MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Tuesday, May 22
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11:42 AM Goldman's Bill Shope is encouraged by the huge product refresh announced yesterday by EMC (EMC +0.7%). Shope sees the company's new VMAX systems allowing it to re-take share in the high-end storage market, and believes its OneFS system, a product of the Isilon acquisition, will put EMC on better footing in the network-attached storage (NAS) market relative to NetApp (NTAP). He also likes EMC's continued embrace of flash memory. (earlier) Comment!
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11:34 AM Facebook's (FB) precipitous decline yesterday tripped a circuit-breaker just 15 minutes after the open and triggered restrictions on shorting. The break will remain in place until the end of today's session. Finra data shows that 23.6M Facebook shares were shorted on Friday and 6.4M yesterday. Comment!
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11:03 AM Now that the merger is official, Bloomberg BusinessWeek has published a lengthy piece on Google's (GOOG) plans for Motorola (MMI), and the background of new Motorola chief Dennis Woodside. Woodside promises not to ask for special treatment from the Android unit, but wants to use Google's resources towards goals such as improving battery life and camera image quality. It's added Google will be creating a new Motorola R&D lab focused on advanced technology projects. Comment!
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10:36 AM Preferential treatment from TSMC (TSM) or not, Qualcomm's (QCOM) 28nm baseband chip shortage is leading the likes of Samsung (SSNLF.PK), LG (LGEAF.PK), and HTC to worry they won't be able to meet 4G phone demand. While 4G devices make up only a small percentage of global phone sales, they account for a much larger chunk of high-end sales. And shipments are expected to surge in 2H thanks to the Samsung Galaxy S III and next-gen iPhone. (previous) Comment!
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10:17 AM Microsoft (MSFT) has added facial expression-recognition capabilities to its Kinect motion sensor, courtesy of a software update. The update allows the Kinect to track joints in the upper body, as well as to identify users when sitting. It could prove useful as Microsoft moves forward with its plans to bring the Kinect to PCs. Comment!
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9:53 AM Cree (CREE -9.3%) plummets after announcing CFO John Kurtzweil has resigned to become the CFO of Extreme Networks (EXTR +4.1%). Corporate controller Michael McDevitt will serve as Cree's interim CFO while a search is conducted for a full-time replacement. At Extreme, Kurtzweil replaces interim CFO Jim Judson. (CREE PR) (EXTR PR) Comment!
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9:43 AM It's happening again. Facebook (FB -7%) dives in early trading to $31.65 - shares are now down 17% from their $38 IPO price, though the company's multiples are still high. If Facebook doesn't soon reverse course, class-action suits over last week's increase in its offering price may just be a matter of time. (also) 9 Comments
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9:26 AM 9to5 Mac provides the latest rumor about the next iPhone sporting a larger display. According to its source, Apple (AAPL) has two iPhone prototypes in testing that sport a 3.95" display with an 1136x640 resolution (the 4S' has a 960x640 resolution), which indicates a wider aspect ratio. It's added Apple is testing versions of iOS 6 that are custom-built for the larger display. If the rumor is true, some developers might not be thrilled about the change in dimensions. (previous) 3 Comments
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9:13 AM EMC has acquired Syncplicity, a provider of enterprise cloud storage services, for an undisclosed sum. Snycplicity, whose services compete with Box (formerly Box.net) and Dropbox, complements EMC's Documentum content management software business, and provides it with another value-added service to sell. The purchase comes shortly after a major product refresh that emphasized the cloud-readiness of EMC's solutions. There's some overlap between Syncplicity and VMware's (VMW) Project Octopus. Comment!
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9:08 AM EDGAR Online (EDGR) agrees to be acquired by R.R. Donnelley (RRD) for $70.5M, which includes $1.092 per common share, assumption of debt and payment of an amount equal to the redemption price of the preferred shares. EDGR trading halted. Comment!
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9:02 AM Google (GOOG) closes its $12.5B acquisition of Motorola Mobility (MMI), which remains a separate business. Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha has stepped down and been replaced by "long-time Googler" Dennis Woodside, who was President of Google's Americas region and who has already initiated an executive shakeup at Motorola. (PR) Comment!
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8:52 AM Finra will oversee a process that will try to reconcile the botched trades that resulted from the technical problems that hit Facebook's (FB) debut on Nasdaq (NDAQ). Finra's review adds to an inquiry at the SEC. Comment!
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8:32 AM Analysts at Facebook's (FB) lead underwriters cut their revenue estimates ahead of the IPO, reports Reuters, passing the information on to a few of their key clients. "My biggest hedge fund client told me they lowered their numbers right around mid-roadshow," says an IPO researcher. He still bought the issue, he says, but flipped it immediately and went short. Shares -3.8% premarket. 8 Comments
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8:12 AM Facebook (FB -2.4%) continues to fall as the blame game starts over responsibility for its 11% slump yesterday. Among the chief names are Morgan Stanley (MS), the lead underwriter; Nasdaq (NDAQ), for the tech problems on Friday; and of course Facebook. Among the criticisms: the price was too high and too many shares were sold. 2 Comments
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8:06 AM The FTC speeds up its investigation of Google's (GOOG +0.3%) competitive practices, Bloomberg reports, asking for information from rivals about the company's behavior. The requests to the firms, which include eBay (EBAY), were sent prior to the EU saying yesterday that Google has a "matter of weeks" to resolve a probe and avoid possible fines. Comment!
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