The U.S. smart-phone market is growing at a rapid pace despite the ongoing global economic slowdown. A recent analysis by CTIA Wireless has revealed that the country’s wireless service providers have generated a massive $19.4 billion of data revenues from smart-phone users during the first half of 2009. This is an improvement of 31% year over year. This is primarily due to a shift in consumer preference towards feature-enhanced high-end PDA devices from ordinary mobile handsets used primarily for voice telephony. The PDA market size is likely to approach $200 billion by 2012, according to various industry sources.   This grand opportunity provides massive scope for telecom service providers, equipment manufacturers, chipset developers, and wireless tower operators to retain new users and grow revenues moving forward. According to the CTIA Wireless report, at present, the U.S. has more than 246 million data capable devices with 40 million smart-phones or ...

Qualcomm Inc (QCOM) is all set to start selling chipsets for smart-books from the next quarter onward. The company is the largest developer of digital mobile chipsets based on CDMA wireless technology. This new venture into the smart-book market will be a vertical diversification for the company. A smart-book is a pocket digital assistant (PDA) that functions like a mobile phone but resembles a small-size notebook with full keyboards. The chipset market for computer is primarily dominated by Intel Inc (INTC). Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) and Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) are other major players. Qualcomm has developed smart-book chipsets based on its state-of-the-art Snapdragon platform technology. A path-breaking initiative of the company is the convergence of mobile computing with the next-generation Snapdragon platform. These chipsets have been designed for pocket-sized portable computing devices. Using Snapdragon chipsets, the consumers will no ...

Several key second-quarter earnings reports could either validate or undercut assertions that the U.S. economy is poised for recovery.

After the Commerce Department reported last week that retail sales fell 0.1% in July from June, and 8.3% year-over-year, retailers will stay in the limelight this week as several high-profile companies report second-quarter earnings. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), Limited Brands Inc. (NYSE: LTD), and Gap Stores (NYSE: GPS) are among the big-name retailers set to report.

Meanwhile, the Hewlett-Packard Co’s (NYSE: HPQ) report will provide a further glimpse into the world of technology, and The Home Depot Co.’s (NYSE: HD) results will confirm or counter claims that the recent housing rebound is for real.  On that note, the upcoming economic releases include July housing starts and existing home sales, while the wholesale inflation gauge may show that price pressures are not

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PDA, BRF - Brasil Foods S.A.

ERHE, ERHC Energy Inc, ERHE.OB

DrStockPick Watch List!

 

DrStockPick Watch List! for Monday August 17, 2009

 

My Picks for Monday August 17, 2009 are:

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PDA, BRF - Brasil Foods S.A.

PDA through its subsidiaries, engages in the production and sale of poultry, pork, beef cuts, milk, dairy products, and processed food products in Brazil and internationally. Its products include frozen whole and cut chickens, partridges, and quail; and frozen pork and beef cuts, such as loins and ribs, and whole carcasses

**Last Friday after Closing Bell, PDA reported a second quarter 2009 net income 70% rise on the same quarter in 2008.

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The struggling mobile handset developer Motorola Inc. (MOT) has decided to lay off 74 more workers from its mobile phone division. Earlier this year, the company had decided to lay off 3,000 employees in this division.

In spite of continuous business restructuring for the past year, the segment is being seriously challenged by devastating decline in sales volume since the beginning of fiscal 2008. During the first quarter of 2009, the company sold just 14.7 million units, down approximately 46% year-over-year and down 23.4% from previous quarter.

According to industry findings, Motorola now commands approximately 6% global market share for handsets, significantly behind Nokia (38%) (NOK), Samsung (18.8%), and LG (9.2%). None of its new launches products have favorable market traction as its iconic RAZR mobile phones had a few years ago.

Consumer preferences have shifted towards high-end feature-rich wireless PDA devices and smart-phones, which are gaining

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The high-end smartphone market is expected to witness intense competition during the second half of 2009. Although the ordinary mobile handset market has reduced in size during the past year and is expected to lose ground further as a result of the global economic downturn, several industry research firms are forecasting the smart-phone mobile market to continue growing.This is primarily due to a shift in consumer preference towards feature-enhanced PDA devices from low-end mobile handsets used primarily for voice telephony. Unit sales of smartphones increased 12.7% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the year-ago quarter.The PDA market size is likely to approach $200 billion by 2012. This grand opportunity provides a huge scope for several mobile devices developers to grow revenues moving forward.During June 2009, Apple Inc (AAPL) launched the latest version of its iconic iPhone called "iPhone ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 20, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research highlights Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais, or CEMIG (CIG) as the Bull of the Day and Motorola (MOT) the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Goldman Sachs (GS), E-Trade (ETFC) and Charles Schwab (SCHW).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2676.

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

We are keeping our Buy recommendation on Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais, or CEMIG (CIG). Although the company posted lower-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2009, those results were impacted by a few non-recurring items.

However, the short-to-medium term outlook remains promising as demand for electricity in Brazil keeps growing. Despite the global credit crunch, we

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While we maintain our Sell rating for Motorola (MOT), we have adjusted our valuation target higher based on current market conditions. MOT is a leading manufacturer of mobile handsets, network infrastructure, and cable products.

Revenue in the last reported quarter was significantly below our estimates due to continued weakness of the mobile handset sales. We are not convinced that a turnaround will take place without a major restructuring initiative as the company is exposed to lingering economic headwinds, lower overall worldwide demand for its handsets, a lack of high-end competitive PDA wireless devices, and reduced visibility for near-term revenue improvement.

However, stringent cost control measures taken by the management and development of new smart-phone devices are some initial positive indicators that will be monitored for longer-term rating consideration.Zacks Investment Research

Highlights include Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), Pearson Plc (PSO), John Wiley & Sons (JW.A), The New York Times Co. (NYT) and The Washington Post Co. (WPO).Can Amazon's New Kindle Save Newspapers?Not on its own.Amazon.com (AMZN) unveiled a new, larger Kindle today that publishers of newspapers, textbooks and novels all hope will spur sales.The new Kindle has a 9.7-inch screen, 2.5 times the surface area of the original 6-inch Kindle, launched in 2007, and stores up to 3,500 books, more than double the current Kindle's capacity. The price tag is also much bigger at $489, compared with $389 for the current Kindle.The electronic reader -- which enables consumers to download books anytime, anywhere at a smaller price than the hardcopy version -- has proven popular. According to Amazon, Kindle books now account for 35% of sales of ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - May 5, 2009 - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Palm (PALM), Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (HIG), Callidus Software, Inc. (CALD), Consolidated Edison (ED) and Washington Post Company (WPO).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

PALM: Hype & A Hot Stock

One of this year's hottest stocks has been Palm (PALM). Yes, the Palm that made PDA famous.

Last fall, shares of the company could have purchased for about $1.50 per share. On Friday,

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