Nasdaq: GOOG
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This Hiring Coup Could Jump-Start Google's Stock
Futurist Ray Kurzweil is one of the world's busiest people.
And that's no surprise. A best-selling author and subject of a major documentary, Kurzweil has an unmatched talent for explaining how cutting-edge technology is going to change our lives.
That means this "A-list" speaker is always on the go, traveling the globe as he spreads his futurist technology gospel.
That's why I made sure to buttonhole Kurzweil at the recent Singularity Summit technology conference. As he headed into the San Francisco lecture hall to share the newest insights into how the brain works, I was able to walk along with him and have a quick chat.
As we talked, little did I know that Kurzweil was working on something that would stun the tech world in a manner that's usually reserved for one of his predictions.
No, I'm not talking about the buzz that's been generated by his new book, How to Create a Mind, the Secret of Human Thought Revealed.
Kurzweil, as it turned out, had accepted a major position at none other than Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), the Web giant that is to search what the tech futurist is to prognostication.
And Monday was Kurzweil's first day on the job as the company's new Director of Engineering.
A lot of investors have glossed over this news. That's a big mistake. As I see it, this single hire speaks volumes about how Google views itself, and how it intends to keep building shareholder value.
If you're interested in Google, this is a bit of strategic intelligence that you absolutely have to know.
Here's why...
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Don't Bet on a RIM Stock Rally (Nasdaq: RIMM)
Research in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq: RIMM), maker of the BlackBerry phone, traded sharply higher yesterday (Thursday) after Goldman Sachs analyst Simona Jankowski upgraded RIMM to a "Buy" with a price target of $16. RIM gained 4% Thursday to close at $11.54.
Although there are a growing number of bulls among analysts on the Street, there is still a large and vocal group of bears who think that RIM is done for.
Research in Motion is planning to launch its BlackBerry 10 smartphone on Jan. 30, 2013. The company is pinning its hopes of survival on the BlackBerry 10 taking a small piece of the smartphone market away from giants Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), which split the smartphone market between their iOS and Android operating systems, respectively.
Goldman Sachs' Jankowski says that the BlackBerry 10 (BB10 in the terse to the point of being unintelligible analyst-speak) doesn't even have to be a success for RIMM shares to perform well.
"We now assess a 30 percent chance of success for BB10 given positive early reviews, broad-based carrier support, attractive features, and interest by carriers and consumers in broadening the field beyond Android/iOS," Jankowski wrote.
Other analysts are even more bullish.
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Why the Fate of Microsoft Stock Hinges on Windows 8
Any hope of jolting Microsoft stock out of years of stagnation lies with the success of its latest attempts to capture a slice of mobile computing.
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) is only a bit player in mobile, currently dominated by devices running Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS and Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android. That's why the company now has a new mobile strategy, with the focal point being Windows 8, the latest version of Microsoft's dominant computer operating system.
Windows 8 is optimized for the mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones that have stolen the thunder from traditional PCs, a market Microsoft long dominated.
Microsoft has also ventured into mobile hardware with its new Surface tablet.
Now Microsoft is betting that the Surface tablet will turn heads and that Windows 8 will put it back in the mobile OS game by luring hardware makers away from Android.
"I don't control the macro-environment, but there's a huge opportunity in the explosion of devices," Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein told Reuters. "There's demand for compelling devices and a connected set of cloud experiences. That's what Windows 8 is all about."
The Redmond, WA-based company must succeed in mobile to secure a new source of growth capable of moving Microsoft stock out of the doldrums where it has languished for more than a decade. The current 10-year return for MSFT is -6.39% -- yes, negative. Rolling back to November 2001 puts the return on Microsoft stock at -15.75%.
Owners of Microsoft stock can only cross their fingers and hope the bet pays off.
How Mobile Success Could Help Microsoft Stock
Microsoft had little choice but to shift its attention to mobile computing. That's where the money is in tech today.
Apple's profits have soared from about $2 billion in FY 2006 to $41.7 billion in FY 2012, almost entirely on the strength of the iPhone and iPad.
More recently, Korean-based Samsung Electronics (PINK: SSNLF) has emerged as the dominant Android hardware maker, with its profits rocketing 91% in the September quarter on strong sales of its Galaxy series of smartphones.
Sales growth in mobile devices has soared over the past few years. Research firm Gartner expects combined global sales of tablets and smartphones to reach 821 million units this year and rise 46% to pass the 1.2 billion mark next year - triple that of global PC sales.
So far Microsoft hasn't been able to grab much of this market, with its Windows operating systems on just 2.4% of smartphones, and about 4% of tablets.
But these projections by research firm IDC see that changing with Windows 8...
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Stock Market Today: Fiscal Cliff Fears Can’t Stop This 160% Gainer
The stock market today opened flat before turning negative as negotiations on the fiscal cliff have not progressed, outweighing Greece's new deal concerning its debt.
- Greece Close to Massive Bailout- Late Monday the International Monetary Fund, Eurozone finance ministers, and Greece came to an agreement that drastically eases the terms regarding Greece's repayment of debt and sets the stage for a third bailout. The deal lowers interest rates for bailout loans, suspends interest payments for a decade, pushes the deadline back for final repayments until the 2040s, and initiates a bond buyback program. Greece is also now on the brink of receiving a $44.7 billion loan beginning Dec. 13. "The big challenge now is to implement the decisions," Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said. "Greece has huge potential." The agreed upon measures aim to bring Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio down to 124% by 2020 from the projected level of 190% in 2014. The deal was accomplished by installing unprecedented measures such as carefully monitoring how Greece spends the debt, keeping an account strictly for debt servicing, and insisting that Greece completes the bond buyback before receiving more aid. "Euro-zone countries have put their money where their mouth is," Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING Group NV in Brussels told Bloomberg News. "However, it is clearly not a carte blanche for Greece but rather a very tight leash."
- Fiscal Cliff Talks Resume- Congress returned from its Thanksgiving recess and the fiscal cliff will be at the forefront of discussions this week. After last week's short burst of optimism there has not been any further progress on a deficit reduction deal. But for now consumers seem unfazed by the whole debacle, as today the consumer confidence index reached levels not seen since February 2008. The onset of higher taxes coupled with deep spending cuts was thought to lower consumer confidence, but instead consumers spent a record amount of money through Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The consumer confidence gauge interestingly showed expectations for six months from now, when we could be off the fiscal cliff, unexpectedly rose. The percentage of respondents expecting more jobs to be available in six months rose to its highest level since February 2011, and the percentage expecting to buy a home in the next six months hit a new all-time high. "The consumer is in a better place than several years ago," Michael Gapen, a New York-based senior U.S. economist at Barclays PLC (NYSE ADR: BCS), told Bloomberg. "A lot of the numbers are improving, whether it is household balance sheets or the state of the housing market or employment."
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Can Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Nexus Dethrone the Apple iPad?
When Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) launched its new line of Nexus tablets a couple weeks ago, it was a shot across the bow of Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) dominant iPad.
Even though Hurricane Sandy forced Google to cancelan event planned to show off the new gadgets, it went ahead and launched its new products anyway.
The timing was no coincidence.
Google's latest salvo came less than a week after Apple introduced a smaller, less expensive iPad Mini with a 7.9-inch display to compete against the Nexus 7 tablet.
It's no wonder these guys are at war. Tablet sales are expected to hit $29.1 billion this year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
That number is $10 billion higher than projected in January, escalating the battle to a whole new level.
Clearly both companies are feeling the heat.
And even though Apple is the clear leader in market share, Google has rolled out cheaper devices that are attracting many users-especially price-conscious ones.
The question is: Do Google's Android-powered devices have enough firepower to crack Apple's grip on the tablet market?
It's still too early to tell, but there's good reason to believe the Internet search giant may just pull it off.
Here's a look at what the new tablets have under the hood.
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Google Glasses Prove the Future is Already Here
Getting a truly modern outlook requires a little help.
Fortunately, you may soon be able to buy a unique pair of eyeglasses that do the job for you.
In early April, Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) unveiled a stylish pair of Web-connected spectacles that serve as a computer you wear on your face (or perhaps a smartphone for your eyes).
They are called "Google Glasses" and they are a great twist on the "heads up" displays used by U.S. defense forces.
Most of us have never seen anything quite like this before - except in sci-fi films. But this high-tech, mostly hands-free device could change the way you live your daily life.
Put these eyeglasses on, and you have instant access your email. You can check the weather, get traffic updates, display maps and walking directions on the go, take photos, send texts, schedule meetings, listen to music, and make wireless video calls.
And get this. Google Glasses function by moving your head - nodding, for one - or by clicking a small button.
This is the kind of breakthrough I have in mind when I say we are living in the Era of Radical Change. The next two decades will be like nothing we have seen before.
And it all started right here in the good ol' USA.
Since the transistor was invented at Bell Labs in New Providence, NJ, back in 1947, the U.S. has vaulted ahead of the rest of the world at every major high-tech milestone.
In fact, as I like to remind readers, a simple law explains this steady stream of innovations we have enjoyed for decades. Named for a Silicon Valley genius, Moore's Law states that computing power doubles about every two years.
Look at it this way...
In the 1960s, for the first time people started using basic electronic calculators to perform addition and multiplication functions.
Today - just 50 years later - they can sport Google Glasses that make video phone calls. (Now you'll believe me when I say what's next... I believe that in the very near future we will be able to upgrade our IQs with devices implanted inside our brains.)
Thus, Google Glasses are so much more than just the latest cool gadget. They give us a great insight into what the near future holds.
It's going to be a thrilling ride.
Google Glasses and the Era of Radical Change
According to early reports, Google could hit the market with these glasses by the end of 2012. But let me be blunt about one thing. Cynics have blasted Google over this project. They note that the Web giant has made no promise it will ever release the glasses.
That's true. But it misses the big-picture view.
Even if Google shelves its "Project Glass," I predict that someone else will quickly step in to fill the void. And that option could turn out to be the better bet for investors.
After all, with its $200 billion market cap Google is such a big company that these glasses, as cool as they are, may not move the stock's price all that much.
Either way, however, we win.
If Google Glasses do hit the market in time for the holiday, then we can all go out and grab a pair. If not, then we can look for a small-cap leader that's gearing up to bring them (or something similar) to market and then invest in that company.
In that case, what we hope for as tech investors is a firm like InvenSense Inc. (NYSE: INVN).
This is a small-cap leader that makes motion sensors used in a wide range of electronics, including smartphones equipped with Google's Android operating system.
Even after a huge recent sell off, the stock has returned more than 35% so far this year. Compared with Google's year-to-date loss of about 6%, InvenSense is on fire.
As it turns out, there are two small companies on my radar screen with products in the same space as Google's glasses.
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Tech Stocks: Will Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Wow Investors Today with Earnings?
Investors have a lot to look for when Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) reports earnings after the bell today (Thursday). The company needs to prove it has plans to stay in the lead among tech companies - and fight off the encroaching threat of social media giant Facebook Inc.
Investors are hoping Google avoids a repeat of last quarter's report.
Mountain View, CA-based Google reported a rare earnings miss in January, sending the stock tumbling some 8%. Google's stock price has rebounded since, recouping nearly all of the loss, and currently sits just 5.5% below its 52-week high.
Analysts expect first quarter sales to rise nearly 25%, and that earnings per share will rise 20% to $9.65, CNN Money reports. For the full year, industry gurus forecast growth of 22% and a pleasing 18% profit increase.
A lot is riding on Google's first-quarter earnings results, not just for the company, but also for the overall market. Gangs of Google fans hope the favored company will follow bellwether Alcoa Inc.'s (NYSE: AA) lead and report better-than-expected numbers.
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Is Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Plotting a Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) Takeover?
Yahoo! Inc.'s (Nasdaq: YHOO) never-ending troubles may renew Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOG) appetite for the once-mighty Internet giant.
After all, it wouldn't be the first time Google considered the deal.
In October, Google talked to at least two private-equity firms about helping them finance a deal to buy Yahoo Inc.'s core business, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.
But the latest bout of attrition at the senior management level and a flurry of strategic blunders may rekindle Google's desire to acquirethe struggling firm.
Why Buy Yahoo?
Even so, many investors are questioning why anyone would want to buy Yahoo.
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Android@Home, Project X, and Other Secrets of Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG)
Lately, Google Inc.'s (Nasdaq: GOOG) Mountain View, CA-based headquarters have looked more like the clandestine lair of a Bond villain than a business center.
The company has poured more than $120 million dollars into construction projects that are fit to house testing labs and top-secret initiatives with names like "Project X."
One theory about what's going on at the Googleplex involves the development of a driverless car.
And that may well be true - but the more immediate and practical use for the renovation would be to expand the base from which the company competes with rival Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL).
Google's war with Apple continues to escalate as the two companies fight for ground in three major consumer markets: mobile devices, Internet search and digital media.
Google fired its first salvo at Apple with the introduction of its Android operating system, which has come to dominate the smartphone market.
Apple recently retaliated by introducing Siri - the voice-activated search engine that has been a major selling point for the latest iPhone.
Still, the biggest clash is set to take place in your living room.
Google and Apple are fighting to be the company that supplies your media at home, stores it for you in a cloud drive, and then distributes it to your wireless devices.
Google has even expressed interest in bringing other appliances into the fold, connecting things like lighting, heating, and air conditioning via the Android operating system - a seamless integration dubbed "Android@Home."
The goal is to let you control every electronic device in your home through a smartphone or tablet.
This is a battle for what futurists call the "digital living room."
And it's just getting started. Here's a sneak peak at what's in store.
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