its HTML5 mobile app platform, which allows apps to be accessed through a browser regardless of OS. Update: A source tells The Next Web Opera is talking to suitors, but doesn't know if Facebook is one of them. (earlier) 1 Comment
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2:17 PM Though Pandora (P -1.3%) rocketed higher yesterday on the back of an FQ1 beat and better-than-expected guidance, Jim Edwards sees the continued surge in Pandora's operating expenses as more evidence its business model isn't working. Pandora's royalties to copyright owners, which roughly increase in proportion with its listener hours, rose 91% Y/Y in FQ1, well above revenue growth of 58%. Better ad monetization is Pandora's only hope for eliminating this gap. Comment!
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2:00 PM Legal software firm EPIQ Systems (EPIQ +4.9%) jumps after William Blair starts coverage with an Outperform. The firm notes EPIQ now generates 2/3 of its revenue from the growing e-discovery software market, rather than its legacy bankruptcy administration solutions. Guidance Software (GUID) also participates in the e-discovery market. (Q1 results) Comment!
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