MSFT

Magic Software is a provider of "platform-as-a-service" cloud computing application development tools and business software integration applications. It is a market with big growth potential, but also big boys as competitors. Can Magic survive and thrive?

"OTC" StockShark ****Trade Alert***

Mantis Mineral Corp..---MNTCF or C.MYN

The markets are in a state of doldrums, so its not like I missed anything. Below are some of the more interesting financial/business articles from over the weekend and today…

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced diluted earnings per share were $0.74 compared with $0.47 last year. analysts average $0.59. MSFT beats by $0.15.

Record revenue of $19.02 billion for the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, a 14% increase from the same period of the prior year. Windows 7 demand drives record revenue and profit.

ValueClick is one of the largest pure Internet marketing firms. While competition is strong and management is less-than-stellar, ValueClick's price, excellent business model, and potential to be acquired make it a tepid buy.

Nintendo's Wii has been one of the most profitable games consoles ever sold, and after its launch in 2006, Nintendo took months to satisfy pent-up demand. This enabled the company to charge a premium price for its hardware and make large profits while rivals such as Sony and Microsoft were losing money on every machine they sold.

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) announced diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.40 compared with $0.48 last year. analysts average 0.32. MSFT beats by $0.08.

Revenue of $12.92 billion for the first quarter ended Sept. 30, 2009, a 14% decline from the same period of the prior year.

Microsoft Corporation provides software and hardware products and solutions worldwide.

As of today the top ten most active stock option contracts were:

1. PowerShares QQQ (NASDAQ:QQQQ) December 40 Put Options
2. S&P 500 SPDR (NYSE:SPY) November 108 Put Options
3. S&P 500 SPDR November 107 Put Options
4. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) November 30 Call Options

Continue reading at: http://optionmaestro.blogspot.com/2009/10/most-active-stock-options-octo...

In my blog post Monday I listed a few stocks which I would be willing to go long by selling the puts right before the stock reported earnings. If you missed it you can view the details here. As indicated I took positions on Apple (AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), Texas Instruments (TXN), SanDisk (SNDK), Walter Energy (WLT), and Yahoo!

In my blog post Monday I listed a few stocks which I would be willing to go long by selling the puts right before the stock reported earnings. If you missed it you can view the details here. As indicated I took positions on Apple (AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), Texas Instruments (TXN), SanDisk (SNDK), Walter Energy (WLT), and Yahoo!

In my blog post Monday I listed a few stocks which I would be willing to go long by selling the puts right before the stock reported earnings. If you missed it you can view the details here. As indicated I took positions on Apple (AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), Texas Instruments (TXN), SanDisk (SNDK), Walter Energy (WLT), and Yahoo!

Now that we're finally in the homestretch for 2009, it's time to look toward the future and consider those areas that are best poised to be standouts in the fourth quarter and why.

Consumer Spending. While consumer spending remains depressed, a combination of encouraging signs and timing could benefit this sector.

I am a firm believer in keeping things simple. However, you can simplify things to the point they no longer have value. In my opinion, a lot of the commonly used financial metrics can be very misleading unless you understand what is behind them. Let’s take a closer look at Dividend Payout.

IT hardware companies are vying to acquire IT consulting and services firms. This article examines the reasons for these transactions, speculates on potential targets, and provides ideas for profiting from consolidation.
Read more on consolidation in information technology consulting firms

Dear Prudence,