International Business Machines (IBM) said this morning that it would buy a privately held Singapore-based company, RedPill Solutions, to expand in analytics and optimization, particularly in the financial services and telecommunication business area.

While financial details of the deal were not disclosed, the company expects to close the transaction later this year, subject to statutory approvals and regulatory reviews.

IBM’s analytics services offerings will get a boost from this acquisition as RedPill has a strong foothold in research and analytical services in key growth markets such as financial services, telecommunications, technology and hospitality.

Earlier, IBM had agreed to acquire data-analysis and statistical software maker SPSS Inc. (SPSS) for about $1.2 billion in cash to expand its Information on Demand (IOD) software portfolio and business analytics capabilities, including Business Analytics and Optimization Consulting organization and network of Analytics Solution Centers.

We believe IBM has been successfully executing a

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Has the massive Obama stimulus plan put us on a collision course with virulent inflation?

It sure looks that way.

Let me explain …

When the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday said the U.S. economy contracted at a 1% annual pace in the second quarter, the report was actually seen as good news: It was a slower decline than in each of the two prior quarters, and economists had expected a contraction of 1.5%.

“This is good news,” Nariman Behravesh, an economist with IHS Global Insight Inc. (NYSE: IHS), told The San Francisco Chronicle.

But here’s the wild card: Although government spending did increase during the April-to-June quarter, only about 7.7% – $60.4 billion – of U.S. President Barack Obama’s stimulus package had actually made its way into the U.S. economy by June 30, the quarter’s official conclusion. Of that total, the largest component went to U.S. states to …

Has the massive Obama stimulus plan put us on a collision course with virulent inflation? It sure looks that way. Let me explain …

When the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday said the U.S. economy contracted at a 1% annual pace in the second quarter, the report was actually seen as good news: It was a slower decline than in each of the two prior quarters, and economists had expected a contraction of 1.5%.

“This is good news,” Nariman Behravesh, an economist with IHS Global Insight Inc. (NYSE: IHS), told The San Francisco Chronicle.

But here’s the wild card: Although government spending did increase during the April-to-June quarter, only about 7.7% – $60.4 billion – of U.S. President Barack Obama’s stimulus package had actually made its way into the U.S. economy by June 30, the quarter’s official conclusion. Of that total, the largest component went to U.S. states to help defray the jump in

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International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has entered a definitive merger agreement with SPSS Inc. (SPSS) to acquire the later. SPSS is a maker of data-analysis and statistical software. IBM declared that it will be taking over SPSS in an all-cash transaction at a price of $50/share, resulting in a total cash consideration in the merger of approximately $1.2 billion.

The deal offers SPSS a 42.0% higher price than its July 27 closing price. The deal is expected to close later in the second half of 2009.

SPSS's software helps predict companies what is lying ahead of them. We believe this acquisition is expected to further add to IBM's already existing Information on Demand (IOD) software portfolio and business analytics capabilities, including Business Analytics and Optimization Consulting organization and network of Analytics Solution Centers.

We believe this is a great acquisition as it will also strengthen the information service initiative taken by

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Today we are featuring top-performing "Small Cap" equity mutual funds, which mainly invest in equity securities of companies with market capitalizations of less than $1 billion.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of Zacks #1 Rank Small Cap Equity Funds.

3 Strong Performers

Artisan Small Cap Value (ARTVX) seeks long-term capital growth. It uses a bottom-up investment process to construct a diversified portfolio of undervalued firms that have attractive business models.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of small U.S. companies with market capitalizations less than three times the weighted average market cap of companies in the Russell 2000 index.

Maximus Inc. (MMS), Sanderson Farms Inc. (SAFM) and SPSS Inc. (SPSS) are among the fund's top holdings.

Conestoga Capital Advisor Small Cap (CCASX) seeks long-term capital growth

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Today we are featuring top-performing "Small Cap" equity mutual funds, which mainly invest in equity securities of companies with market capitalizations of less than $1 billion.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Small Cap Equity Funds.3 Strong Performers

Artisan Small Cap Value (ARTVX) seeks long-term capital growth. It uses a bottom-up investment process to construct a diversified portfolio of undervalued firms that have attractive business economics.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of small U.S. companies with market capitalizations less than three times the weighted average market cap of companies in the Russell 2000 index.

Maximus Inc. (MMS), Sanderson Farms Inc. (SAFM) and SPSS Inc. (SPSS) are among the fund's top holdings.

Conestoga Capital Advisor Small Cap (CCASX) seeks

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