A Boost For Time Warner (TWX): Batman "Dark Knight" Takes In $155 Million

Executives at Time Warner (TWX) can enjoy their time this summer at their mansions and on their yachts. The company's Warner studio's latest film, "Dark Knight", part of the Batman series, has taken in $155 million. The opening weekend box office figure is the largest for any film in history. Can anyone say $1 billion? Douglas A. McIntyre

Citigroup (C) Chairman Sees Two-Year Housing Recession

If Citigroup (C) chairman Win Bischoff is right, then his bank and the US economy are going to be cornered by a deepening recession for the next two years. According to Reuters, the Citi chair "has warned that house prices in Britain and the United States are likely to keep falling for another two years." The implications of his comments go well beyond housing. Prices for home have dropped over...

Financials Could Be Overbought

Hello everyone. I am a new guest contributor to the Stockweb blogsite. Last week we saw a significant rally off the lows in the banking/brokerage sector. I think caution is important here as the group is short term overbought. (WB) reports on Tuesday and you must be careful of a possible disappointment there. For traders, there will probably be some very interesting short opportunities next wee...

Stocks Mixed As Big Techs Falter

Technology leaders Google and Microsoft pressured the Nasdaq, while some energy and financial issues led the NYSE composite to close 0.5% higher Friday. The Dow notched a 0.4% gain while the S&P finished effectively flat. The Nasdaq climbed from its lows, but ended down 1.3% as Google, Microsoft and Gilead Sciences sold off following earnings reports.

Can Apple Save The Day? Earnings Coming Monday

Thanks largely to Thursday’s disappointing earnings reports from Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG), sentiment on tech stocks was terrible on Friday, driving down share prices across the board. One notable victim was Apple (AAPL), which fell $6.66 (Satanic!), or 3.9%, to $165.15. Apple, as it happens, provides the next big milestone for tech investors after the close on Monday, when it re...

Citi Propels Dow Higher, but Nasdaq Dives

As tech stocks like Google, AMD and Microsoft fall, IBM is one positive for technology. Citi climbs.

OSTK - Missed Opportunity

I am religious about stops. But sometimes they really bite me in the butt. That doesn't mean I'll ever stop using them. But every now and then, you get a story like this. As regular readers know, I suggested shorting (or buying puts on) Overstock (OSTK). I set a stop above 28.50, which was the highest point it reached in 2008. Yesterday, it moved past this level (peaking at 29.59), so naturally...

Google loses share as Yahoo, Microsoft gain: report

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In a rare slip for Google Inc, Yahoo Inc and Microsoft Corp gained share as Google lost ground in the Web search market in June, industry data released on Friday shows.

Friday Options Update: MSFT, BAC, MIR, OSTK, GILD, BRL, MAT

Rebecca Engmann Darst contributed to this report.Microsoft (MSFT) – Heading into Microsoft’s earnings yesterday, we were mindful that long volatility positions hadn’t paid off particularly well for Microsoft traders. While January options had priced in nearly an 8% move, the actual move fell short of 1%. Again in April we saw option traders looking for a 6.6% move and only got...

Overstock: Stifel Downgrades To Sell; Stock Off 24%

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt this morning cut his rating on Overstock.com (OSTK) to Sell from Hold. He notes that the company, which reported Q2 financial results this morning, trades for 21×2009 EBITA, “the highest multiple in the sector.” Devitt says the company has had two consecutive quarters of mid-20% growth, but that it has had “fairly easy comps,” an...