(AP)—The sales decline at struggling cellphone maker Nokia Corp. continues with revenues dropping almost a quarter between April and June compared with the same time last year, the company announced Thursday. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org
Filed under: Google, Microsoft, Internet, Consumer Issues, Mobile Technology
By JUERGEN BAETZ
BRUSSELS — Google is using unfair practices to cement its control over mobile Internet usage on smartphones, a group of companies led by Microsoft alleged in a European antitrust complaint Tuesday.
The “FairSearch” initiative of 17 companies — which includes Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Nokia Corp. (NOK) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL) — claims Google is acting unfairly by giving away its Android operating system to mobile device companies on the condition that the U.S. online giant’s own software applications like YouTube and Google Maps are installed and prominently displayed.
“Google is using its Android mobile operating system as a Trojan horse to deceive partners, monopolize the mobile marketplace, and control consumer data,” said Thomas Vinje, the group’s Brussels-based lawyer.
Android operating systems have the largest share of the smartphone market worldwide, followed by Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iOS platform with systems from Blackberry (BBRY), Microsoft and others far behind.
“Google’s predatory distribution of Android at below-cost makes it difficult for other providers of operating systems to recoup investments in competing with Google’s dominant mobile platform,” FairSearch said in a statement.
The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm and antitrust authority, is not obliged to take any action other than reply to the group’s complaint.
Google Inc. (GOOG) didn’t address the complaint’s charges in detail. “We continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission,” said Google spokesman Al Verney.
The U.S. company is already under investigation by Brussels for practices related to its dominance of online search and advertising markets.
That complaint, filed in 2010, alleges Google unfairly favors its own services in its Internet search results, which enjoy a near-monopoly in Europe. Google has proposed a list of remedies to address the Commission’s concerns to achieve a settlement. The Commission is currently examining the proposed changes.
In China, Google has already come under official scrutiny because of Android’s dominance of the mobile smartphone market there.
Several European data privacy regulators have also launched an investigation into Google’s practices, alleging the company is creating a data goldmine at the expense of unwitting users.
Last year, the company merged 60 separate privacy policies from around the world into one universal procedure. The European authorities complain that the new policy doesn’t allow users to figure out which information is kept, how it is combined by Google services or how long the company retains it.
The policy allows Google to combine data collected from one person as they use …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Filed under: Technology, Consumer Goods, Internet, Mobile Technology, Consumer Electronics
By PETER SVENSSON
NEW YORK — Samsung Electronics is ratcheting up its rivalry with Apple with its new Galaxy S 4 smartphone, which has a larger, sharper screen than its predecessor, the best-selling S III.
Samsung trumpeted the much-anticipated phone’s arrival Thursday at an event accompanied by a live orchestra while an audience of thousands watched the theatrics unfold on a four-level stage at Radio City Music Hall. Summoning up a touch of Broadway, Samsung employed 17 actors to demonstrate the new phone’s features in a series of scripted vignettes.
The Galaxy S 4, which crams a 5-inch screen into body slightly smaller than the S III’s, will go sale in the U.S. sometime between the end of April and the end of June.
In the U.S., it will be sold by all four national carriers — AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Wireless (VZ, VOD), Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) and T-Mobile USA — as well as by smaller ones US Cellular and Cricket. All told, Samsung plans to offer the Galaxy 4 S through 327 carriers in 155 countries, giving it a wider reach than Apple Inc.’s (AAPL) iPhone 5.
Samsung didn’t say what the phone will cost, but it can be expected to start at $200 with a two-year contract in the U.S. That’s comparable to the iPhone 5.
JK Shin, the executive in charge of Samsung’s mobile communications division, promised the money would be well spent for a “life companion” that will “improve the way most people live every day.”
That bold promise set the tone for the kind of flashy presentation associated with the showmanship of Apple, the company that Samsung has been trying to upstage. Apple contends Samsung has been trying to do it by stealing its ideas — an allegation has triggered bitter courtroom battles around the world.
Apple’s Primary Rival
In the last two years, Samsung has emerged as Apple’s main competitor in the high-end smartphone market. At the same time, it has sold enough inexpensive low-end phones to edge out Nokia Corp. as the world’s largest maker of phones.
The Galaxy line has been Samsung’s chief weapon in the smartphone fight, and it has succeeded in making it a recognizable brand while competitors like Taiwan’s HTC Corp. and Korean rival LG have stumbled. Samsung has sold 100 million Galaxy S phones since they first came out in 2010. That’s still well below the 268 million iPhones Apple has sold in the same period, but Samsung’s sales rate is catching up.
Research firm Strategy Analytics said the Galaxy S III overtook Apple’s iPhone …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Filed under: Earnings, Value Investing
Investors are always looking for new ideas. Now that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trying to hit new highs and investors are pouring record inflows of capital into stocks, investors should remember that stocks basically have doubled from their lows in the recession. Analysts on Wall St. make routine calls that are the equivalent of Buy, Sell or Hold. Some of the calls come with great risk, and some come with great rewards to those analysts who are insightful enough to make strong calls that come true.
24/7 Wall St. has gone through a recent batch of analyst calls looking for those stocks that imply upside of 50% or more. We compiled a list of recent calls and recent developments where analysts expect certain stocks to rise by about 50% or much more. In this analysis we have shown the calls and compared them to consensus price targets from Thomson Reuters‘ pool of analysts. We have also added color on these if applicable.
The list of potential 50% upside stocks includes the following companies: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE: FOR), GNC Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNC), Nanosphere Inc. (NASDAQ: NSPH), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY), Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU), Penn Virginia Corp. (NYSE: PVA), Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) and VIVUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS).
It was just back on January 4, 2013, when the year was getting underway that we covered 12 other stocks that analysts expected would rise 50% to 100%, or even more. None of these stocks overlap due to 60 days having passed. More of those stocks are up than down, but we would show the risk versus reward here. One is up 62% and one is up 85% since that first list, but one stock is down 68% since then.
Investors always look for stocks to buy that can bring rewards. We would point out that most of these companies are not exactly considered your stable blue chip stocks you might find in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Another observation is that most do not pay dividends.
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Analyst Calls, Value Investing Tagged: AAPL, ABX, BTU, FOR, GNC, NOK, NSPH, ONCY, PVA, SQNM, VVUS
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Filed under: Global Economy, Telecommunications
In 2013, for the first time, shipments of smartphones are forecast to top sales of feature phones. With shipments expected at 50.1% of all mobile phones shipped worldwide, smartphones are touted to ship 918.6 million units in 2013, according to the latest data from IDC.
Lower prices and faster networks (3G and 4G) are cited as the main reasons for rising sales of smartphones. As vendors like Samsung Electronics, Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), and perhaps even Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) offer lower-priced smartphones, shipments are likely to increase in emerging markets like India, Brazil, and even China.
Another interesting bit of data on the smartphone market came today from ABI Research. The firm expects mobile apps downloads to top 7 billion in 2013 — more than 10 for each man, woman, and child on the planet. Apps for the Android operating system from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) are forecast to get 58% of the downloads for smartphone apps, followed by 33% for Apple. Downloads for tablets are expected to be dominated by Apple’s iPad, with 75% of the downloads.
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Consumer Electronics, International Markets, PC Companies, Software, Telecom & Wireless Tagged: AAPL, BBRY, GOOG, NOK
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Filed under: Investing
We have tracked the key short interest changes as of February 15 in the following large cap stocks: General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR), McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Research in Motion, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL), Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO).
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) short interest rose 6.4% to 77.96 million shares. About 0.7% of GE’s float is now short.
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) saw short interest fall by 2.7% to 330.97 million shares, about 8.8% of the company’s total float.
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) short interest rise 10.3% to 166 million shares, which represents 1.5% of the company’s float.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) saw a 3.8% rise in short interest to 47.05 million shares, which represents about 1.6% of the firm’s float.
Alpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) showed a rise of 3.6% in short interest, to 33.13 million shares, about 15.2% of Alpha’s float.
McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) showed a rise of 12.5% in short interest, to 13.92 million shares, about 1.4% of the company’s float.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) saw a short interest fall by 0.4% to 18.78 million shares, or 2% of the company’s float.
Research In Motion changed its name to BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) on January 30, and short interest for this period was reported under the old name and ticker symbol RIMM. It saw short interest rise by 5.4% to 136.51 million shares, or 27.6% of the total float.
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) posted a 4.4% rise in short interest, to 83.58 million shares, about 1.1% of Microsoft’s float.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) short interest fall by 30.1%, to 28.73 million shares or about 2% of the company’s float.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) saw short interest increase by 13.9% to 30.89 million shares or 25.4% of the company’s float.
Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) saw short interest fall by 3% to 55.11 million shares or about 1% of the company’s float.
Short interest in Dell has declined dramatically again following the buyout offer from Michael Dell and his partners. The rise in BlackBerry’s share price has brought more short interest because few people really believe the new smartphones will make much of dent in the armor of Apple, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) or Samsung. GE’s rise in short interest is likely due to investors’ belief that the stock is fully valued and prospects are dimming as the global economy continues its slow motion recovery.
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Large Cap Stocks, Short Interest Tagged: AAPL, ANR, BAC, CSCO, DELL, GE, GMCR, GOOG, MCD, MSFT, NOK, RIMM, VZ
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | <a target=_blank href="http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/02/28/short-interest-wanes-in-some-big-stocks-ge-nok-bac-vz-anr-mcd-aapl-rimm-msft-dell-gmcr-csco/#comments" …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Filed under: Technology, Value Investing, Telecommunications
When you are an industry leader and one of the largest companies in the country of Sweden, employing more than 100,000 workers, it seems almost impossible that a turnaround would ever be necessary. However, it is not uncommon for large corporations to stray from the path that brought them their greatest success. For telecommunications equipment giant Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), the path back to success may be one that got them there in the first place.
Posting extremely strong fourth-quarter numbers that were driven by high demand for networking equipment in the U.S. market, Ericsson blew by the Wall St. expectations. Sales for the quarter were 66.9 billion SEK, up 23% sequentially and up 5% from the year-ago quarter. Network equipment sales were up 6% from a year ago, driven mainly by North America, while network sales were up 31% sequentially due to normal year-end seasonality. The results translate to $10.5 billion in U.S. currency, which is well ahead of the consensus estimate of $9.5 billion.
CEO Hans Vestberg said in a statement:
Segments showed mixed developments during the year with strong growth in Global Services and Support Solutions, while Networks had a more challenging year. Support Solutions went from losses in 2011 into profitability and together with Global Services represented close to 50% of Group sales in 2012, compared to 42% in 2011.
Vestberg also said that North America was the company’s strongest market throughout 2012 and was driven by continued mobile broadband investments and demand for services. What is so impressive about things of late is that Ericsson has much exposure to Europe, the most troubled spot in the developed world for investors weighing risk these days.
Wall St. analysts embraced the earnings rebound and responded with a flurry of upgrades. On February 1, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) upgraded the stock from Neutral to the prized Conviction Buy List. Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) moved its rating to Neutral from Underperform on the same day. Canaccord Genuity and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) both raised their price targets on the first, following Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) raising the stock to Buy from Hold on January 29. The current consensus price target for the stock is $11.50. Given the recent upgrades, that may soon be lifted.
One very positive development for the company may be a departure from its money-losing joint venture with STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE: STM), the largest European semiconductor company. While it recognized a large charge for its participation, an expected third-quarter 2013 exit will let the company focus on the profitable core businesses.
The Ericsson turnaround may start to get investors looking at two other formerly dominate European companies fighting to regain lost glory. Both Finnish phone giant Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) and French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) are trading under $5. Despite industry problems and a loss of market share for both companies, the low stock prices alone could make one or both of them takeover targets if a bottom-fishing turnaround or asset buyer surfaces.
For Ericsson the strength in North America may continue to provide a strong tailwind. With smartphone and tablet sales booming and an ever increasing demand for broadband consuming content, it may be in the right place at the right time to complete its turnaround. Wall St. analysts have at least become very vocal with a wave of upgrades in the Ericsson turnaround story.
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Technology, Technology Companies, Telecom, Telecom & Wireless, Turnarounds, Value Investing Tagged: ALU, C, CS, DB, ERIC, GS, NOK, STM
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
