Beware This Tech-Tonic Shift In The Global Technology Sector

by Tony Daltorio, Investment U Research

If you’re betting on a recovery in technology stocks based on third quarter earnings reports from companies such as IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), you’re not alone.

While economists and commentators debate the issue, many investors have already placed large bets on a V-shaped recovery for the tech sector.

They have some good reason to think so too, since the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has risen 70% from its March lows. The problem is, they’re expecting “business as usual” in the industry… meaning they think spending will pick up the way it did in the 1990s.

Kris Gopalakrishman, CEO of Indian tech giant, Infosys (Nasdaq: INFY) – a company in the Xcelerated Profits Report portfolio – sees it differently,

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Investing in Emerging Markets: Three Reasons Why You Should Buy India, Not China

by Karim Rahemtulla, Advisory Panelist

India has come a long way since 1997.

The year marked my first trip to the country – and I remember it well, as I headed back to America with a resounding “sell” ringing in my ears with regard to India’s investments.

At that time, the market was clearly manipulated by several large traders. One in particular was Hershad Metha, referred to as the “Big Bull.” And bull is exactly what he fed to the masses, as he borrowed money from the government-owned banks and plowed the cash into the stock market. Result? The mother of all (fake) bull markets, created by a man with a choice word missing from the end of his nickname!

Knowing this, and the precarious position of investing in emerging markets

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Commonly seen as a move countering rival Hewlett Packard's (HPQ) acquisition of EDS back in May, this morning Dell, Inc. (DELL) announced it will buy Perot Systems (PER) for $3.9 billion -- $30 per share of Class A common stock. Perot Systems was founded by former presidential candidate Ross Perot in 1988; Perot founded EDS a quarter-century earlier. The price tag amounts to a 68% premium in PER shares from Friday's close, and today the stock is trading accordingly -- up nearly $12 per share so far this morning. As for DELL shares, the tech giant is down over 5% at this point today, perhaps on concerns about the price and/or the nuts and bolts of implementing Perot Systems into Dell's technology services group. It had been increasingly clear that Dell would need to make some sort of move to stay competitive with global ...

The NASDAQ was up 0.13%, closing the day as the only major index in the black.  The S&P was down 0.17% to end the day at 908.13, with the Dow Jones down 0.34% to close the day at 8474.85.  The 10-year treasury saw prices increase as the yield decreased to 3.245%.  Crude and gold were both up today settling at %59.65 and $926.70 respectively. 

In earnings news today, Hewlett-Packard [HPQ: 36.58, +0.85 (+2.38%)] announced earnings after hours, reporting earnings of $1.7 billion, or $0.70 per share as opposed to the street’s estimate of $2.1 billion, or $0.80 per share.  Sales were down 3% to $27.5 billion as both individuals and businesses spent less on computers, printers, and other services.  HP reported that revenue in its personal systems group dropped 19% to $8.2 billion, with revenue falling in laptops and desktops, declining 13% and 24% respectively.  The tech giant also announced that its printing and imaging

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It is the battle of the tech titans as both RIMM and APPL battle for the smartphone market share. Although Research In Motion is a well established tech giant as the creator of the BlackBerry, they may have hit a wall with Apple, Inc.’s launch of the phenomenally popular iPhone.

This tech battle may create a way to trade these markets with a lower risk. During this latest rally, RIMM did not perform well, nor were the changes in price as exuberant as the shares for AAPL.

I am looking for the general market to show weakness through the next week… with that said, I expect to see RIMM slide faster than AAPL. It may be conservative trading strategy to buy Apple and short Research In Motion. Take an equal amount of money for each market and buy a corresponding number of shares to balance the positions and decrease risk.

This is what …

It is the battle of the tech titans as both RIMM and AAPL battle for the smartphone market share. Although Research In Motion is a well established tech giant as the creator of the BlackBerry, they may have hit a wall with Apple, Inc.’s launch of the phenomenally popular iPhone.

This tech battle may create a way to trade these markets with a lower risk. During this latest rally, RIMM did not perform well, nor were the changes in price as exuberant as the shares for AAPL.

Video on next page

I am looking for the general market to show weakness through the next week… with that said, I expect to see RIMM slide faster than AAPL. It may be conservative trading strategy to buy Apple and short Research In Motion. Take an equal amount of money for each market and

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First-quarter earnings season is just about over. Next week, we will get numbers from more retailers, including Target (TGT) and Lowe's (LOW), as well as tech giant Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). After those reports, there will not be a great deal of earnings news until after Independence Day.

This seasonal void will cause the number of earnings estimate revisions to drop, removing a catalyst for the markets. As I said in the latest Zacks Elite video, there have been approximately 15,000 revisions made during the past 4 weeks. That total will likely be cut in half. Furthermore, as the number of estimate revisions fall, the proportion of negative to positive revisions will increase.

In the absence of earnings data, what is there to move the markets? General Motors (GM) is facing a looming deadline and bankruptcy looks likely. I'm not so concerned about whether the company will

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A day after reports of Apple's (AAPL) potential deal with Verizon (VZ) on a new version of the iPhone, Microsoft (MSFT) was said to be eying the launch of a touch-screen multimedia cell phone on the carrier's network by early 2010.

Citing people close to the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Microsoft's "Pink" project is aiming to produce a phone that would extend its Windows Mobile cell phone operating system in a bid to compete directly with the iPhone.

While Microsoft may involve a third party to manufacture the device like Google (GOOG) did with the Android platform, the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant is likely to play an integral role in its design and development.

The iPhone presently is available exclusively on AT&T's (T) wireless network. However, in spite of not having the

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The markets rallied strongly today with the NASDAQ up 3.29%.  Both the Dow and S&P were up closing at 7978.08 and 834.38 respectively.  Price on the 10 year treasury was up and the yield was down, to settle at 2.759%.  Oil was up today settling at $52.64, while gold contracts were down settling at $908.90.

Dow Chemical [DOW: 11.00, +1.06 (+10.66%)] had a great day, up over 12%, after announcing today that it was going to sell Morton International to Germany’s K+G for $1.68 billion in cash.  This move comes a day after announcing that it had closed the deal to buy Rohm & Hass for $16.4 billion.  Dow acquired a $12.5 billion bridge loan, new investments, and cut its dividend by 64% in efforts to buy the company.  The sale of Morton will help to pay down debt caused by the Rohm & Hass purchase and analysts believe

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The markets were up today with the tech heavy NASDAQ closing at 1528.59.  The Dow Jones was up 1.14% to close at 7607.72, while the S&P 500 was up 1.29% to close at 797.70.  Price on the 10-year rose with yields falling to 2.691%.  The price of both oil and gold rose today settling at $49.66 and $925.00 respectively.

Alcoa [AA: 7.54, +0.20 (+2.72%)] helped the Dow today as an analyst from Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock.  Alcoa has been hurt lately as the price of aluminum and other commodities have fallen in the global market.  Investors believe that Alcoa is undervalued right now, and they believe the global economy will turn around soon.  Alcoa announced earlier it was cutting its dividend and selling stock and debt in an effort to cut cost and conserve cash in the down economy.    Investors are beginning to buy shares at what they believe is an attractive price

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