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"And finally we come to an idea worth considering. Yesterday, as you may have heard, the semiconductor specialists at SanDisk (Nasdaq: SNDK ) released an earnings warning that shocked the semi market, sending multiple "pin-action" semi plays spinning. This morning, however, Cantor Fitzgerald suggests it's time to start picking up the pieces.
Specifically, the analyst is urging investors to buy shares of graphics chip maker NVIDIA, which, according to Cantor, is the "primary beneficiary of numerous disruptive technology trends." Cantor believes NVIDIA's "low-power multi-core application [Tegra] processors" will gain traction in the smartphone and tablet space going forward, and will prove particularly popular in the "Windows-8 on ARM" space.
Granted, SanDisk's surprise has taught us all that nothing's certain in semiconductor forecasts. Still, NVIDIA's enviably cheap at 12 times free cash flow, which drops to less than 8 on an enterprise value-to-free cash flow basis, and this provides a sizable margin for error on this guess. Even if Cantor is wrong, even if NVIDIA is able to grow no faster than the 14% growth rate that Wall Street has it pegged for, the stock looks cheap as-is. I'd be a buyer."
http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/04/05/this-just-in-more-upgrades-and-downgrades.aspx
Oracle-Google Dispute Reaches Court
By: Zacks Equity Research
April 04, 2012
Tech giants Oracle (ORCL) and Google (GOOG) are set to lock horns in a legal battle upon their failure to reach an amicable settlement. The first hearing pertaining to a couple of Java patent infringements is scheduled for April 16. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal, who was supervising the settlement procedure for more than six months, cited irreconcilable differences between the two companies for the failure.
To date, the patent lawsuit has seen a number of ups and downs for both the companies. The dispute started when Oracle filed a lawsuit against Google alleging violation of several patents. The main conflict was regarding Google’s Dalvik process virtualization machine (“VM”), which was developed using Java and serves as the backbone of the Android operating system.
Oracle claimed damages worth billions of dollars and appealed for the annihilation of all the infringed products. However, Google denied any infringement and argued that some files it copied from Java are insignificant as test files. Google also said that the copying was required for compatibility because there was not any other language it could use.
Oracle argued that Google infringed only the desirable parts and created many other application programming interfaces (API), incompatible for Android. As a result, many programs written in Java for other platforms were incompatible with Android, and many programs written for Android will not run on other Java platforms and devices.
Oracle also claimed that no court had found that the API for software like Java ineligible for copyright protection. Oracle further argued that program names, even subroutine names, should have the same copyright protection as the underlying code. Oracle also stated that Google’s actions have made it impossible for the company to enter the mobile market in the future, primarily due to the strong competition from android.
In such a scenario, Google requested the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to re-examine the patents that Oracle alleged to be in violation. Google received some favorable judgment, which forced Oracle to tone down its patent and copyright violation claims to 2 from at least 6 filed earlier.
The battle tilted somewhat in favor of Oracle, when the company got hold of an e-mail sent by a Google executive to the head of Google's Android division, which showed that Google recognized that it needed a license for Java. Google asked the judge to withdraw the e-mail, saying it was supposed to remain confidential and that Oracle wrongly revealed it.
The judge not only overruled Google’s request but also dismissed Google’s claim that its advertising revenue was not related to the value of Android and should therefore not be a part of Oracle's damages. Google’s argument centered on the fact that it offers Android for free and so it’s advertising revenue should not be used to pay for damages.
However, Oracle’s upper hand did not last long, as the US district Judge agreed with Google’s argument that the company’s $6.1 billion damage claims were unwarranted. The Judge noted that the “starting point” of the damages should be approximately $100.0 million, depending on various factors. Oracle initially lowered its damage claims to $2.0 billion and after much dilly-dallying submitted a revised maximum damage claim of $226.0 million, which included $57.1 million for patent violations and $169.0 million related to copyright.
However, Google also found the revised amount too high and proposed to pay approximately $2.8 million for the 2 patents covering the period through 2011. Google also proposed to pay Oracle 0.5% of future Android revenue on one patent, which will expire on December 2012 and 0.015% on the second patent till its expires on April 2018. Oracle rejected the offer citing it to be undervalued and thus closed all the routes for further negotiations.
Recently, Google has asked the court to shorten the case duration from its currently scheduled eight weeks. Google also said that it would prefer to appear in front of U.S. Judge William Alsup instead of a Jury. Since, both the companies have already been reprimanded for wasting the court’s time and jury trials tend to linger long; we would not be surprised if the court grants Google’s appeal.
Although it is very difficult to point out an outright winner, we believe that Google has nudged ahead of Oracle. Oracle’s backtracking in terms of the number of patent violations allegations and also the much lower damage claims somewhat reflected Oracle’s apprehension, in our view.
However, an Oracle win will have far-reaching consequences for companies such as Google, which depends heavily on open source. Interoperability within different software will be practically impossible without the clear permission and royalty payments to the copyright holders. On the other hand, it would benefit companies like Oracle, Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) who are extremely zealous in protecting their copyrights
http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/72444/oracle-google-dispute-reaches-court
Exclusive: Falcone mulls voluntary bankruptcy for LightSquared
By Matthew Goldstein
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager Philip Falcone said in an interview on Wednesday he is "seriously considering" filing a voluntary bankruptcy for LightSquared, the struggling telecom startup in which his Harbinger Capital Partners is the majority owner.
Falcone said a bankruptcy is one of several options he is considering as he tries to find a way to salvage the company, which reported a $427 million net loss during the first nine months of 2011, and keep its creditors at bay.
He said a bankruptcy would allow the company time to find a way to deal with communications interference issues that have arisen with the planned buildout of a nationwide wireless broadband network.
Falcone said a bankruptcy would not necessarily wipe out the equity holders of LightSquared because the spectrum it owns retains value.
The fate of LightSquared has become an important concern for investors in Falcone's $4 billion hedge fund, which has sunk roughly 60 percent of its money into the telecom. The success or failure of LightSquared will go a long way in determining Falcone's legacy as a money manager.
It wasn't too long ago that Falcone was the toast of hedge fund row after his fund soared to $26 billion in assets after making a wildly successful bet on the collapse of the housing market. Almost overnight, Falcone went from being a relatively unknown distressed debt trader to a billionaire who was buying one of the most expensive townhouses in Manhattan.
The hedge fund manager made his comments during an interview in his Park Avenue office. He spoke as LightSquared's creditors, which include hedge funds led by Carl Icahn and David Tepper, are weighing whether to declare the company to be in default on a $1.6 billion loan, two people familiar with the situation said.
Falcone's big bet on wireless has always been a risky one given that the telecom space is one with a history of failure and usually requires significant sums of cash to become operational. But Falcone began raising money for LightSquared at a time the capital markets remained less than hospitable to risky ventures and the network has been plagued by concerns it could interfere with GPS for planes and the military.
Some of the hedge fund creditors have told Falcone he has until the end of the month to strike a deal or they might move to force the company into bankruptcy, the sources said.
Falcone's announcement that he is considering a voluntary bankruptcy is a reversal of a stance he took in February after the Federal Communications Commission withdrew a conditional waiver that allowed LightSquared to begin building out its mobile network.
The FCC revoked the waiver after tests revealed that LightSquared's planned network would interfere with crucial satellite systems used for critical services such as aviation safety and the U.S. Department of Defense. The FCC action also came after bitter protests from a trade group representing companies that rely on Global Positioning Systems, which operate in a spectrum close to LightSquared.
In the wake of the FCC decision, LightSquared's main business partner, Sprint, canceled a deal to help it build out the network.
LightSquared's debt has sunk in value since the FCC decision and now trades for about 50 cents on the dollar.
The telecom's troubles are causing real pain for Falcone's hedge fund investors. In February, Harbinger's flagship fund lost 29.6 percent because of a writedown in the value of the LightSquared investment. Last year, the fund lost 47 percent of its value because of an early LightSquared writedown.
But Falcone said he is telling his hedge fund investors that all is not lost. He is confident the value of LightSquared's operating spectrum will rise again once it is able to come up with a plan for resolving the interference issues.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-falcone-mulls-voluntary-bankruptcy-211036644.html
..Finding High Yield in Unlikely Places
By Bret Jensen | TheStreet.com – Tue, Apr 3, 2012 5:30 AM EDT
..
"...Vanguard Natural Resources VNR acquires and develops oil and natural gas properties in the U.S., including the Appalachian and Permian Basins.
Four reasons VNR is a solid play for income investors at under $28 per share:
1.It yields a robust 8.5% and has grown its quarterly distribution by approximately 100% over the past four years.
2.The stock is selling for around 7x operating cash flow and more than tripled cash flow from FY2009 to FY2011.
3.Consensus earnings estimates for FY2012 and FY2013 have increased more than 10% over the past two months.
4.Insiders have been net insider buyers of the stock over the past year and the stock sells for just over 11x forward earnings, which is cheap given its 8% plus yield..."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/finding-high-yield-unlikely-places-093000511.html
Qualcomm, Intel Provide Source Code in Patent Fight, Apple Says
By Joe Schneider - Apr 4, 2012 1:38 AM PT
.
Intel Corp. (INTC) and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) have provided U.S. lawyers with source code that will help prove Apple Inc. isn’t infringing patents of Samsung Electronics Co. (005930), an Australian lawyer for the maker of iPhones said.
Attorneys in the U.S. have inspected the code and Intel and Qualcomm have agreed to provide it to lawyers involved in a patent dispute in Australia, Andrew Fox, Apple’s lawyer, said at a hearing in Sydney today.
“Further non-infringing arguments can be made from that” disclosure of the source code, Fox said today.
Apple and Samsung, the largest maker of mobile phones, are preparing for the start of a trial in which the companies accuse each other of infringing patents. They have filed at least 30 suits on four continents against each other in the past year after talks initiated by former Apple founder Steve Jobs to resolve the disputes broke down.
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, successfully delayed the release of Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet in Australia for four months last year, claiming it infringed patents over touch screen technology and “slavishly” copied its designs. Australia’s High Court allowed the Samsung tablets to go on sale on Dec. 9.
Samsung claims some of Apple’s iPhones and iPads infringe its patents over wireless transmissions.
Apple is Samsung’s single biggest customer, responsible for 7.6 percent of the company’s revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Additional Judges
The Australian trial, scheduled to begin July 9 and to run through Oct. 12, may tax the Sydney federal court, Justice Annabelle Bennett said at today’s hearing over the disclosure of documents.
“It’ll make other cases in this court look like babies,” Bennett said.
The trial may require more than one judge and Bennett said she is considering finding a court-appointed expert to provide testimony at the trial. “I was never a fan of the idea,” she said. “But it needs, logistically and practically, to happen.”
The case is: Apple Inc. (AAPL) v. Samsung Electronics Co. NSD1243/2011. Federal Court of Australia (Sydney).
A Gamble Pays Off: Vertex 4 Looks Strong
9:00 AM - April 4, 2012 by Andrew Ku
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/vertex-4-everest-2-benchmark,3172-10.html
Offering sub-20-second boot times, improved long-term performance, and more affordable prices on fast solid-state storage, the Vertex 4 truly marks a new chapter in OCZ's history. Competitors should take heed: OCZ has declared its controller independence and is on the march with a potent flagship.
http://www.storagereview.com/ocz_vertex_4_ssd_review
Conclusion
When we first broke the news of OCZ switching to Everest 2 for the flagship Vertex 4 SSD, we knew it would be both a bold move and one that's required for the long term viability of the company, as only those who can differentiate their SSDs with unique technologies will be able to significantly grow market share. By leveraging their own controller technologies, OCZ can not only tweak the controller and firmware exactly as they please, but they can also more quickly respond to support needs as they arise, eliminating bottlenecks that can occur otherwise. The additional margin gain should also benefit consumers, as OCZ has more pricing power, as evidenced in their MSRPs for the Vertex 4, which are well under the street pricing for the Vertex 3 Max IOPS and near parity depending on reseller with the standard Vertex 3. Given the frequent discounting and other promotion in the client SSD space, it won't be long before we see even more aggressive street pricing for the Vertex 4.
The main strengths of the OCZ Vertex 4 and the Indilinx Everest 2 controller are its incompressible write speeds and industry-leading low-queue depth random I/O speeds. The Vertex 4 was able surpass other SSDs when looking at its ramped 4K write speeds, hitting its peek speed of 82,000 IOPS for the 512GB model at a queue depth of four, while others needed a queue depth of 16 or greater to reach their maximum performance. In our new fixed I/O latency tests we also saw substantially lower average latency times from the Vertex 4 hitting a target of 40,000 IOPS with response times measuring 0.096ms. This contrasted with other controllers that hit the IOPS figure, but with much slower response times.
OCZ beat their own timeline for releasing the Vertex 4 by at least two months, showing confidence in their engineering prowess. While more testing time could have improved performance in certain areas, OCZ clearly felt the Vertex 4 was ready for most consumer workloads that are often linear in behavior. As we saw in our testing, the Vertex 4 falls off when mixed workloads are introduced, including our Productivity and HTPC traces or our IOMeter Workstation profile. Even with our complaints about these performance areas though, it's important to remember that the Vertex 4 will be continually enhanced via firmware updates, similar to the updates we saw for the OCZ Octane since its release. This is an important consideration when you start to look beyond performance enhancements and instead at bug fixes, where a third party controller manufacturer might not have the same priorities as the SSD vendor.
Pros
No performance drop with incompressible data
Even steady-state speeds
Best random 4K performance
Performance scales with capacity
Cons
Didn't excel in our real-world benchmarks
Client mixed-workloads could be better
Bottom Line
The Vertex 4 highlights OCZ's commitment to building a deep IP portfolio to further enhance their SSD offerings. As a whole, we found the Vertex 4 to be a reliable performer, distinguishing itself in random 4K performance. Additionally, the Vertex 4 doesn't drop in performance with incompressible data and was even throughout steady state testing. While we were hoping for a few more entries near the top of our charts, for the mainstream consumer the Vertex 4 will get the job done, with pricing that will make the drive an attractive alternative to competing options.
"Rackspace briefly touched an all-time high on Tuesday, when it reached $59.43 a share. The same day, analysts at Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage with a "hold" rating. Anyone else mystified by that? Why initiate coverage and then fail to take a stand on behalf of investors?
Perhaps it doesn't matter. Both retail and institutional investors appear to be betting on a nice rally. Researcher optionMONSTER says deep-pocketed speculators bought more than 6,000 June calls with a strike price of $65 per share. The implication? Big Money bettors believe Rackspace will exceed $65 a share before summer is half over. As a shareholder, I'm hoping they're right."
http://www.fool.com/investing/high-growth/2012/03/31/5-more-tech-stocks-that-are-making-me-rich.aspx
March 31, 2012
OCZ Signs Promark Technology as a Distribution Partner to Address Government Storage Applications
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ - News), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, has signed a distribution agreement with Promark Technology, which increases the availability of OCZ's enterprise SSDs to Promark's extensive portfolio of VARs (value added resellers) and system integrators in the United States.
With over twenty years of experience in data storage products and solutions, Promark is a premier value added distributor (VAD) that supports a nationwide channel consisting of large system integrators and direct customers providing technology solutions for government applications. Promark leverages its direct relationships with world-class technology partners like OCZ to provide solutions that meet the most demanding needs of its clients.
"We are excited to partner with the team at Promark to deliver our enterprise solid state drives for government applications," said Richard Singh, CSO of OCZ Technology. "Our solid state solution portfolio addresses a broad spectrum of government and education applications and Promark has strong relationships in this market. By working together to make our SSDs available on their GSA schedule it enables us to accelerate the delivery of high performing and ultra reliable SSDs to meet the unique storage requirements of government clients."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ocz-signs-promark-technology-distribution-125000776.html
OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ - News), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, will host its fiscal 2012 fourth quarter and year end conference call for the periods ended February 29, 2012 on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 5:00 PM ET (2:00 PM PT). Ryan Petersen, CEO, and Arthur Knapp, CFO, will present the Company's financial results on the call.
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 28, 2012
http://ir.stockpr.com/ocztechnology/recent-news/detail/1853/ocz-technology-to-host-fiscal-2012-fourth-quarter-and-year-end-conference-call
Thanks, I'll do that. Yes, just sticks on MSE so maybe I could just reinstall it. ? Haven't run a defrag so I'll do that, too.
Thanks...this board is the best.
Running XP, and use MSE and Malwarebytes. MSE on either a quick or full scan stalls abut 10 minutes in, not always in the same place. I ran MWB in safe mode, full scan, it found nothing. I clicked "my computer" and scanned c drive with MSE and nothing found. But when it was over, the computer just wouldn't respond and I had to reboot to ask this question.
Two days ago MSE found and deleted malware-gen. Now, it does this "sticking" thing, and then the computer just stops responding and I need to reboot.
Help, please.
well, there you go....back up to $58.85 or so...
http://messages.finance.yahoo.com/Stocks_%28A_to_Z%29/Stocks_O/threadview?m=tm&bn=102097&tid=26691&mid=26691&tof=2&rt=2&frt=2&off=1
There's some good posters on yahoo that know what OCZ is all about, and go beyond just looking at it as a trade.
Rackspace: Goldman Cuts Rating To Neutral On Valuation Basis
Goldman Sachs analyst Scott Goldman this morning cut his rating on Rackspace to Neutral from Buy on a valuation basis. He has a $57 target on the stock, which closed yesterday at $57.80.
“We remain positive on the opportunity in cloud computing and believe RAX is well positioned among peers, but we are disciplined on price given current valuation,” he writes in a research note. The stock is up 57.5% over the last 12 months, he points out.
“The long-term thesis for Rackspace remains intact as the company continues executing on its plan to drive cloud usage. With adoption still low, initiatives like OpenStack and Managed Cloud will broaden RAX’s addressable market to areas that are less susceptible to price competition from larger technology competitors,” he writes.
On the other hand, he contends that ” investors are less likely to be rewarded by further upside to Street numbers, as the gap between our estimates and consensus has narrowed meaningfully over the past two quarters and we believe investor expectations could be even more aggressive.”
Rackspace this morning is down $2.10, or 3.6%, to $55.70.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/03/22/rackspace-goldman-cuts-rating-to-neutral-on-valuation-basis/?partner=yahootix
Hmm, that's interesting possibility/speculation.
A Monday morning pre-market announcement...I bet it's gonna be big.
Apple Will Tell Us Monday How It Plans To Use Its $100B In Cash
Everyone has been wondering what Apple will do with its outsized cash reserves — currently at just under $100 billion. Tomorrow the company will hold a conference call to tell the world what that will be.
“Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company’s discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash,” read a release from the company.
In other words: a very focused, but potentially huge, bit of news from Apple tomorrow.
The call will take place at 6am Pacific/9am Eastern time, and as with its earnings calls, Apple will also make the call accessible via a webcast.
Between now and tomorrow morning, expect a maelstrom of suggestions from the gallery about what Apple should do, might do and will do with the money it has amassed over the last few years as sales of its iPhone and iPad, sold at what are probably some of the best margins in the business, have gone through the roof.
Will it be something philanthropic? A product? An acquisition or ten? A fund for others to build something? The purchase of a small country? The start of a new one? A dividend (the last one Apple paid was in 1995)?
To be honest, there’s enough cash there to do all of the above, and then some.
Full text of the release with details of the call below.
WHAT: Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company’s discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple® will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash.
WHERE: Via conference call. The dial-in number for press is (877) 616-0063 (toll-free) or (719) 219-0041. Please enter confirmation code 592016.WHEN: Monday, March 19, 2012 at 6:00 a.m. PDT/9:00 a.m. EDT
REBROADCAST: The conference call will be available as a continuous rebroadcast beginning Monday, March 19 at 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT through Monday, April 2 at 9:00 a.m. PDT/12:00 p.m. EDT. The dial-in number for the rebroadcast is (888) 203-1112 (toll-free) or (719) 457-0820. Please enter confirmation code 6274937.WEBCAST: Apple will provide live audio streaming of its conference call using Apple’s industry-leading QuickTime® multimedia software. The live webcast will begin at 6:00 a.m. PDT on March 19, 2012 at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/call31912 and will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter. The webcast is available on any iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch® or any Mac® or PC running QuickTime 6 or later. If you do not have QuickTime installed on your Windows PC, it is available at www.apple.com/quicktime.
http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/18/apple-will-tell-us-monday-how-it-plans-to-use-its-100b-in-cash/
Hidden Billionaires in Plain Sight Emerge As Stocks Rise
"American Graham Weston, 48,..... Weston owns about 15 percent of Rackspace Hosting Inc. (RAX), a provider of Web-based information-technology systems. His stock is worth almost $1.1 billion.
The company held its initial public offering in August 2008. Rackspace shares have surged more than 12-fold since hitting a low of $4 per share in February 2009, making Weston, the company’s largest shareholder, a billionaire.
Weston loathes talking about his wealth. After seeing glitzy dot-coms fail spectacularly a decade ago he, along with his Rackspace cohorts, decided to adopt what they call a no- stars policy.
“We said we wanted to be judged on our substance, not our flash,” Weston said in a telephone interview on March 14.
Weston has put some of his money -- he’s sold about $60 million of Rackspace stock since 2008 -- into helping entrepreneurs and local students. Weston and Rackspace employees have contributed $2 million in grants to spruce up local schools, fund mentoring programs and provide supplies.
“It’s a way for a corporation to interface in a philanthropic way, not just with money but with our own enthusiasm,” Weston said. “We really adopted a new model, which is the idea that a corporation takes accountability for the success of the schools around it and gets directly involved.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-15/hidden-billionaires-in-plain-sight-emerge-as-stocks-rise.html?cmpid=yhoo
Apparently the ruling set a difference between Q's chips and Intels'.
"The Hague court ruled on Wednesday that Samsung can not assert 3G patents against Apple products using Qualcomm's baseband chips, as Samsung has a licensing deal with the U.S. chipmaker.
But the court ruled that Samsung can proceed to claim such rights against products that use Intel chips, according to Samsung."
and this:
"... the Dutch court ruled that Samsung cannot ban the iPhone 4S from sale for using a Qualcomm 3G/UMTS chip. According to the court, Qualcomm already licenses the technology from Samsung, meaning Samsung cannot double-dip on the fees by getting Apple to pay."
Dutch court: Samsung can’t ban iPhone, iPad from store shelves
http://iphone.ekji.com/
Samsung loses bid to ban iPhone, iPad sales in Netherlands
Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:07am EDT
SEOUL, March 15 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co said on Thursday a Dutch court rejected its 3G patent bid to ban sales of Apple's iPhone and iPad in the Netherlands.
But Samsung said the court ruled that it could seek damages over the use of Intel chips, giving the South Korean firm a partial victory in the latest skirmish between the world's biggest smartphone makers.
Samsung and Apple are locked in escalating global patent battle, as they jostle for the top position in the booming smartphone and tablet markets.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/15/samsung-apple-idUSL4E8EEAAB20120315?feedType=RSS&feedName=cyclicalConsumerGoodsSector&rpc=43
IHub, for some reason, posts news of VNR from Toronto exchange, a company (Valener) totally different than Vanguard Natural Resources....which is what this board is supposed to be.
Vanguard's High Annual Yield 8.2% Is Protected By Commodity Hedges
http://seekingalpha.com/article/434121-vanguard-s-high-annual-yield-8-2-is-protected-by-commodity-hedges
Investors in this volatile market can still find 8.2% distribution yields and the potential for significant capital gains. I am referring to the exploration and production master limited partnerships. They offer high distribution yields and proven capital gain performance. In this article I will highlight Vanguard Natural Resource (VNR) and my rationale for owning this partnership.
Well, continued good luck to you with your investing.
Apparently, while waiting for a $40 price drop you missed a $320 run to the upside.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=50099707
OCZ Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSDs to be Deployed in New Colfax International Enterprise Servers
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ocz-z-drive-r4-pcie-125000590.html
PCIe-Based Storage Solution Delivers Maximized Performance and Storage Capacity While Reducing TCO in the Data Center
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ - News), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that Colfax International will deploy OCZ Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSDs into Colfax's new lines of enterprise servers based on Intel's recently announced dual socket Sandy Bridge-EP platform. Providing a compact, power-efficient solid-state solution that fits directly into a system's PCI Express (PCIe) slot, OCZ's Z-Drive R4 dramatically increases server application performance while delivering fast and reliable access to data without burdening host CPU and memory resources. OCZ's combination of high-performance, low latency, and high storage capacity make the Z-Drive R4 ideally suited for the new Colfax Sandy Bridge EP-based servers targeted towards demanding enterprise applications that include cloud computing, server virtualization and consolidation, high-performance computing (HPC), and Online Transaction Processing (OLTP).
CeBIT conference summary in ComputerWorld magazine
OCZ talks up 2TB, 4TB SSDs, previews Thunderbolt-enabled drive
OCZ expects to release its Thunderbolt interface drive this summer.
By Lucas Mearian
March 9, 2012 03:37 PM ET
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9225064/OCZ_talks_up_2TB_4TB_SSDs_previews_Thunderbolt_enabled_drive
Rackspace Hosting Positioned as a Leader in the Leaders Quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Managed Hosting Providers
“Magic Quadrant” Evaluation Based on Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute
Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX - News), the service leader in cloud computing, today announced that it has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders quadrant of the “Magic Quadrant for Managed Hosting.”1
The Gartner assessment, performed by the firm’s IT industry experts, evaluates providers based on the completeness of their vision and their ability to execute. It categorizes providers in quadrants labeled Niche Players, Challengers, Visionaries, and Leaders. Rackspace was among the 17 providers assessed by Gartner.
“The year 2011 has been fundamental in several major Rackspace initiatives with the formation of Rackspace Cloud Builders, providing consultative work around OpenStack, and the continued success and growth of RackConnect™, Rackspace’s hybrid hosting solution. We consider our leadership position in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Managed Hosting providers as further confirmation that Fanatical Support provides great IT outcomes for our customers,” said Lanham Napier, CEO at Rackspace. “2012 is a critical and exciting year for us as we work to advance OpenStack and extend the quality of services we provide our customers. We are obsessed with building a great company, and we're doing the hard work to build the service leader in cloud computing.”
Rackspace is one of the few providers in the managed hosting market to offer hybrid hosting capabilities using its solution called RackConnect™. According to the report, “Most solutions for complex needs are hybrids, mixing different types of infrastructures to achieve cost-effectiveness, and to meet the customer's range of availability, performance, security and IT operations requirements. For instance, customers may need test and staging servers hosted on an IaaS platform, their front-end Web and application servers on utility hosting, and dedicated database servers. This has spurred providers to develop and productize hybrid hosting services that interconnect colocation, traditional hosting environments and cloud IaaS within unified networking and security contexts.”
http://ir.rackspace.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=221673&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1671234&highlight=
Citigroup raises Vanguard Natural Resources LLC target price to $33.50 from $30.50
March 7 (Reuters) -
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46659431/BRIEF_Citigroup_raises_Vanguard_Natural_Resources_target_price_to_33_50
OCZ Enterprise site
http://www.oczenterprise.com/
Yesterday RAX at Ramond James Annual Institutional Investors Conference "...our touchstone event, and is one of the largest, oldest, and broadest investment conferences of its kind."
03/07/12 9:15 a.m. ET Rackspace Hosting, Inc. at Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference
Location Orlando, FL
http://ir.rackspace.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=221673&p=irol-irhome
OCZ Technology Talos SAS SSDs to be Deployed in Drobo's Business-Class Storage Systems
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ocz-technology-talos-sas-ssds-130500922.html
OCZ Technology Talos SAS SSDs to be Deployed in Drobo's Business-Class Storage Systems
OCZ Enterprise SSDs Offer Exceptional Performance With Faster Access Times and Maximum Reliability for Small and Medium-Business Applications
Google Is Looking To Sell The Only Profitable Part Of Motorola -- Before The Deal Even Closes
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-looking-sell-only-profitable-172400441.html
By Matt Rosoff | Business Insider – 53 minutes ago
.
Google is trying to unload Motorola's TV set-top box business before its acquisition even closes.
That's according to a report in the New York Post this morning, which reports that Google has enlisted Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst partners to help find a buyer.
Motorola is one of the world's two big providers of these boxes, which are used by cable TV companies to deliver service to homes. (The other big player is Cisco's Scientific-Atlanta.)
Last August when Google announced the deal, Larry Page said that Motorola's TV set top box business was an asset, and hinted that Google would keep it around.
But the TV market is gradually moving more toward devices that deliver content over the Internet, such as Apple TV, Microsoft's Xbox, and Google's own Google TV products. Google is also building its own consumer electronics hardware, and is rolling out a fiber optic network that will include pay-tv service in Kansas City. So maybe Motorola's TV set-top business looks redundant with what Google is already buiding in house.
But it is profitable. Last quarter, the Motorola Home segment (mostly set-top boxes) earned $57 million on net revenue of $897 million.
Smartphones are not. The Mobile Devices segment lost $70 million on net revenues of $2.5 billion.
But Google isn't buying Motorola for its business today. It's buying Motorola for patents and -- we believe -- to exercise more control over the Android phone market.
OCZ debuts faster SSD, previews Thunderbolt-based Lightfoot
by Stephen Shankland |March 7, 2012 8:09 AM PST
At the CeBIT show, the SSD maker shows its Indilinx-based Vertex 4 SSD and promises a Thunderbolt-based model that vaults over SATA drive limits.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-57392365-264/ocz-debuts-faster-ssd-previews-thunderbolt-based-lightfoot/
Judge In Patent Case: Google, Motorola Must Give Info To Apple
By Matt Jarzemsky, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- A federal judge ordered Motorola Mobility Inc. (MMI) and Google Inc. (GOOG) to turn over information about their merger and the search giant's Android operating system, as part of a lawsuit by Apple Inc. (AAPL).
Apple, the plaintiff in a 2010 smartphone patent suit against Motorola, sought the documentation earlier this month. The request represents one effort in a wide-ranging battle among mobile device makers using intellectual property for legal and competitive advantage.
Monday, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner granted Apple's motion for information regarding Google's$12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola, according to a court filing. Posner also backed Apple's request for documentation of Google's development of Android, its mobile operating system.
Apple lawyers argued in their March 2 discovery request that the information is relevant to its case because, for example, it will show the value Google placed on Motorola device features that allegedly infringe on Apple's patents.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based iPhone maker is arguing that several Motorola devices infringe on its patents involving touch-screen interfaces and other technologies. Motorola has countersued.
Posner, who was designated to hear the U.S. District Court case in December, has scheduled separate jury trials for Apple's and Motorola's cases later this year.
Representatives of Google and Motorola Mobility couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The order was reported earlier by Bloomberg News.
-By Matt Jarzemsky, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240; matthew.jarzemsky@ dowjones.com
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/judge-in-patent-case-google-motorola-must-give-info-to-apple-20120306-00817
Systech Integrators® Forms Strategic Relationship With Rackspace Hosting® to Offer Cloud Hosting Services for SAP® Enterprise Solutions
SAN JOSE, Calif., March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/systech-integrators-forms-strategic-relationship-with-rackspace-hosting-to-offer-cloud-hosting-services-for-sap-enterprise-solutions-141039613.html
Vanguard's Management Discusses Q4 2011 Earnings Results - Earnings Call Transcript
http://seekingalpha.com/article/406351-vanguard-s-management-discusses-q4-2011-earnings-results-earnings-call-transcript?source=yahoo
"In summary, 2011 was a great year for Vanguard. We managed to achieve excellent results on all fronts and most of all successfully completed the Encore acquisition and the full integration of the two companies. Our results are a reflection of the efforts of our employees and their hard work on behalf of the company to achieve its goals. With the addition of accretive acquisitions and associated increase in our cash flow, we were able to increase distributions 5% in 2011 and an overall distribution growth of approximately 38% since 2008.
We’re extremely proud of the fact that this 38% increase is the highest in our peer group over this period of time. It continues to be our goal to judiciously increase our distribution in a manner that we feel is sustainable for the long term. Our current distribution is $2.35 per year. Our 2012 guidance suggests we’ll have a distribution coverage ratio between 1.35 and 1.4 times and based on yesterday’s closing price of $27.54 we’re trading at an attractive 8.5% yield which is approximately 100 basis points higher than our oil focused peers."
Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC Provides Positive Outlook for 2012
Mr. Richard A. Robert, Executive Vice-President and CFO of the Company commented: "Vanguard achieved excellent results in 2011 and we are very happy to have completed the merger with Encore Energy Partners, LP (“Encore”) on December 1, 2011. Due to the hard work of our employees integrating Encore and over $200 million in additional acquisitions in 2011, our operational and financial outlook for 2012 is very positive. While we don’t include potential future acquisitions in our forecasts, it is certainly our business strategy to continue on the path of growth through acquisitions and anticipate 2012 will be laden with opportunities.”
http://ir.vnrllc.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=211847&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1667847&highlight=
---------------------------------------
Declared Record Payable Amount Type
01/18/12 02/07/12 02/14/12 $0.5875 Regular Cash
10/27/11 11/07/11 11/14/11 $0.5775 Regular Cash
07/26/11 08/05/11 08/12/11 $0.5750 Regular Cash
04/28/11 05/06/11 05/13/11 $0.5700 Regular Cash
01/27/11 02/07/11 02/14/11 $0.5600 Regular Cash
10/20/10 11/05/10 11/12/10 $0.5500 Regular Cash
07/21/10 08/06/10 08/13/10 $0.5500 Regular Cash
04/23/10 05/07/10 05/14/10 $0.5250 Regular Cash
01/26/10 02/05/10 02/12/10 $0.5250 Regular Cash
10/21/09 11/06/09 11/13/09 $0.5000 Regular Cash
07/20/09 07/31/09 08/15/09 $0.5000 Regular Cash
04/21/09 04/30/09 05/15/09 $0.5000 Regular Cash
01/23/09 01/30/09 02/14/09 $0.5000 Regular Cash
10/15/08 10/31/08 11/14/08 $0.5000 Regular Cash
07/21/08 07/31/08 08/14/08 $0.4450 Regular Cash
03/18/08 04/30/08 05/15/08 $0.4450 Regular Cash
02/04/08 02/07/08 02/14/08 $0.4250 Regular Cash
LightSquared CEO Steps Down, Falcone Named to Board
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400905,00.asp
LightSquared chief executive Sanjiv Ahuja stepped down Monday amidst a battle with U.S. regulators.
Doug Smith, LightSquared's chief network officer, and Marc Montagner, the company's chief financial officer, will serve as interim co-CEOs while the company searches for a permanent replacement. Ahuja will remain as chairman of the board and Philip Falcone, the billionaire hedge fund manager who has invested millions in building out a LightSquared LTE wireless network, was also appointed to the board, the company said in a statement.
"Sanjiv has shown great leadership in bringing the LightSquared vision to this point, including leveraging his experience in the telecom industry to sign dozens of critical partnerships across the country," said Falcone, who runs Harbinger Capital Partners.
Falcone promised that the company's interim leaders would steer LightSquared in the right direction. That direction, the company said, still included a wireless network.
"Doug and Marc have been recognized leaders in the industry and bring an exceptional combination of experience, intellect and character to the management team," he said. "They also know our opportunities and challenges as well as anyone, and are uniquely suited to lead the company forward. I look forward to working closely with them to bring affordable, reliable, and high-speed wireless connectivity to all Americans."
The embattled wireless company last week was reportedly planning to fire nearly half of its 330 employees as its financial difficulties mount and a plan to launch a new LTE network in the U.S. appears to have hit an insurmountable regulatory roadblock.
LightSquared said last Tuesday that it was gearing up to lay off 45 percent of its workforce in a "prudent and necessary cost savings measure to ensure the long-term success of the company."
Falcone has insisted that LightSquared won't shut down despite a series of disastrous developments.
.....more if you click the above link.....
Dougherty Co initiated coverage on shares of OCZ Technology Group with a Buy rating and $13.50 price target Tuesday morning.
The firm believes OCZ is currently going through a "'hyper-growth' mode as it struggles to keep up with the exploding market. By acquiring intellectual property, particularly the Indilinx controller, OCZ has positioned itself as one of the premier SSD providers in the industry, with significant barriers to competitive threats."
With OCZ shares closing at $8.65 on Monday, Dougherty's new price target represents potential upside of about 56 percent.
•Coverage initiated on OCZ Tech by Dougherty & Company
Briefing.com(Tue 9:07AM EST)