financial

Sprint's shares don't usually see much activity, but in the last few days, investors have been increasingly likely to take their cash elsewhere.

The company's stock yesterday was down about 4.5 percent, closing the day at $2.76. As of this writing, the shares have given up nearly 2 percent, dropping 5 cents to $2.71.

The decline is due to an analyst report released yesterday by Bernstein's Craig Moffet, who said Sprint could potentially find itself in deep trouble in the coming years. Sprint's trouble could become so bad, Moffet argued, that it … Read more

Apple plans to pay a dividend, finally putting to use a portion of its $100 billion cash hoard.

The company said it plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 per share sometime in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2012, which begins on July 1.

In addition, Apple's board has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in company's fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012. The repurchase program is expected to be executed over three years.

"We have used some of our cash to make great investments in our business through increased … Read more

If there was any doubt about Yelp's IPO pricing, it should be laid to rest right now.

The local-reviews site kicked off its IPO at $15 a share today on the Nasdaq, but soon after trading began, the stock jumped 73 percent to $26. After hitting the high mark, the shares cooled off a bit, eventually ending the day up 64 percent to land at $24.58.

Yelp in November announced its plans to go public. The company yesterday priced its shares at $15, raising $107.25 million on the 7.15 million shares it made available.

From a … Read more

Everyone knows Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will net billions in his company's initial public offering, but who knew California might just do the same?

The state's Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) yesterday released a report on its expected income over the next several years and found that the state could net $2.45 billion in new tax revenue, thanks to Facebook's IPO.

California anticipates securing $500 million in tax revenue from Facebook during its 2011-2012 fiscal year, and then seeing that figure jump to $1.5 billion during its next fiscal year. Between its 2013-2014 … Read more

For the past several years, TurboTax has impressed us with its clear language and simple step-by-step tax prep, and Intuit's offering for the 2011 tax year is no exception. Whether you're an experienced taxpayer or you're fairly new to the system, TurboTax can help you file.

The first thing I should point out is that TurboTax comes in four versions--Basic, Deluxe, Premier, and Home & Business--each of which offers both an online prep option or a software download. All of the online apps let you start a single e-file for free, while the downloads cost a bit … Read more

For the past several years, TurboTax has impressed us with its clear language and simple step-by-step tax prep, and Intuit's offering for the 2011 tax year is no exception. Whether you're an experienced taxpayer or you're fairly new to the system, TurboTax can help you file.

The first thing I should point out is that TurboTax comes in four versions--Basic, Deluxe, Premier, and Home & Business--each of which offers both an online prep option or a software download. All of the online apps let you start a single e-file for free, while the downloads cost a bit … Read more

Aunt Jill won't be here for our 1000th episode this Friday because she only works out of the CNET office on Wednesdays, so we're popping bottles prematurely because hey, it's the 90s.

Along with a light wine tasting, Jill also gives a quick duster on the state of the Greek debt crisis and the Dow cracking 13000 after almost four years. In return, we'll tell Jill about the wonders of Instagram and Kim Dotcom's release from the New Zealand prison system.… Read more

Facebook is employing a dual-class stock structure when it goes public, and a corporate governance organization is not too happy about it.

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), an organization that provides corporate governance services, has criticized the world's largest social network for planning to give CEO Mark Zuckerberg too much control following his company's IPO.

The Wall Street Journal, which obtained a copy of a report filed by the ISS, was first to report on the story.

According to papers Facebook filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month, Zuckerberg owns about 28 percent of the social … Read more

Apple's stock surpassed $500 a share today, reaching an all-time high and prompting many investors to wonder just how high the company's shares can go.

At their height this morning, Apple's shares reached $503.83 before falling to about $499. Throughout the day, the company's stock flirted with the $500-a-share mark before finally ending the day at $502.60.

In after-hours trading, the company's stock is up to $502.93. Apple's market capitalization currently stands at $468.6 billion, making it the most valuable company in the world.

Although hitting $500 a share means … Read more