Paul Shread

Storix hopes its unique backup and recovery approach will help it stand out in a crowded market. So far, it’s off to a good start. The nine-year-old company is profitable and boasts more than 500 customers, among them IBM, Whirlpool, SunGard and Wal-Mart. Now it hopes to build on that success with its latest launch. […]

It wasn’t pretty, but the Nasdaq maintained its outperformance just enough today to generate a buy signal on Gerald Appel’s 10-week Nasdaq/NYSE relative strength indicator (see first chart below). Of course, stocks need to turn up from here to turn that buy signal into a profit; it’s not much good holding an outperforming sector if […]

A warning from Motorola and stronger than expected employment and wage growth had stocks on the defensive Friday. Motorola shares tumbled nearly 8% after the company said its earnings and sales will come in well below Wall Street estimates. The news also hit shares of rival Nokia , along with suppliers like RF Micro and […]

Nasdaq underperformance, one of the biggest problems for the market in recent weeks, could be on the verge of a happy resolution. All the index needs to do is keep pace with the NYSE tomorrow to get back on a buy signal on Gerald Appel’s Nasdaq/NYSE relative strength indicator (see first chart below). When high-beta […]

Thanks to an Intel upgrade, strength in technology shares helped stocks overcome a steep sell-off Thursday on growing fears of an economic slowdown. Weaker than expected holiday sales reports from several retailers exacerbated slowdown fears raised Wednesday by Federal Reserve meeting minutes that said the economy may be slowing more rapidly than thought. But optimism […]

An idea more than 40 years in development is beginning to work its way into the storage marketplace. InPhase Technologies will ramp up volume production of its holographic storage drives and media in mid-2007, and early units available for the first half of the year are already committed, according to company officials (see InPhase Nears […]

What a start to the new year, with big “outside days” on the major indexes. If today’s action is any indication, volatility could be due for a comeback in 2007, which it’s certainly overdue for. Not much change from our outlook two weeks ago. The NYSE advance-decline line (first chart below) has improved, but commercial […]

Stocks got off to a strong start to the new year on Wednesday, but concern about slowing growth and rising inflation undid the rally. Stocks rose early on a rebound in manufacturing, better than expected December sales at Wal-Mart and a change at the top at Home Depot , but Federal Reserve meeting minutes showing […]

Stocks appear ready to start the new year on a high note. While U.S. stock markets were closed Tuesday on a day of national mourning for former President Gerald Ford, electronic futures climbed sharply on better than expected December sales at Wal-Mart and a strong rally in Europe. Checkfree’s acquisition of Carreker , announced Tuesday, […]

As grid technology gets absorbed into enterprise fabrics, it could become inseparable from technologies such as virtualization and service-oriented architectures (SOA) and the creation of enterprise utilities, according to 451 Group analysts Steve Wallage and William Fellows. One consequence for grid computing, the analysts said in their 2007 grid computing outlook, is that the term […]

Strong earnings from a trio of tech bellwethers were no help for the stock market on Friday, as a weaker than expected durable goods report fanned slowdown fears. Micron and Red Hat rose after delivering better than expected quarterly results, but the rest of the market remained on the defensive over inflation and recession fears. […]

Note: The Technical Analysis column will be on hiatus until Jan. 2. Happy Holidays, and best wishes for a prosperous New Year. The market has turned wobbly in recent weeks, with a number of sectors and indicators sporting worrisome developments, with technology, transportation and retail among the sectors showing dangerous levels of underperformance. The NYSE […]