King Kang

MasterCard Jumps on Strong Earnings

With the continuation of the current credit squeeze, MasterCard will probably be a fairly safe investment, as long as the Directors ( www.newsvisual.com/new... ) can keep up the good numbers.

3M Company: A Winning Stock At A Great Price

Not only is 3M involved in a multitude of businesses, but their Directors are some of the most experienced in the corporate world, with leadership positions across the entire business spectrum www.newsvisual.com/new... . Everything from food and beverages to finance to government.

How Apple's iPhone Changed Verizon Wireless

T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon are all being mentioned for this deal www.newsvisual.com/new... . I admit that Verizon will definitely try to seal this deal with Google and the GPhone. However, I also think that if Verizon needs this deal really bad, Sprint needs it even worse. Their CEO was forced out due to poor performance, their customer satisfaction ratings can't get any lower, and they keep losing customers to AT&T and Verizon. Sprint has been in a slump ever since the disasterous Nextel deal. They are hoping a deal with Google will help them pull out of their slump.

Yahoo Edges Away From Portal Towards Platform, Finally

Yahoo! needs to improve its portal (already much better than it was just a few months ago) and also develop platform. This is exactly what Google is doing with the GPhone (or at least the software for the phone). Yahoo!'s Directors are pretty creative and experienced, hopefully they will come up with something soon www.newsvisual.com/new...

Yahoo! Will Hit $50 Before You Can Say Alibaba.com

Yahoo! is great at investing because they have people on the board with loads of experience in the software, computer, and internet industries (not to mention a few others) www.newsvisual.com/new... . They know a great deal when they see one. I agree with the author, for those who thought Yahoo! would go the way of the dodo because of Google, think again. Yahoo! is going to give Google a serious run for its money.

Verizon's Net Drops on Items, But Beats By a Penny

Curious as to what people think about Verizon's new fiber network, FiOS. I love Verizon wireless, but haven't tried FiOS yet. Is it really as good as all the hype? Or does it still have quite a few bugs to work out? Also, any competitors coming out with something to rival it? Can Verizon handle this? www.newsvisual.com/new...

Inside The Apple Money Machine

Products are only part of what determines a company's value, the other part is the people you have running that company. www.newsvisual.com/new...

Warren Buffett's Mystery Currency Position: Brazilian Real

I am willing to give a man as experienced as Warren Buffett the benefit of the doubt. I think he knows what he is doing, and if you don't think so then just take a look at all the companies he is involved in www.newsvisual.com/new...

How Can Microsoft Stay Competitive?

Yes, Microsoft needs to improve several aspects of its business. However, to say that Microsoft is always a step behind the competition would be wrong in my opinion. Yesterday's deal with Facebook was a very direct and aggressive move towards Google. Microsoft needs to make more deals like this to succeed. Hats off to their Directors for finally taking some strong initiative in their conflict with Google www.newsvisual.com/new...

BEA Sets $21/Share Takeout Price, Oracle Rejects

I don't think I really see BEA's logic here. Yes, they were undervalued but the first offer of $17 per share was more than fair. $21 a share? No way. However, we should remember that Oracle did raise their bid for PeopleSoft, so a deal could still be done. I guess it just depends on how bad Oracle wants BEA. Probably using some of their backchannels to negotiate another deal right now www.newsvisual.com/new...

Motorola Beats and Raises; Posts First Profit in Three Quarters

Looks like Motorola made the right move in denying Carl Icahn a seat on the Board. Seems they were able to turn the company around without his help. www.newsvisual.com/new...

Monday's Options Report: Apple, Rackable, Virgin Media, CTC Media, Valero, Schlumberger, XLF, VIX

In my opinion, Apple will attempt to pull off a feat similar to what Google did last week, namely blow the expectations out of th water. I don't think Apple will just beat analysts' expectations, like Google I think Apple will shock and awe them. www.newsvisual.com/new...

Strong Sales Boost Halliburton Profits 19%

No surprise that Halliburton was able to post numbers like these, especially with oil looking to hit over $100 a barrel before the year is out (it will go even higher if Turkey invades northern Iraq). As for the "Eastern Hemisphere", Halliburton goes where the oil and oil infrastructure is. Since most new fields (or older fields with shabby infrastructure) are located in the Middle East or Asia....no surprise again. However, Halliburton's most prized asset may be its corporate ties to the energy industry, not to mention other relevant industries (chemicals, airlines, etc.) www.newsvisual.com/new... . These ties provide Halliburton with lobbying connections and inside info to help it stay one step ahead of the competition.

No Need To Panic Over Google's HR Policies

Obviously whatever Google is doing seems to be working. I agree with their point that June is a big hiring month, most companies do the majority of their hiring in June. Google has proven time and again that they have the experience and creativity to keep growing www.newsvisual.com/new... . And kudos to them for being a different kind of company with a different kind of structure. As long as this trend continues at Google, just sit back and watch the profits pour in.

Pfizer: Four Lessons From the Exubera Failure

Anything to the many rumors last week that Pfizer is looking to merge? Research from the blog NewsVisual mentioned Pfizer's name in deals with Biogen and Genzyme. Could one of these deals help pull Pfizer out of its current funk?