Paul Shread

PeopleSoft rejected Oracle’s latest takeover offer on Friday, but you can bet that you haven’t read the last word on that story. The rejection increases the likelihood that PeopleSoft will complete its merger with JD Edwards . Which means that if Oracle is still intent on acquiring PeopleSoft, it may have to spend even more […]

3PAR claims its new 3PAR Thin Provisioning technology dramatically reduces storage costs by eliminating over-provisioning. “We are perhaps the only storage vendor interested in selling our customers fewer disk drives,” says 3PAR President and CEO David Scott. “Using Thin Provisioning, they can cut IT costs while getting more done. I don’t know a single customer […]

The Nasdaq (first chart below) could form a bullish ascending triangle if it goes no lower tomorrow. Resistance is 1653 and 1687, and any move lower would target 1620-1625 and then 1600. The S&P and Dow (second and third charts) are a little bit shakier, having pierced the same lower trendline that the Nasdaq held. […]

Micron Technology’s results after the bell on Wednesday did nothing to give hope that the company will return to profitability any time soon. With only 5 quarters of profitability in the last six years, Micron, more than any other big technology company, has been battered by pricing pressures coming out of Asia. The company lost […]

In a move that could boost the fortunes of storage firms, NASD, the financial services industry’s self-regulatory body, yesterday ordered securities brokers and dealers to save instant messages (IMs) sent to clients and employees for at least three years. “NASD recognizes that instant messaging is becoming increasingly popular as a real-time method of communicating and […]

The Nasdaq (first chart below) is retesting its recent high – but the number of new highs have plummeted from more than 500 to 200, and the number of NYSE new highs have dropped significantly too. That’s a warning sign, but on the plus side, new lows have not begun to increase. Resistance on the […]

Oracle put to rest any doubts about its seriousness in acquiring PeopleSoft Wednesday when it upped its hostile takeover bid by more than 20%. PeopleSoft rose 5% to $18 after Oracle increased its cash offer from $16 a share to $19.50. Also on Wednesday, the State of Connecticut entered the Oracle-PeopleSoft fray. Perhaps more important […]

More bearish candlesticks today; it’s a good thing they don’t work anymore (until they do, that is). The Nasdaq (first chart below) best epitomizes today’s action: the index opened at its high, sold off, then recovered most – but not all – of the decline, forming a bearish “hanging man” candlestick. We’ll see how tomorrow […]

After lagging for much of the stock market rally since October, Microsoft has begun a stealth rally. Held back by insider selling, price cuts and fears of competition from Linux, Microsoft stock has been mired in a downtrend since December. But in the last six days, Microsoft has risen 10%, buoyed by favorable legal developments […]

The market hasn’t paused for so much as a breather since late March, an amazing feat considering how overbought it’s been. Friday’s reversals were negated in today’s powerful reversal, but once again we feel compelled to point out the warning signs, beginning with a very low equity put-call ratio today. Add to that the continuing […]

Once mentioned in the same breath as Amazon, eBay and Yahoo, Priceline.com has long since become an afterthought. The company tried to do something about that on Monday by announcing a reverse stock split. The immediate effect was to send Priceline’s stock – trading under the temporary symbol PCLND – from $4 a share to […]

The Dow, the S&P and the Nasdaq (first three charts below) all put in some manner of “evening star” reversal patterns the last three days, a white stick and a doji star followed by a down day. A break of this week’s lows – 8945, 972 and 1597 – could cement a double-top. Support levels […]