Linksys.com - Products/Wireless/Basic Networking/Voice & Telephone/Telephones/CIT400

Linksys.com - Products/Wireless/Basic Networking/Voice & Telephone/Telephones/CIT400

Cisco's Linksys division announced their new line up for VOIP services. This product link above lets you plug in a base to the router without the need for a computer to use Skype. Cisco calls this line the iPhone line up, not to be confused with the "upcoming" Apple iPod phone. Overall, Cisco's new product helps homes use VOIP the same way as a normal telephone line.

Technorati tags: skype, cisco, linksys, voip

Skype founders to launch broadband TV service

Skype founders to launch broadband TV service

The Skype founders have created a internet tv service which is in very early testing. So far, they've been 2 for 2 with their successes in Kazaa and Skype.

Technorati tags: skype, tv, iptv, youtube

Saatchi Gallery - Stuart - Report - New York Times

Saatchi Gallery - Stuart - Report - New York Times

An art gallery owner has created a social network website for artists to share and sell their work. The artists section is more like a simple profile page with art work for independent artists. The student art or "Stuart" section is more like a social network.

Technorati tags: saatchi, myspace, art

Atlas

Boston Properties sets special dividend

Boston Properties sets special dividend

$5.40 dividend payable on Jan. 30.

Technorati tags: special dividend, large

I.B.M. and Universities Plan Collaboration - New York Times

I.B.M. and Universities Plan Collaboration - New York Times

IBM along with Cisco and Hewlett Packard have agreed to share intellectual property developed from research.

Technorati tags: ibm, patents

Google Patents

Google Patents
Google unveiled its patent search engine on Wednesday. Results pages show the patents text, has links to different sections, shows drawings, and has the original patent in PDF format. It includes patents dating back to 1790. The search capability seems to be as good as Google's other search features. The system offers a significant advantage over the US Patent systems own search system which had poor search results and was difficult to use.

Google wins patent for search results page design | CNET News.com

Google wins patent for search results page design CNET News.com
Google patented its user interface and it has received a design patent for how their pages display search results with advertisements.

Google lands Web search patent | CNET News.com

Google lands Web search patent CNET News.com
An article from Cnet about a patent granted to Google in 2003. One of the patents that allow Google to dominate the current search landscape.

Skype’s Free Phone Call Plan Will Soon Have Annual Fee - New York Times

Skype’s Free Phone Call Plan Will Soon Have Annual Fee - New York Times
New plans starting next year will be $30 for unlimited calling to US and Canada. If ordered before January 31, 2007, the charge is only $15 for unlimited calling from PCs to land lines. This is much cheaper than other offers from Comcast or Vonage.

PortableApps Suite | PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives

PortableApps Suite PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives

Places mozilla, thunderbird, and gaim on a flash drive. Works best with USB flash drives greater than 256 mb. To use portableapps on a small flash drive, around 64mb, install the portable apps base program, then dowload additional programs like Thunderbird Portable and GAIM portable. These two programs installed will leave about 24 mb free on a 64 mb flash drive. One advantage with Portable applications on a flash drive is that they run faster since the memory is on non-moving parts.

Another option is U3 drivers with pre-installed portable applications. U3 offers Skype on a USB flash drive. U3 flash drives are available at this link: http://astore.amazon.com/usbapplications-20

Skype Phone Store - Home Page

Skype Phone Store - Home Page
Skype phones allow an easier interface with skype than the standard headset.

Skypegear Roadtest: Philips VOIP841 Cordless Phone for Skype - Skype Gear

Skypegear Roadtest: Philips VOIP841 Cordless Phone for Skype - Skype Gear
Skype phone economics - Philips new Skype phone may cost a lot to buy initially but it does offer a better long term option than other broadband phone services. Comcast and Vonage offer services starting at 25 dollars a month, but Skype only requires paying $0.02 per minute. So someone can use $10 in skype credit per month and buy themselves about 500 minutes, and Skype minutes carry forward. Additionally, this phone offers easy set up by connecting directly to a router without the need for a PC.

A Business Model of One's Own, Franchising and Licensing Article - Inc. Magazine Article

A Business Model of One's Own, Franchising and Licensing Article - Inc. Magazine Article
An old article from 1998 looking at the possible effects of allowing patents on business models. There's also an interview with a person from a company that makes business model patents and licenses them out. Worries back then included that allowing patentable business models would decrease innovation. However, it looks like that hasn't happened since then, ie Google, YouTube, Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook.

Google's $200 million financial cushion - U.S. Business - MSNBC.com

Google's $200 million financial cushion - U.S. Business - MSNBC.com
Google set aside 200 million dollars in the 1.79 billion dollar YouTube acquisition. It's apparently for any copyright infringement suits for pirated video on YouTube. Sadly, despite this being a large financial deal, one does have to admit YouTube did gain popularity on distribution of videos by violating copyright holder's rights. Sure many of the most popular videos on YouTube are made by individuals, but a lot of the videos were from popular sources such as Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Fox, and HBO. Hopefully Google can make something of this company which wasn't able to make money even with stolen material. Steven Colbert made a joke that he should get a third of the YouTube price since he mentions the site on his show and several of the skits from his show are on the site. In some ways its true, YouTube does owe it success to content from major networks.

Online diagnosis: Web helpful, but doc is best - Forbes.com - MSNBC.com

Online diagnosis: Web helpful, but doc is best - Forbes.com - MSNBC.com
Doctors were able to find the correct diagnosis 60% of the time based on symptoms using Google's search engine. Patients should still see a physician, however they could use Google for research.

Bitten By The Google Spider - Forbes.com

Bitten By The Google Spider - Forbes.com

Google's trying to crack down on worthless websites full of ads by changing its advertising policy and page-ranking spider algorithm. This is apparently getting rid of a lot of spam websites who make millions by placing high priced Adwords on their site. They also attract visitors to their website using cheap Google Adwords. Some legitimate websites have been blocked by Google's new tactics.

Google nets broadband alliance with BSkyB - Markets - Times Online

Google nets broadband alliance with BSkyB - Markets - Times Online
Google has announced a deal with BSkyB of England to share advertising revenue, provide online video, and provide Gmail service. BSkyB is a satellite broadband company. Other options include exploring the use of Google's voice over IP for BSkyB broadband users.

Zune #2 In Sales Behind iPod - Gizmodo

Zune #2 In Sales Behind iPod - Gizmodo
NPD Group says MSFT Zune is a distant second to iPod in unit sales and dollar share.

Motorola's ROKR E6 released in China, US next? - Engadget

Motorola's ROKR E6 released in China, US next? - Engadget
Motorola's new ROKR will have a touchscreen, 14.5 mm width, handwriting recognition, 2 megapixel camera, and a bar code reader. Its currently available in China for $545. The software switched from iTunes to RealPlayer so more audio options are available.

Google slashes IPO price | CNET News.com

Google slashes IPO price CNET News.com
Just some old news about Google when it slashed its IPO price to $85. This was the beginning of the madness.

NYX P/E of 103

The New York Stock Exchange stock currently has a price to earnings around 103. Yet, the stock is still shooting upwards. Its had a large movement up from 87 to 93 in the past week. Why is this stock still a good investment? According to Jim Cramer of CNBC, he predicted this company will earn $10 a share in earnings in 2008, and then he placed a 28 P/E ratio on it then discounted the price target of $250. Here's the link to his comments: http://madmoneyrecap.com/daily_recap_openingsegment_110906.htm.

GOOG: Insider Transactions for GOOGLE - Yahoo! Finance

Insiders at Google have been holding onto their shares since late June 06 according to Yahoo's Insider transactions page. They may have known about some good news for a while and were waiting for a better time to sell. Yet, even with the stock hitting all time highs, they're still not selling. Maybe there's still more room to go up.
GOOG: Insider Transactions for GOOGLE - Yahoo! Finance

S & P 500 Stocks with Dividend Yields above 5%

CZN	CITIZEN COMM CO	S&P 500	6.80%
PGL	PEOPLES ENERGY CP	S&P 500	5.10%
PGN	PROGRESS ENERGY INC	S&P 500	5.30%
WM	WASHINGTON MUTUAL	S&P 500	5.00%
WIN	WINDSTREAM CORP	S&P 500	6.00%

Source: Stock Screener Results - Yahoo! Finance

Alpha Trends

Alpha Trends
A video blog of technical charts and trading. Also has some lengthy articles.

Google’s Document Program

I’ve been trying Google’s new Docs program and it’s pretty great. It’s quick to start typing new documents, and the saving is automatic. It’s a good place to write down notes, and since it’s on the internet, I could do it from anywhere. The other option would be to constantly carry around a USB drive or e-mail myself notes. I’m not using it for my longer writing projects since a typing delay occurs. Letters appear a few microseconds after I type them. The editing quality of the word processor is pretty basic, but it is sufficient for a portable word processor. Tables can be edited easily. Documents can be saved on the server or published to a blog.
I haven’t seen any revenue generating advertisements on the side by Google. They would take up space on the workspace, but I’m guessing they’ll inevitably appear. With their acquisition of JotSpot, the abilities of the program should improve since I saw the JotSpot website a couple of years ago and it was much more advanced than Google's current offering.

A Web Site to Call Your Own - New York Times

A Web Site to Call Your Own - New York Times
Microsoft is giving away a free .com website with other features such as e-mail, calendar, and accounting. Advertising is also being tied into the service. It's called Microsoft Office Live Basic.

Stocks Yielding Above 5% in the S&P 400 Midcap

CAR	AVIS BUDGET GROUP, I	S&P 400 MidCap	22.50%
NYB	NEW YORK CMMTY BNC##	S&P 400 MidCap	6.10%
HPT	HOSPITALITY PROP TR	S&P 400 MidCap	6.10%
PIR	PIER ONE INC	S&P 400 MidCap	5.80%
FNT	FIDELITY NTL TTL GRP	S&P 400 MidCap	5.40%
ETM	ENTERCOM COMMUN CP	S&P 400 MidCap	5.30%
LRY	LIBERTY PROPERTIES	S&P 400 MidCap	5.20%
GXP	GREAT PLAINS ENERGY	S&P 400 MidCap	5.10%
DQE	DUQUESNE LIGHT HLDGS	S&P 400 MidCap	5.00%
EAS	ENERGY EAST CP	S&P 400 MidCap	5.00%
WON	WESTWOOD ONE INC	S&P 400 MidCap	5.00%

Stock Screener Results - Yahoo! Finance

Top Yielding S&P 600 Small Cap Stocks as of November 1, 2006

Top Yielding S&P 600 Small Cap Stocks as of November 1, 2006

NEW	NEW CENTURY FINANC##	S&P 600 SmallCap	18.60%
SRT	STARTEK INC	S&P 600 SmallCap	7.40%
LXP	LEXINGTON CP PTY TR	S&P 600 SmallCap	6.80%
SR	STANDARD REGIST	S&P 600 SmallCap	6.60%
NNN	NATIONAL RETAIL PROP	S&P 600 SmallCap	6.00%
TRST	TRUSTCO BANK NY	S&P 600 SmallCap	5.80%
SNH	SENIOR HSG SBI	S&P 600 SmallCap	5.80%
UNTD	UNITED ONLINE INC	S&P 600 SmallCap	5.80%

Source: Stock Screener Results - Yahoo! Finance

CVTX on the rise

This has been an amazing ride for CVTX in the last few months. The stocks gone down to 9.45 after bad news about Ranexa, but now the stocks climbed back up to 14 without much news. The earnings are supposed to be released on October 31, 2006, with probably some information about Ranexa sales. It's been about a 50% return since the 52 week low, and no ideas if this from a short squeeze, institution accumulation, or insider buying.

http://finance.yahoo.com/charts#symbol=CVTX;range=1y

For the Super-Rich, It’s Time to Upgrade the Old Jumbo Jet - New York Times

For the Super-Rich, It’s Time to Upgrade the Old Jumbo Jet - New York Times
$150 million for the plane, and $50 million for interior design. Or rent a plane for an around the world trip for the reasonable price of $50,000 to $70,000 per person.

TXN run up to 35

This has been happening for the last few quarters. The company will keep on providing good numbers, but in the middle of the quarter some analyst will downgrade the stock and TXN will drop to 28. Then spectacular earnings come out, and the stock rises up to 35. Look at the chart over the last year. There seems to be some resistance at the 35 level that the stock hasn't been able to break through for the last year.

Cost of Living Website

http://www.cityrating.com/costofliving.asp

Start with a salary in one city, and this website will tell you what salary you'll need to live in another city as comfortably as the original city.

NY Times on Google Payment Service

Google's payment service offers cheaper rates than Paypal, 20 cents plus 2 percent of the purchase price. Google's also offering a discount for its payment service when a user also uses its advertising service. This could be a big turning point for Google similar to when Microsoft introduced Word for its Windows application. Google can leverage its dominance in search and advertising to create more earnings from payment services.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/29/technology/29google.html

another good time to buy txn

TXN is back to its lower level of its trading range. The chart shows its well below its 200 day moving average. Investors who have bought the stock before at levels below the 200 DMA have been rewarded well in the short term in the last year. The market also had a bad week when TXN had good news in its mid-quarter update. I see this stock back to $35 before the company reports its quarterly earnings.

Skype Toolbar

Skype Toolbar for Internet Explorer adds Skype functionality to web browsing. It's main advantage is turning telephone numbers on webpages into SkypeOut links. This allows browsers to click on a link to make a phone call to a landline through Skype. The fee for calling a landline through Skype is $0.02 per minute for calls to America. For example, to look for a pizza store, search for the pizza store name and location in the toolbar, then the search result will have the phone number highlighted with a SkypeOut link. Clicking on the link will make the phone call to the pizza store through Skype. Skype Toolbar allows people to use Skype more seamlessly with their daily activities and, it is a good revenue generator for Skype and for eBay.

Comcast pushing telephony

When calling Comcast, they will say their only special is for the three package special of internet, cable, and telephone service for about $100 a month. When asking them about cable alone, they won't give a special rate for 3 to 6 months as before. Instead, they will ask for $64 a month for cable alone. Same with the internet service, it's much higher than it was before when added to a cable service. Comcast seems to be pushing its telephone service heavily in the urban markets; however, many young people in urban markets use primarily cell phones and see no need for a cable based landline.

Microsoft Drop

Microsoft dropped from 27 to 24 on Friday after a news announcement about a change in strategy. The company lost tens of billions in market capitalization dollars due to a statement about their future plans. Their financial situation is sound, although they have given away a significant amount of their liquid cash. If they had done this with the 32 billion given away in a special dividend, the reaction would not have been so severe. Investors would have thought that Microsoft could afford to take a gamble.
Currently, Microsoft's competition is pressuring it to take gambles in their future planning. Google recently released a beta version of their calendar program. It has amazing functionality with drag and drop features. Entering an appointment by typing out a statement is much simpler than entering an appointment in Microsoft's Outlook. Google is trying to combine their Gmail service and Calendar service into a competition for Microsoft's Outlook. Their Gmail service is nowhere near as organized as Outlook. Gmail's tagging system is a unique idea, but Outlook's folder option is easier to use with drag and drop. Blogger can be seen as a challenge for Microsoft's Word, but it's organizational ability has the same problem as Gmail. It's a list of documents in a linear organization. With more drag and drop abilities, Google's offerings can become more competitive with Microsoft. Too bad I won't be able to patent this idea now; Google has the technology to advance itself further.
Microsoft has already developed a PC based software architecture based on drag and drop organization. Now, it has to transfer this idea to the web.
Google and Microsoft have complementary ideas, either they join together or each company develops what it lacks.

Motorola Q/ Motorola RAZR 2 (Canary) update

Motorola Q Gets FCC Nod - Gizmodo

It'll be available with Verizon first.

Motorola's RAZR 2 / Canary

The new Razr will be narrower, have a 2 megapixel camera, and have a different outer finish. It'll be available in late 2006 or early 2007.

Motorola Motorola ROKR E2

Motorola Motorola ROKR E2
The new version of the ROKR will have up to 2gb removable SD Card, a 1.3 megapixel camera with flash, and bluetooth.

Home Depot

nittanylion05@gmail.com

A recent article in Business Week highlighted the CEO of Home Depot, Bob Nardelli, and his efforts to revamp operations at the giant. It’s competitor, Lowe’s, stock price has soared the last few years where Home Depot has largely missed out on the housing boom. One of the reasons for this is Home Depot’s small professional sales. Lowe’s garners a lot more of the professional contractor market whereas Home Depot is more of a consumer and homeowner store. The store also has an Innovation Center where they experiment with how new products will match in their stores. All of these initiatives are to increase earnings.

However there are several flaws in this approach. One is the waning real estate boom. Even if Home Depot gains a foothold in the professional market, that market is shrinking as home sales slow. As interest rates rise, Home Depot’s backbone, homeowner’s remodeling, will find it more difficult to get home equity loans. Big renovation projects will be delayed and this effect will more hten cancel out any gain in professional sales.

The final few reasons why I would avoid Home Depot is the CEO himself. He is going against the management crowd by centralizing and consolidaqting power in the home office. His former military background is criticized as heavy handed and is leading to many top executives leaving the company. Even many of the former military officers he likes to hire., admit if his sales goals aren’t met, the executives lose their job. This leads to a heavy focus on short term volume often at the detriment of long term investment in improving the stores and customer service. The company also is at the bottom of customer service surveys conducted, both internally and externally.

While some of the short term pushes by the CEO may lead to a temporarily boost in stock price, the increase would be unsustainable. Overall this is one stock I would avoid and consider shorting.

Motorola's answer for the Treo/Blackberry

Motorola Q On Verizon's Site - Gizmodo

MOT delivered disappointing earnings; however their upcoming products look great. This new Treo/Blackberry competitor looks great.

Yahoo CEO Compensation

How much did Yahoo's CEO make in the last five years? An astonishing amount according to this article from Reuters.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060415/bs_nm/yahoo_compensation_dc_1

"On joining Yahoo in 2001, he was granted options to buy 20 million shares, which fully vested in April 2005. From 2003 through the end of 2005, Semel sold Yahoo shares worth around $429 million."

How the S&P 500's bad bubble-stock picks cost investors billions. By Daniel�Gross

How the S&P 500's bad bubble-stock picks cost investors billions. By Daniel�Gross

Yahoo is shown as a bubble stock of 1999-2000 which was added to the S&P 500 in December 2000. During the next few months after the addition, the stock plummeted. This created losses for investors in index funds. Usually, investors in index funds expect to be investing in large, well-established companies instead of high-flying technology companies.
A similar case can be argued for Google's addition into the S&P 500 on March 31, 2006. It's been added near its peak. The only reason it's not being added at its peak is Google's slightly disappointing earnings last quarter. If the company follows Yahoo's pattern, the stock will be trading at a significantly lower price by the end of this year.
Charts are from Yahoo Finance and show the maximum range available for each stock.

"Real video iPod" delayed by display problems, studio talks - Engadget

"Real video iPod" delayed by display problems, studio talks - Engadget

Apple's latest ideas for a new video ipod looks amazing. Basically, the entire front of the player is for widescreen video, and it looks as if the buttons are software created that overly the image on the screen. Appears to be another leap forward for Apple's design team.

India Rising

This picture is spreading by e-mail. It might be funny, but it's true. India's GDP is growing well, and many former expatriates are moving back to help with the growth.

problem with skype

I though eBay's purchase of Skype was out of place for it's core business, but I still thought Skype was a revolutionary technology until now. After recently upgrading to a newer version of the software, I've noticed a significant decrease in the quality of the software. The calls are being dropped constantly every few seconds, and this has basically made me switch over to Google's Talk application...It's a lot more reliable right now than Skype. I don't know if eBay's acquisition of Skype somehow affected the quality of the software distributed in the latest version of Skype. It was an amazing service before that would have replaced my land line if everyone had Skype and a broadband connection. The call quality was clearer than cell phones and possibly land lines. Hopefully, Skype can fix the problems in its next version.

Off to the Races Again, Leaving Many Behind - New York Times

Off to the Races Again, Leaving Many Behind - New York Times

Is executive pay grossly out of proportion if they improve a company's earnings by several hundred million dollars or increase its market capitalization by several billion dollars?
It's out of pay when they don't do either.
I'll write an article later about wealth in America or any capitalistic country.

Big Gain for Rich Seen in Tax Cuts for Investments - New York Times

Big Gain for Rich Seen in Tax Cuts for Investments - New York Times

It's a good time to invest in high dividend yield stocks such as DHF and NCV. Dreyfus High Yield fund (DHF) is a closed end fund that pays dividends monthly; it's annual yield is about 10%.
Let's consider two people under the current tax laws of 15% tax on dividends and around 40% tax on income for high brackets.
Person A has five million dollars in savings and zero income. They invest all of their savings into DHF. Annualy, the stock will pay out 10% yield, giving them $500,000 annually. Under the current tax law, the tax on this $500,000 is $75,000. This leaves person A with $425,000 after taxes.
Person B has zero dollars in savings and a $500,000 in income. This person will pay 40% in income taxes and several other taxes. The tax on $500,000 would be $200,000. This person will receive $300,000 after taxes.
Person A does not work and receives $125,000 more money than Person B who works for money.

Fly for free - April 1, 2006

Fly for free - April 1, 2006
Ryanair in Europe sells tickets for $53 each, makes money of refreshments, luggage, and advertising.

Google Shares Fall After Disclosing Plan: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

Google Shares Fall After Disclosing Plan: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance: "Earlier this month, Google told investors that it expected to spend substantially more on additional computers and other projects this year. The company spent $838 million on capital expenditures last year, causing some analysts to wonder whether Google's spending this year will approach $2 billion.
By comparison, Yahoo Inc. -- a slightly older Internet company that ranks among Google's biggest rivals -- spent $407 million on capital expenditures last year."

USATODAY.com - Google's hidden payroll

USATODAY.com - Google's hidden payroll: "Deepesh Agarwal, who runs a small cybercafe in Rajasthan state, India, draws about 90% of his income, or $1,500 a month, from his Adsense earnings. It is a princely sum in a state where the average income is just $300 a year. "

reading the txn charts

look at a txn chart 3 months with 50 and 200 ma. Buying the stock when it dips below its 200 dma has provided some quick returns.

Sony PS3 with 60 gigabyte hard drive

http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/18/playstation-3-will-ship-with-60gb-hdd-as-standard/

Sony's delayed release of the PS3 will have a 60 gb hard drive standard. This would be great for storing videos and music in a central location of the living room. It could also lead to people converting their CDs and DVDs into a digital format able to stored on the new PS3. Other ideas are that Sony can sell music or video online directly to people's PS3.

Switched On: Origami is a paper tiger for now - Engadget

Switched On: Origami is a paper tiger for now - Engadget

A PC with the ability to turn on like a PDA but surf the web like a laptop would be great.

Fool.com: Considered REITs? Buffett Has (Fool's Den) January 9, 2001

Fool.com: Considered REITs? Buffett Has (Fool's Den) January 9, 2001

An old but good article about the tax benefits of investing in REITs.

WD brings external hard drive biz to book | Reg Hardware

WD brings external hard drive biz to book Reg Hardware

Craigslist Lawsuit Raises Question of Online Accountability - New York Times

Craigslist Lawsuit Raises Question of Online Accountability - New York Times

Online companies aren't liable for the content published by their users.

AT&T to Buy BellSouth, Creating Telecom Giant - New York Times

AT&T to Buy BellSouth, Creating Telecom Giant - New York Times

AT&T Wireless was sold by AT&T to Cingular in 2004. Cingular is owned by BellSouth. Then, SBC bought AT&T and became AT&T. Now, AT&T buys BellSouth. So now, AT&T shareholders from 2004 regain some control of AT&T wireless in the from of Cingular.

Google can become the next Microsoft in 3 years

At the pace that Goog's earnings are growing, it'll reach MSFT's profitability in three years. A difficult prospect since it doesn't have a monopoly in its market like microsoft has in operating systems and office products. Yahoo and MSN have an opportunity to dethrone Google as king of search. A company might be started in a garage somewhere that will become the next google in seven years. People will always have an option for their search engine.

IIT All About - Google Video

IIT All About - Google Video

A video showing what it takes to get into Indian Institute of Technology, and the impacts its graduates have on US business and Indian business.

Citigroup up to 50 by March 06

After this lull in the stock, looks like C can get back up to 50 next month maybe with some good earnings news. The March 06 call option is a risky bet with big payouts.

MOT up to 25 by March 06

With some positive earnings news from MOT or other phone makers, this stock can get back to its 52 week high levels by next month. This makes the call option for March at 25 a risky bet. The new slider version of the RAZR seems to be creatings some buzz in the US after its release in Asia. Still, no other phone company has made a phone that competes with RAZR in cool factor. It's the iPod of cell phones. Even MOT's recent attempts like the SLVR are not getting the attention of the RAZR. Other good news on the horizon is the smart phone PDA based on the RAZR.

Redemption

A front page article in Barron's states Google's stock can trade up to 50% lower than current prices. As written before here and by many other doubters, the stock's valuation cannot be mainatained any longer. Barron's prediction of a price around $188 seems a bit harsh along with an expected P/E of 30. This still seems more rational than the current stock price. The stock's chart price is following the downward part of many previous bubble stocks such as Yahoo or AOL during the internet boom years. Maybe GOOG will come down to extremely low levels and bounce back well like Yahoo's stock over the past three years. Appears to be a good time to make money in GOOG options with the volatility.

Weakness in Goog

this stock has some weakness in the last month. It hasn't had a good rally up since dropping down below 370. I think this could be the beginning of the end for this stock. Look at Yahoo's stock chart after its run up, there's a time when it will stall for a while before it comes down to a reasonable level.

HPQ Put Options

HPQ has had a nice run up, especially today when it moved up more than $1. Currently, the put options for March 2006 are trading at a discounted level. With the stock currently at $32, the put options for 27.5 and 30 are trading at less than $1 each. HPQ should pull back soon after this run up, and the put options can increase in price. Current stockholders in HPQ can also hedge against losses by buying put options at 32.5.

Publish your Investment Ideas for Money

Submit an article to investjs@gmail.com, and if it's chosen to be published on this site, you'll receive a $5 payment by Paypal. Articles can be as short as two paragraphs. If you would like to promote your investment site, you can submit an article without getting a payment and have a link for your site on the article. Articles must be original content, and your e-mail address should be your Paypal e-mail address. Articles will have the author's e-mail address under its title.

2006 Tax Guide: Special Edition - Yahoo! Finance

2006 Tax Guide: Special Edition - Yahoo! Finance

Railroad Stocks

nittanylion05@gmail.com
According to a recent study done by a major consulting firm, a 1% increase in price can lead to a 12.3% increase in operating profit when holding other factors constant. Meanwhile cost cutting is nowhere near as profitable since the same study showed a 1% decrease in variable cost only leads to an 8.7% increase in operating profit and 1% decrease in fixed cost equals a 2.6% increase in operating profit. A careful analysis of industries that are able to raise prices, without losing customers to substitute products, can lead to some attractive stock picks.

One of these industries is the railroad industry. The only viable low cost long haul substitute to rail transportation is commercial trucking. Since trucking requires more fuel per lb. then railroads, the high price of gasoline has put trucking companies at a disadvantage. Railroads are able to pass along the increase their fuel costs and raise prices to improve profitability without the risk of losing customers to trucking companies. Also railroads are benefiting from the continuing rise in cross-Pacific shipping and the soaring demand for coal as a powerplant fuel.

Even though many railroads company’s stocks have undergone a dramatic rise in the past 12 months, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp (BNI) still has room left for appreciation. It recently announced an increase in its freight surcharge program and signed an agreement with the Canadian National railway to share track and terminals in certain locations. The company has earmarked $400 million for track and facilities expansion between high demand locations and is adding locomotive capacity with advanced technology to monitor track usage. So don’t let the company’s high share price scare you ($78.75) or its $25 rise over the last year scare you, this company is going higher.

Nickel Options

Nickel options are options trading for $0.05. They offer a high reward to risk ratio. At five cents per share, a contract of options for 100 shares costs $5. Nickel options are available on call options and put options where the strike price is significantly different from the current market value. Instead of risking a lot of capital in one stock, an investor can make a small bet on a nickel option and make a similar profit (see Options Profit Analyzer). For example, if a stock is trading at $29 currently, the call option to buy the stock at $35 expiring the upcoming month can be available for $0.05 per share. The market has valued the call at a minimal price because most people in the market believe the stock will not reach the strike price in the amount of time given. However, if an investors believes the stock will reach $36 within one month, he can buy six contracts for the 35 call for $30 ($0.05/share *100 * 6). If the stock does reach $36 before the expiration date, his initial $30 investment will become $600 ($1/share*100*6). Let's say this investor only $1000 dollars to invest. Initially he would have only been able to buy about 33 shares in the company, and his profit from 29 to 36 would have been $221. Instead of risking his entire investment account into one stock, he was able to make a larger profit with less money. The other outcome could have been losing all of his option investment if the stock failed to reach $36 or went below $29. In this instance, he would have lost $60. In this investment scenario, the risk benefit ratio allowed him to multiply his money tenfold. Nickel options and options in general do have the ability to completely eradicate your initial investment, big or small, but their rewards can be extraordinary.

Google crashing in after hours

Google's stock is crashing in after hours after reporting stellar but not stellar enough earnings. The stock was down as much as 16% in after hours trading. Currently, its down about $55. Tomorrow, several billion dollars of the American public's wealth will appear to go into thin air. However, the truth is that this money went from the public to the insiders and early investors in Google in the first two years after Google's IPO. Caveat emptor. The stock had a small move for those who bought today, however, for the people that invested in the options, tomorrow should be a profitable day for those who invested in call and put options or were bearish on the stock and only had put options.

WWWFinance - Option Valuation: Campbell R. Harvey

WWWFinance - Option Valuation: Campbell R. Harvey

Options Profit Analyzer

Options Profit Analyzer: "Options allow investors the right to buy or sell a stock at a certain price. Although they are the most risky investment vehicles available, with the potential to lose all of your capital, they can provide great returns on small investments. An option to buy a stock at a certain price is a 'call', while an option to sell a stock at a certain price is a 'put'. The specified price is the 'strike price'. Options expire on the third Friday of each month. At this time, the owner of the option can excercise the option's right or it will expire worthless. People invest in options to gain the underlying right, or they speculate on the value of the option increasing before the option expires. The value of the option depends on the price of the underlying stock, the time remaining before expiration, and market psychology. The 'intrinsic value' of the option is price difference between the strike price and the underlying stock's price. An option to buy a stock at $40 when the stock is trading at $45 would have an intrinsic price value of $5. The 'premium' of the option is the price above its intrinsic value. The premium is directly related to the time remaining before expiration. An option is worth more with plenty of time before expiration, and its premium decreases as the option expiration date approaches. Market psychology can also increase the premium of an option. Stocks with bullish sentiment can carry higher premiums on call options at any price above the current stock's price. Premiums are a market driven value.
The significant risk of options is that they can become worthless if they expire 'out of the money'. An option to buy a stock at $50 when the stock is trading at $45 would be worthless upon expiration. All of an initial investment can be lost.
Options Profit Analyzer is a calculator based only on the option's intrinsic value. It does not factor in premium costs since premium is determined by the people of the market. The profit is based on a person buying an option at low price and selling it at a higher price before the option expires. Options are sold in contracts, with each contract representing 100 options. Here's how the Options Profit Analyzer works. This calculator can calculate for puts and calls. To calculate profits for a call option, place a higher expected stock price than the strike price. To calculate profits for a put option, place a lower expected stock price than the strike price. "

'India Everywhere' in the Alps - New York Times

'India Everywhere' in the Alps - New York Times: "The question is whether India's unspoken message - that it is another China - is credible. After all, China still grows faster than India, has attracted 10 times the foreign direct investment and has built a gleaming network of airports and highways that make India look ramshackle."

Great trade on Google's drop

A put option to sell Google shares at 420 was available for a nickel prior to Friday, January 20, 2006. On that day, GOOG dropped from 440 to 400. So, to put this in perspective, one could have bought ten contracts representing 1000 shares for $50. By the end of the day, the value of each of those options was worth at least $20, since the stock had sunk to $399. The value of those ten contracts for the right to sell 1000 shares of Google at 420 went from $50 to $20,000.

Light Reading - VOIP - Google Is Overvalued - Telecom

Light Reading - VOIP - Google Is Overvalued - Telecom: "Google's current valuation - about $130 billion - assumes hypergrowth of both revenue and profits for many years into the future (62% compound annual growth rate to January, 2011, by my calculations). "

A great technical article about Google's current and future valuation.

10 Hot Techs That Aren't Apple or Google

10 Hot Techs That Aren't Apple or Google
Great article about tech stocks that are poised to move up.

TXN trading range

TXN is moving between 31 and 34. It's a good opportunity to make a short term ten percent gain or to make bigger profits with a call option at 30 or 35. The resistance level around the high 34s will take a while to break. Analysts price estimates are around 37. Positive news from TXN or an analyst upgrade would move the stock upward; otherwise, the stock doesn't appear to be able to reach higher levels by trading alone. Another factor holding the stock back is the reelback in the market recently. The price of Texas Instruments has also dipped below the 50 day movig average for the first time in two months.

thinkorswim Home - Stock Option Investing - Stock Option Trading - Online Trading Stocks and Options

thinkorswim Home - Stock Option Investing - Stock Option Trading - Online Trading Stocks and Options

Dueling Fools: Options Bull [Fool.com: Commentary] January 12, 2006

Dueling Fools: Options Bull [Fool.com: Commentary] January 12, 2006: "'Options don't lose people money. People lose people money.'"

CSCO moving up to 20

Cisco has been moving up well from 17.50 this past week based on positive analyst sentiments. The stock looks like it will reach 20 by next week. A call option on CSCO at 17.50 would profit nicely from the current small move from 18.97 to 20.

Google - Week in Review - New York Times

Google - Week in Review - New York Times