Paul Shread

What’s the point of buying one of the biggest brand names in U.S. business history if you’re not going to use it? That seems to be the thinking of the former SBC Communications, which adopted the AT&T name after the companies’ merger closed two weeks ago. The company completed the name transition Thursday when it […]

Some strong earnings reports from chip companies helped the Nasdaq dodge a blue chip rout on Wednesday. The Nasdaq added a tenth of a point on a day that the Dow tumbled 82 points, thanks to positive earnings news from Novellus , Semtech , Fairchild Semi and Microchip that sent the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index 1.2% […]

Once again, the Dow (first chart below) was stopped shy of 11,000 today. That said, given the flat nature of the correction, it’s possible the blue chips may yet surmount that level — a flat resistance or support area stands a chance of being exhausted eventually. If the blue chips can clear that level, it […]

Shares of Novellus fell in late trading Tuesday after the company issued mixed guidance for the fourth quarter. In its mid-quarter update, the chip equipment maker said it expects earnings of 15-20 cents a share on sales of $305-$315 million. The earnings figure compared favorably to the 16 cents analysts were looking for, but the […]

The blue chips are giving the bulls some trouble here. The S&P (first chart below) is running into major resistance at 1270-1280. The big support level on the index is 1240-1246. The Dow (second chart) is running into tough resistance at 10,950-11,000, with 10,955 and 10,985 a couple of big levels here. Support on the […]

Shares of Apple and Amazon dodged a downtrend on Monday, climbing on hopes for a strong holiday shopping season. Apple shares gained half a percent to a new all-time high after analysts noted strong weekend demand for the company’s iPod and Mac products. The early strength caused some analysts to raise fourth-quarter iPod sales estimates […]

Falling energy prices, rising consumer sentiment and hopes for a strong start to the holiday shopping season sent stocks higher in midday trade on Wednesday. At noon Eastern Time, the Nasdaq was up 8 to 2261, the S&P 500 climbed 4 to 1265, and the Dow rose 38 to 10,909. Volume was steady in pre-holiday […]

The Nasdaq (first chart below) is pushing a big level here — 2252 was the level where bulls were first emboldened to buy after the Nasdaq broke below 3000 five years ago. When that level gave way two months later, it became resistance, stopping the April-May 2001 rally at 2264. We’re back there now, and […]

Shares of Tech Data surged 10% Tuesday after the company’s quarterly results soundly beat Wall Street expectations. Tech Data’s third-quarter earnings of 53 cents a share beat analysts’ estimates by 8 cents. Sales rose 6.6% to $5.09 billion, topping $4.95 billion forecasts. North American sales were strong, up 15%, while sales in Europe, the Middle […]

Data protection and retention regulations have created a new class of data, such as event logs and audit reports, that themselves must be stored and managed to prove compliance. Call it managing information about the security of information, if you will. SenSage is one start-up targeting this new class of data. Next week, the company […]

The Nasdaq (first chart below) cleared a resistance line today that has capped rallies for the last two years. No small breakout for the techs. The next big levels on the monthly chart are 2252 and 2328. Support is 2230-2235, 2220 and 2200-2207. The S&P (second chart) faces major resistance at 1260-1265, with 1275 above […]

Shares of SanDisk and Computer Sciences slid Monday after the two found themselves on the losing end of a couple of deals. CSC shares lost 12% after acquisition talks with Lockheed Martin and three private equity firms reportedly fell through. The talks, which had been reported for weeks, placed a $65 a share value on […]