Should Mark Hurd Run Cisco?

Concern over the economic recovery continues after last week’s employment report and this week’s signals of global weakness. This week, Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) reported a mixed fourth quarter that missed the average sales estimate. Its weak first quarter sales forecast also missed estimates as CEO John Chambers warned of a slower economic recovery. Last month, Juniper’s (NYSE:JNPR) modest earnings guidance also missed estimates. Meanwhile, acquisitions continued at both Cisco and Juniper. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

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Comcast Faces Competition From Netflix

In the first quarter of the year, global ad spending jumped 12.5% over the year to $110 billion driven by strong growth in the emerging markets of Latin America and Asia Pacific. Television was the preferred media segment in the quarter with a 16% share of ad spending revenue, and its share grew 9% in the quarter. Analysts expect North America to remain the largest TV ad market and to be worth $47 billion by 2015, with Asia Pacific following at $34.4 billion. >>>

Payroll Sector: Acquisitions And Management Changes

The payroll sector continued to improve in the recent quarter as seen from the recent results of Automatic Data Processing (NASDAQ:ADP) and Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX). ADP made two acquisitions in the quarter while Paychex on the other hand, is still shying away from acquisitions. Meanwhile, CEO has Jonathan Judge, who joined Paychex in 2004, has resigned. Let’s take a closer look.

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ERII’s Long-Term Outlook

Access to sustainable sources of potable water remains a concern for the world at large. Reports estimate that one child dies every fifteen seconds owing to lack of access to clean water. And the problem of water running out is not just in developing countries; it comes much closer to home. In the thirty-year period from 1980 to 2010, the Colorado River basin has been drying up owing to a population increase of over 20 million people in the western part of the United States. The basin, or watershed, drains an area of 637,000 square miles over seven states and Mexico. Energy Recovery Incorporated’s (NASDAQ:ERII) seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is a cost-effective way to meet demand for clean drinking water through affordable desalination. >>>

InterDigital’s And Tessera’s Communication Problems

We recently saw how Qualcomm is benefiting from global growth in the use of 3G devices. Shipments of 3G-enabled phones, accounting for 38% of the market in 2009, are forecast to increase to approximately 60% of the market by 2013. Another beneficiary of the 3G boom is InterDigital, an IP licensee that holds about 50% of the 3G handset license market and annual revenue of $297.4 million. The company recently reported its second quarter results. In this post, we will look at the performance and prospects of both InterDigital (NASDAQ:IDCC) and Tessera (NASDAQ:TSRA). >>>

Indian Outsourcers Facing Globalization Challenges

Recent research reports by Forrester predict 9.3% growth in IT spending for the current year. The improved market conditions are resulting in stiffer competition among the Indian players for quality resources. Attrition in the segment has increased despite most companies offering 12%–14% offshore and 2%–4% onsite salary increments. Companies are trying to retain their staff by offering equity-based incentives, offcycle increments and bonuses, retention bonuses, and promotions. To add to their concerns, the rupee remained strong against the dollar, Europe’s recovery is slower than anticipated, and the ten-year tax holiday is coming to an end. The Indian IT players are in for a tough season ahead. >>>

What Should Nokia Look For In New CEO?

According to IDC’s latest report, Nokia’s (NYSE:NOK) mobile phone market share stands at 35%, down from 37.2% last year. Nokia holds 39% of the smartphone market, but its strong markets are Europe and emerging markets such as India rather than the United States, which is the pulse of the smartphone market. Most of the phones that Nokia sells are low-priced models, which has taken a toll on the company’s profit margins. In its recent quarterly results, it reported a 31% decline in earnings. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

e-Commerce Booms Amid Slow Retail Sales

For the second consecutive month this year, U.S. retail sales fell 0.5% in June over May to $360 billion. Retail sales are up 4.9% compared to the previous year and grew 6.5% in the first six months of the year compared to the previous year’s period. But despite a declining retail sector, online retailers are experiencing growth. Online retail sales are expected to grow 10% annually over 2009–2014 to reach $249 billion. Key players Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) are already witnessing strong revenue growth. >>>

SAP Tries To Find Its Groove In A Consolidating Industry

The economic slowdown opened up opportunities for technology giants such as Cisco, HP, and Oracle to make strategic acquisitions at bargain prices. Oracle has always been seen as a pro at acquisitions, while SAP has relied mostly on organic growth. But it looks as though SAP wants to break away from that image – it recently acquired Sybase for $5.8 billion and before that, Business Objects for $6.78 billion. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

The iPad Effect On Two Newspaper Companies

Global ad spending is expected to rise 3.5% in 2010 up from the estimates of a 2.2% increase reported a quarter ago. Growth in spending is being driven by the rise in online advertising spending, which is projected to increase from $49.8 billion in 2008 to $82.7 billion and contribute to 17.1% of global ad spending in 2012. For the United States, the report forecasts that mobile advertising spending will grow 43.2% a year between 2009 and 2012 and social media by 30.2%, while overall online spending will increase 15.6% in the period. Overall U.S. ad spending is expected to rise 1.1% in 2010 compared with the 1.5% decline previously projected. >>>