Yahoo!’s Turnaround Strategy (Again!)

Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) turned fifteen this quarter, and I doubt it is happy with where it is currently. Carol Bartz still seems to be struggling with figuring out what needs to be done and is busy reshuffling management. The company did sell off a few non-profitable ventures, but I would have preferred that it had taken more serious steps in strengthening its verticals to get its growth story back in place. As it stands, more mumbo jumbo from Yahoo!’s confused HQ. >>>

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Qualcomm And STM Swing To Profit

Chipmakers Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) recently reported their quarterly results. Both companies swung to a profit, but Qualcomm provided a weak outlook that sent its shares plummeting. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Microsoft’s Challenging Decade Ahead

A recent Gartner report estimates worldwide PC sales to grow 12% over the year to $245 billion. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will be pleased with those numbers, but that does not change the fact that the company is facing stiff competition from Apple. Apple is slowly gaining PC market share: for the March-ending quarter it claimed 8% of the U.S. market share compared with 7.2% a year ago. I can vouch for this, having just completed a shift from PC to an elegant MacBook Pro, which delights me every moment. The PC did the exact opposite. It frustrated me every moment.

Google too is encroaching on Microsoft’s territory through its open source Office Apps and browser Chrome. Both are forcing Microsoft to look beyond and grow its addressable market by launching a series of new products and services. >>>

Indian Outsourcers Should Look At Rural Talent

According to recent Forrester research, technology spending in the United States is expected to grow 8.4% in 2010 and global market IT spending is projected to rise 7.7%. But, while IT spending may be better, the $60 billion Indian IT industry has a tough challenge in maintaining margins. The sector earns the majority of its revenues from the United States, and with the rupee growing stronger against the dollar, margins are being hurt. The Indian rupee appreciated 4% over the dollar in the quarter ended March after registering a 5% gain in the previous year. Additionally, with the job market opening up, players are resorting to double-digit salary increases to retain offshore staff and are taking a hit on their margins; the increasing costs are making traditional outsourcing a less attractive alternative. As I wrote in my Forbes column today, Indian IT majors should look very seriously at rural and small-town outsourcing, and soon.
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Google Grows (Up?) Amidst Headaches

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) seems to be facing some headaches despite an upbeat quarter. The company’s attempts to expand its China operations met with problems after a cyber attack in December of last year. Also, some new applications are the subject of government concerns on user privacy. Such are the realities of growing up. >>>

IBM’s Business Remix Pays Off

Over the past decade, IBM (NYSE:IBM) with annual revenue of $95.8 billion, has followed a smart strategy by exiting low-margin “commoditized” businesses and focusing on higher margin software and services. Yesterday the company reported a 13% increase in its first quarter profit and raised its outlook for the rest of the year. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

ZipRealty And Move: Improving, But Still Loss-Making

The real estate sector finally seems to be recovering in many parts of the United States. According to ZipRealty’s recent report, the number of homes listed for sale in 27 metropolitan areas grew 4.2% over the previous month in February. However, there is still a long way to go. Compared with a year ago, inventory in these areas was down 19%. But this inventory data does not capture the entire potential housing supply. Reports estimate that there are around 8 million homes for which owners are either behind on their mortgage payments or in the process of foreclosure. These homes are most likely to be put on the market as banks foreclose or owners are forced to sell. >>>

Intel’s Strong Quarter

This week, Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) strong results gave a boost to stocks worldwide as CEO Paul Otellini went on to say during the earnings call that “the industry is nearly fully recovered.” The ramp of its new mobile products also led to the better than expected results. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Italy And China Bright Spots In Solar Market

The solar power industry is going through a cloudy patch right now. The solar-focused exchange-traded fund, TAN, is down 24% this year driven by increasing price pressure, subsidy cuts, and the growing capacity of Asian, in particular, Chinese, players. Earlier this year, the world’s largest solar panel market, Germany, announced a subsidy cut of 10%. Subsidies are expected to be further reduced by 15% in the coming summer. Analysts are also expecting average selling price of modules to decline 20%–25% in the current year. Falling input costs, for silicon-based modules in particular, and capacity exceeding demand are driving these price cuts. Further, as the euro weakens against the dollar, the solar power sales of U.S. companies in Europe will be impacted, adding to the margin pressure. But, the most recent fiscal results did look promising. >>>

RealNetworks Should Acquire A Payment Company ASAP

Rob Glaser, founder of RealNetworks (NASDAQ:RNWK), resigned as CEO in January. Bob Kimball is its new president and interim CEO. Kimball joined the company in 1999 and for 10 years was responsible for legal matters and business development. During the fourth quarter earnings call, he outlined a plan to exit the content businesses and focus on the company’s core infrastructure for delivering and playing digital media on computers and mobile phones. Let’s take a closer look.

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