Best Buy Rumored to Be Hoarding Wiis for Holiday Push
[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
*Image above is assumed to be Photoshopped, as we cannot find a single human to confirm ever seeing that many Wii consoles for sale in one location.
stock posts
[Via NintendoWiiFanboy]
*Image above is assumed to be Photoshopped, as we cannot find a single human to confirm ever seeing that many Wii consoles for sale in one location.
Hackers Targeting Stock Traders to Inflate Share Prices
Just like the pump and dump investment email scam we showed you, hackers are falsely inflating stock prices by illegally accessing multiple trading accounts, buying hundreds of thousands of shares of a stock they already own, wait for the price to go up, and then sell for a big payoff. Sounds easy enough, right? That's because it is.
An Indian man was recently sentenced to two years in prison for defrauding investors with this scheme and two others have been indicted. They targeted accounts at TD Ameritrade, Fidelity and E*Trade, and drove up costs on several different stocks. Apparently, this is a growing crime trend, so keep an eye on your account, if you have one. [Source: Wired]
Text Message Sends Indian Stock Market Reeling
We recently reported on a text message hoax in Indonesia that warned of a tsunami and that was taken so seriously by people, they fled their homes en masse for higher ground. Now, India has been the victim of a text gag, with this one aimed at the country's financial market.
Yesterday at exactly 12:45 PM local time in Mumbai, thousands of traders were hit with a text message that claimed the political left had pulled out of the government and that it would hit the news in 45 minutes. The Senex (a selection of 30 highly-traded stocks from the Bombay Stock Exchange) then immediately dropped 160 points in seven minutes. The plunge into the red didn't last long though, as buyers saw an opportunity and boosted the Senex 170 points in the following four minutes. Of course, in the end the left never exited and the Indian government didn't collapse.
We don't have any money tied up in the Senex, but we like this story because it shows how our new, rapid means of communication and information dissemination are having an effect on our world -- especially our financial markets. Just a few months ago, you may remember that Engadget -- the most linked to blog on the Web -- posted a story about Apple delaying the release of the iPhone and the next update to the OSX operating system. Though the story was incorrect and based on a forged internal e-mail, investors saw the news and Apple's stock immediately tanked, going from $107.89 to $103.42 in six minutes -- though it later made a full recovery.
The takeaway from all of this? Rumors fly around a lot faster and easier than they used to, which means we all need to be a lot more responsible about what we choose to believe, and why we choose to believe it.
From Textually.org
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Cell Phones, Computers, iPod, iPhone
Apple Profits Soar 73%, Shares on the Rise
After dipping two days ago as result of confusing, misinformed headlines concerning poor iPhone sales, Apple shares regained losses and surged 9 percent yesterday during after hours trading.
The boost came after the Cupertino, California gadgeteer announced earnings growth of 73 percent during the last fiscal quarter. And, believe it or not, the iPhone was a non-factor. Apple sold a record 1.76 million computers during the quarter, which is a 33 percent gain over the same period one year ago. iPods sales were up 21 percent year over year, selling 9,815,000 units during the quarter. Apple's profit rose to $818 million, up from $472 million.
But, while Apple's old guard of products is driving profit, analysts believe the iPhone will be a contributor in the future as the handset gains popularity and as Apple rakes in money from its cut of AT&T subscription fees.
From AOL Money & Finance
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Harry Potter Levitates Amazon Revenue
Who knew Harry Potter could exert control over the stock market? Amazon posted an increase in revenue of 35 percent this quarter, based heavily on traffic driven to the site by the impending release of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' Visitors who pre-ordered the book also purchased other products, helping to increase the online retailer's net income.What's more, the 2.2 million copies of the new Potter book that Amazon sold will not be counted in the company's revenue until next quarter, which raises the possibility of even higher profits next quarter. Amazon's stock price hit $84.09 in after-hours trading, a level not seen since the days of the dot-com boom back in February 2000.
From The New York Times
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Netflix Subscriptions Drop, Despite Price Cut
The quarterly number of Netflix subscribers has gone down for the first time since the online DVD rental company's inception. Though the 6.8 to 6.74 million drop was small, it was enough to push the stock price down 16 percent yesterday from 6.8 to 6.74 million -- egged on, no doubt, by the recent $1 price drop in Netflix's most expensive plans.
Netflix, which pioneered the online DVD rental business, has recently been under pressure from Blockbuster, which, ironically, has also seen its profit drop ever since the advent of Netflix. The $1 price drop brought the Netflix plans in line with the Blockbuster subscriptions, price-wise, but Blockbuster's plan offers the added benefit of letting you return DVDs rented online to its brick and mortar stores, and exchange them for new movies on the spot.
Recently, Netflix launched its streaming movie site, which lets you watch many of the movies in your rental queue online on a PC. So far, Blockbuster isn't doing any such online movie download or viewing service. DVDs, like CDs, are on the way out, thanks to the increased accessibility and quality of downloaded movies. Blockbuster had better think about offering online downloads of some sort soon, or its temporary victory will be short-lived.
From TG Daily and AOL Money & Finance.
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