*Note: this post isn’t finished.
Is it time to invest? It depends. Let me explain what I mean by that statement. Historically, stocks will go up after the recent carnage that has wiped out over $8 trillion in stock market value. We might even see an up tick in the range of 18% – 22% but don’t be fooled. (more…)
I had written a couple of months ago (Still Time to Buy Apple) that only another large well-know brand could really ride Apple’s significant wave. But I failed to take into account the inherent nature of the Web’s current nature, to splinter off and attack randomly — lets call it “Guerrilla Corp Fair.”
Nokia is the latest to announce a potential iTunes killer concept. What Nokia is proposing is unlimited music downloads for a year with a purchase of one of their phones bungled with their “Comes With Music” service — an extra $20. If the service takes off, this could potentially match or exceed the music industry’s business according to Tero Ojanpera, head of entertainment and communities business at Nokia. This is an interesting and potentially huge win for the music industry and Nokia.
This is one of the best swings at Apples venerable iTunes service and the consumer only wins. So sit back and enjoy the music.
I’m sure many of you have heard Microsoft is trying to buy Yahoo. Deals of this size are hard to pull off and rarely work. I have a better idea: If Microsoft really wanted to win at this game, they should take that $44.6 billion and give seed money to the smartest group of people they could find and have them perform one task — to develop the best search engine in the world. At the end of this task they all share $1 billion. With more than $43 billion left, Microsoft could put what is left to better use, such as free health care for everyone for five years, rebuilding New Orleans, or heck, give some to me, or give it to their shareholders.
When you have too much money you make bad decisions. This is a bad idea. I’ll provide more details as to why in a later post.
MSFT
Don’t you hate when you don’t take your own advice. As I have been prepairing to write this article, The Qualcomm Bounce has raised its head to me once again. The great thing about anything that bounces is that it’s going to do it again and again. So even though I’m kicking myself, it won’t be long before I can regain my composure.
Qualcomm is one of those stocks that is ready to break out of its trading range — you can see and smell it. Though the markets haven’t quite caught on to the upside potential, there are several ways to play Qualcomm’s continued bounce: short, long, or trade often (buy when it’s low, sell when it’s high). (more…)
Apple has had an amazing ride this last year and a half – from a 52-week low of $76.00 to a 52-week high of $194. 30. Since July 2006, the stock has consistently been on an upward trend. The question you should be wondering is how long the upward trend can continue? Within the next year, Apple (AAPL) should see $215 or more.
Why, because the fundamentals are strong. Even as the competition is chasing after their jewels – namely the iPhone and the iPod, they still haven’t been able to capture the current magic of the Apple brand. The combination of great design, more than competent products, and the crown jewel (the Brand itself) leaves the company with a significant lead. Will the competitors one day catch up? Possibly, but it will take time and a combination of the cachet that Apple has been able to garner.
One brand that comes to mind is Sony’s Walkman. If Sony could start firing on all cylanders they could make a run at Apple, but that would take a gargantuan revamp of the company – possible an American style breakup.
*Note: The author does own stock in Apple.