Twitter Soars on Ad Hopes; Target Shaky on Fears; Blackberry Rises on Recovery Plan

        Twitter(TWTR) soared 8.4% on new hopes that it will be successful in the ad business. Rising by over $5, the new stock has greatly surpassed its starting price of about $20 to reach $69.96 at market's close, making it one of the most successful IPOs of the year. Originally, investors feared another Facebook drop, especially since Twitter has no real earnings due to a lack of advertisements on its site, but those worries have long since disappeared. As the social media industry continues its exponential growth, there are high hopes on Twitter's ability to market ads to its approximately half-a-billion users. Also, with recent highlights from Snowden revealing the government's extensive involvement with larger internet corporations, Twitter has become a go-to company for privacy since it has avoided giving in to the government's demands.

        Target(TGT) recently revealed its loss of 40 million credit card numbers to hackers. Though it faced no rapid drop due to these reports, it is down 15% from a high of $72 achieved in July of this year. Along with the credit card numbers, it lost emails and personal identification numbers. Forced to give discounts to its fearful consumer base and provide reassurance through outside services, this quarter may be very draining on their cash balance. The credit card numbers quickly appeared for sale on the black market, prompting many banks to extend their hours for the sake of their customers. Many groups have filed lawsuits against Target for one of the largest financial breaches in history.

        Blackberry(BBRY) has been one of the worst performing stocks of 2013, but has managed to regain some ground, rising around 27% in the past three days. Hopes of Thorsten Heins' ability to revive the company brought shares to a two year high of $18 in the beginning of the year. As its new BB10 phones failed to impress, the company lost over $1 billion in the third quarter and fell to a low of $6 per share. As a series of takeover bids failed, the company's future looked grim to investors. In its most recent quarter, the company reported a $4.4 billion loss but was able to strike a deal with Foxconn. The Apple supplier entered into a 5 year deal with Blackberry to help design and produce a new line of phones for Blackberry targeted at the lower tier smartphone market in Indonesia. Its new CEO, John Chen, believes a recovery is very possible for the once-dominant smartphone maker, and many investors are confident as shown by its shares.

Disclaimer: Trading stocks has extremely high risks, and should not be taken to lightly without a thorough understanding. This is written from a purely commentary point of view and is not meant to suggest buying, selling, or holding a stock. All traders must do their own research prior to investing. We (StockQuests) are unaffiliated with all of the companies that are mentioned on this blog, and can't be held responsible for any losses that may occur. Invest at your own risk.

ORB Jumps Before Rocket Launch; MSFT Announces Share Buybacks

        Orbital Sciences(ORB), a company specializing in the development of rockets, gained nearly 5% during trading hours on a volume of 1 million shares. This precedes the company's plan to launch its first spacecraft to the International Space Station on Wednesday of this week. Named Antares, the rocket will launch from NASA's Virginia facility and will carry limited items as this is considered a test flight. Though ORB has had a bumpy road, gaining only 20% since its IPO 11 years ago,  it still managed to post a 30% rise in the last year. Rocket research is a long and expensive process, so the results of this test run could be a make-or-break for the stock.
        Aeropostale(ARO) made gains of 18% today after Sycamore Partners, a company well-known for its investments in clothing companies, disclosed an 8% stake in the company. This led to speculations that the company might soon be taken private. ARO has not fared well this year, dropping from $15 to $9 in just two weeks after a disappointing second quarter earnings result. Its efforts to revamp itself as a leading brand of teen fashion wasn't as well as hoped. Similarly, rivals American Eagle Outfitters(AEO) and Abercrombie and Fitch(ANF) both reported poor outlooks and have declined in the past few weeks.
        Microsoft(MSFT) announced today that its board approved a $40 billion share repurchase program as it hiked its dividend up by 22%. This follows its acquisition of Nokia's mobile hardware unit and CEO Steve Ballmer's retirement announcement. The stock has made impressive gains, rising 30% over the past few years and 5% in the past year. It recently broke through multi-year highs by hitting an impressive $36 in July. Its shares made modest gains in early trading hours but flatlined over the course of the day.

Sources:
Associated Press

Disclaimer: Trading stocks has extremely high risks, and should not be taken to lightly without a thorough understanding. This is written from a purely commentary point of view and is not meant to suggest buying, selling, or holding a stock. All traders must do their own research prior to investing. We (StockQuests) are unaffiliated with all of the companies that are mentioned on this blog, and can't be held responsible for any losses that may occur. Invest at your own risk.

August Jobs Report Misses Expectations; Fed Might Still Taper Stimulus

The August jobs report was released last Friday, indicating a sluggish recovery of the economy that was below estimates. 169,000 jobs were added - a far cry from the median estimate of 180,000. In addition, June and July's job estimates were revised to indicate that less jobs were added than previously thought. One of the most dramatic figures of the report was the sharp decrease of people working or looking for work. With most of the jobs added being low-wage positions, economists consider this job report to be a a stark reminder of the economy's weak state. However, the job report had some bright spots - namely, an increase in hourly wages and hours worked. Analysts believe that the Federal Reserve could use these bright spots to justify a tapering of the stimulus. The markets responded to this uncertainty, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Average both suffering losses on Friday. If the stimulus is tapered, it could lead to increased stress on the economy and a fall in stock prices.

Sources
New York Times

Disclaimer: Trading stocks has extremely high risks, and should not be taken to lightly without a thorough understanding. This is written from a purely commentary point of view and is not meant to suggest buying, selling, or holding a stock. All traders must do their own research prior to investing. We (StockQuests) are unaffiliated with all of the companies that are mentioned on this blog, and can't be held responsible for any losses that may occur. Invest at your own risk.

Microsoft Acquires Nokia Mobile Phones Unit for $7.2 Billion: Nokia Surges, Microsoft Drops

All numbers accurate as of 9/3/13 1:12 PM EST. However, they may change as the trading session progresses.

Microsoft announced that it was planning to pay the equivalent of $7.2 billion USD for Nokia's (NASDAQ: NOK) mobile devices unit, as well as its patent portfolio (all the patents owned by a company.) While Nokia phones already utilize Microsoft's mobile operating system, Microsoft's failure to gain a foothold in the mobile phone market has hurt the company. The company's acquisition of Nokia presents an opportunity to gain a share of this market. About 32,000 Nokia employees, including CEO Stephen Elop, are to be transferred to Microsoft. Mr. Elop is seen as a viable successor to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who is retiring later this year. After the transaction is completed in early 2014, Nokia will retain its networking and location services sectors. The sale will allow Nokia to ditch its declining smartphone sector, and instead focus on new technologies. Revenue from the sale will augment the company as it evolves into new markets and fields. Investors responded favorably to the sale in Nokia's favor, with the stock surging by $1.18/30.26%. However, Microsoft stocks did not react favorably to the sale. MSFT is currently down by $2.05/6.09 as a result of the sale. Even with Nokia's mobile unit and patents, Microsoft could still have trouble gaining a foothold in the mobile market, and some investors see the sale as a waste of money for Microsoft.

Sources
Yahoo Finance

Disclaimer: Trading stocks has extremely high risks, and should not be taken to lightly without a thorough understanding. This is written from a purely commentary point of view and is not meant to suggest buying, selling, or holding a stock. All traders must do their own research prior to investing. We (StockQuests) are unaffiliated with all of the companies that are mentioned on this blog, and can't be held responsible for any losses that may occur. Invest at your own risk.

Dow Jones Surpasses 15,000; Microsoft (MSFT) Surges on Ballmer Resignation

Stocks rose today in a day of light trading, let by Microsoft's meteoric gain.  A day after a technical error brought the New York Stock Exchange to a standstill for three hours, all glitches were resolved and the markets operated as normal. Investors were cautious today, leading to a daily volume far below the average. Only 4.9 billion shares were traded, versus a 2013 daily average of 6.3 billion. Today's volume was only slightly higher then yesterday, when there were 4.4 billion traded shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed at 15,010.51 (+46.77/0.31%), the S&P 500 closed at 1,663.5 (+6.54/0.39%), and the NASDAQ Composite closed at 3,657.92 (+19.085/0.52%). The Dow Jones is starting to show signs of a recovery after a slump from 15,600 points led by Fed anxiety.

CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer's resignation was the highlight of the financial world today. Microsoft (MSFT) shares surged by $2.36/7.29% to close at $34.75. Ballmer's style of management attracted criticism, and is blamed for the company's slip from the dominating giant it once was. During his tenure at Microsoft, competing tech firms overtook his company in fields such as smartphones and tablets. Microsoft's failure to capture a significant share of the mobile market led to massive criticism towards Steve Ballmer, and problems for the company itself. As Ballmer steps down from his position and leaves the company he helped shape over three decades, Microsoft will hopefully be able to capture a portion of the mobile market and become a key player in the tech world once again.

Sources
Yahoo Finance
Reuters

Disclaimer: Trading stocks has extremely high risks, and should not be taken to lightly without a thorough understanding. This is written from a purely commentary point of view and is not meant to suggest buying, selling, or holding a stock. All traders must do their own research prior to investing. We (StockQuests) are unaffiliated with all of the companies that are mentioned on this blog, and can't be held responsible for any losses that may occur. Invest at your own risk.

NASDAQ Trading Temporarily Halted

Trades on the NASDAQ market were halted for three hours due to a technical error. Around 12, issues with quote dissemination (the process of providing real-time prices) began to show. These issues were so severe that NASDAQ decided to halt trading of Tape C securities at 12:14. Tape C securities include most stocks listed on the NASDAQ. Share trading of Microsoft, Apple, Google, and other NASDAQ giants were completely stopped. This blackout continued until 3:02, when shares of AAME began to be traded. Ten minutes later, all NASDAQ securities resumed normal trading. The NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC) closed at 3638.71, up 38.92 points (1.08 percent).


Sources:
Reuters
NASDAQ.com

Disclaimer: Trading stocks has extremely high risks, and should not be taken to lightly without a thorough understanding. This is written from a purely commentary point of view and is not meant to suggest buying, selling, or holding a stock. All traders must do their own research prior to investing. We (StockQuests) are unaffiliated with all of the companies that are mentioned on this blog, and can't be held responsible for any losses that may occur. Invest at your own risk.

Stocks Post Losses For the Fourth Day For the First Time in 2013

    US stocks fell today, with major indices reporting a loss for the fourth day in a row. For the Dow Jones (^DJI) and S&P 500 (^GSPC), this was the longest consecutive loss all year, while the NASDAQ (^IXIC) matched declines from Mid-June. The losses have been anticipatory, as the Federal Reserve September policy meeting is set to occur on Wednesday. One of the expected policy changes is a reduction in bond buybacks, which have been a major driving force in the market's impressive gains (the S&P 500 is up more than 16% this year.) As the Fed cuts back on its stimulus by decreasing the amount of bonds it buys back, markets could fall dramatically. Investors have reacted pessimistically to this news, taking less risks and leading to a decline in market performance. With few other major events in the world of finance, the upcoming Fed meeting is weighing heavily on the markets. Leading up to Wednesday, US stocks could continue to drop as stimulus tapering is expected by investors.

Sources:

Yahoo! Finance
CNBC

Disclaimer: Trading stocks has extremely high risks, and should not be taken to lightly without a thorough understanding. This is written from a purely commentary point of view and is not meant to suggest buying, selling, or holding a stock. All traders must do their own research prior to investing. We (StockQuests) are unaffiliated with all of the companies that are mentioned on this blog, and can't be held responsible for any losses that may occur. Invest at your own risk.