Archive for the ‘Technology Stocks’ Category

Google (GOOG) settles with FTC over Buzz

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Google, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) shares surged as much as .65 percent to $585.50 in morning trading Wednesday, after the internet giant announced it had settled privacy charges with the Federal Trade Commission over Google Buzz. Despite the news, volume for the company was a modest 727,237 after lunch Wednesday, compared to a daily average over 2.5 million.

Per the agreement reached, the Mountain View, California-based Google has agreed to establish a “comprehensive privacy program”, while not admitting to any wrong-doing. This settlement resolves allegations that last year’s launch of Google Buzz, a venture into social networking by the Web giant, initially shared more information than users reasonably expected. The privacy program established includes regular reports on its privacy practices prepared by an independent professional for the next 20 years.

On the Official Google blog, the company stated, “The launch of Google Buzz fell short of our usual standards for transparency and user control—letting our users and Google down. While we worked quickly to make improvements, regulators—including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission—unsurprisingly wanted more detail about what went wrong and how we could prevent it from happening again. Today, we’ve reached an agreement with the FTC to address their concerns. We’ll receive an independent review of our privacy procedures once every two years, and we’ll ask users to give us affirmative consent before we change how we share their personal information.”

The settlement, approved 5-0 by the commissioners, is subject to public comment and final approval.

Jon Leibowitz, the Democratic chairman of the FTC, commented, “When companies make privacy pledges, they need to honor them. This is a tough settlement that ensures that Google will honor its commitments to consumers and build strong privacy protections into all of its operations.”

OXM soars, INTC does business, UTA sinks

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Oxford Industries Inc. (NYSE: OXM) shares climbed 28.8% to $32.21. Volume for the clothing brand manager topped 981,000, towering over an average of 121,151, after it reported late Tuesday fourth-quarter earnings that beat consensus estimates.

Intel Inc. (Nasdaq: INTC) traded in 22.9 million shares Wednesday, compared to a daily average of 58.7 million. Shares listed lower 0.2% to $20.24.

Universal Travel Group (NYSE: UTA) U.S.-listed shares fell 20% to $4.31, on volume of more than a million shares, compared to an average of 339,000. This, after the Chinese travel-services provider delayed its fiscal 2010 conference call and the release of its financial statements from Wednesday to an unspecified date.

SPEC takes flight, T tilting, GT punctured

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Spectrum Control Inc. (Nasdaq: SPEC) shares rallied 39.9% to $19.60. Volume was an incredible 3.2 million, given its usual volume around 73,000. This, after API Technologies Corp. said it would pay $20 a share for the electronic-products maker.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) traded in 41.6 million shares, compared to an average of 27.9 million. Shares of T gained 1.8% to $29.38, as Sprint Nextel criticized T’s proposed takeover of rival T-Mobile USA.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (NYSE: GT) shares shed 5.6% to $14.58, on volume of 13.2 million – double its usual daily volume — after the tire maker said it is making a public offering of $435 million of mandatory convertible preferred stock.

IDSA in orbit, S vocal, CISG capsizes

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Industrial Services of America Inc. (Nasdaq: IDSA) shares gained 16.6% to $11.72. Share volume was 263, 718, trumping an all-day average of less than 52,000, after the waste manager reported a higher fourth-quarter profit from the year-ago period.

Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) dealt in 43.9 million shares, catching up on its daily average of 62.2 million. Prices hiked 1.2% to $4.74, after the company spoke out against the acquisition of T-Mobile USA by rival AT&T.

CNinsure Inc. (Nasdaq: CISG) U.S.-listed shares were off 11.6% to $11.97. Share volume was 2.5 million, or more than four times its daily average, after the Chinese insurer and brokerage late Friday said it would sell Beijing Fanhau Datong Investment Management Co. Ltd. for nearly $64 million.

NVGN mushrooms, CSCO popular, TSTY fails to rise

Monday, March 28th, 2011

Novogen Limited (Nasdaq: NVGN) vaulted an incredible 145.3% in price Monday afternoon to $2.60, on volume of four million shares, trampling over an average of less than 140,000 a day.

Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) dealt in 30.9 million shares by post-lunch hour Monday, compared to a daily average of 71.5 million shares. CSCO shares sold for $17.31, or just 0.1% more than they closed on Friday, as CSCO showed up on a short list of “insanely cheap tech stocks” posted by the site known as Minyanville.

Tasty Baking Company (Nasdaq: TSTY) fell without a parachute Monday afternoon, losing 14.8% in price to $1.78. Volume of just over 209,000 more than doubled its daily average, after delaying the release of its annual report.