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Microsoft shares hit five-year high despite Windows 8 flop

The news may seem bleak for Microsoft these days, what with Windows 8 sales disappointing, and the PC market itself sliding.

But don't tell Wall Street. Microsoft shares closed Tuesday at $33.10, their highest level in more than five years.

Microsoft shares have been moribund for the better part of the last decade. Investors have come to view the company, once the most valued stock in the world, as one with limited growth opportunity, particularly as rivals Apple and Google race ahead in key consumer markets.

The recent stock bounce, which gained momentum earlier this month, is largely … Read more

Apple preps bond sale effort

Apple is readying a bond offering, its first since 1996.

The program, which The Wall Street Journal says could be finalized later today, is designed to help Apple pay for the more than $100 billion it plans to pay shareholders over the next few years.

Apple detailed initial plans for the program in a regulatory filing on Monday, and once again on Tuesday. It's a mix of notes and securities that mature beginning in 2016, and go through 2043, though Apple did not provide prices. Bloomberg suggests the total could go as high as $17 billion.

The bond sale … Read more

Apple shares sputter after profit decline

Apple's shares were hovering around the $400 mark again today, and not in a good way.

By the end of trading on Wednesday, the shares had largely pulled themselves out of their funk, closing at $405.46, just a hair below the previous day's close.

But things were a bit gloomier in the first few hours of trading Wednesday, when shares in the high-profile technology company were generally down 1 percent or more to just around $401, with a handful of dips into the $399 range or below. Shares had closed Tuesday, just ahead of Apple's earnings … Read more

The 404 1,254: Where can you spare a Bitcoin? (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Check out the new Web site for Jill Schlesinger, CBS News senior business analyst!

- Bitcoin bubble burst? Currency suffers dramatic correction.

- Bitcoin drops another 35 percent as exchange reopens.

- Apple earnings could bring profit setback, despite record sales.… Read more

Apple stock dips below $400 before rebound

Apple's shares finally sagged below the $400 point.

Just before 10 a.m. PT today, the stock dipped below that round number, if only momentarily, crossing a threshold that seemed unlikely when it was high and mighty at more than $700 a share last September. That registered as the day's low of at $398.11, though the stock quickly rebounded to around the $403 mark.

Apple's shares closed the day at $402.80, a drop of 5.5 percent from the previous day's close.

Some Wall Street analysts put the blame on a disappointing quarterly forecast … Read more

Goldman says 'sell' Microsoft, others downgrade stock

Goldman Sachs recommended selling Microsoft today in the wake of brutal first quarter PC shipment numbers.

Heather Bellini, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, recommended that investors sell the stock -- downgrading it from a neutral rating, according to Bloomberg.

"Quarterly results will "gradually deteriorate unless Microsoft successfully repositions itself as a more meaningful participant in the new era of consumer compute," Bellini wrote in a note to investors.

This critique comes after a report from IDC Wednesday showed PC shipments sinking 14 percent worldwide in the first quarter, the worst quarter ever reported by IDC. The market … Read more

Stocksy aims to bring the soul back into stock photography

Bruce Livingstone, founder of the iStockphoto site that grew from a small stock-art community to a multimedia juggernaut, is launching a competitor called Stocksy United today that he hopes will bring the business back to its roots.

Stocksy is a startup, but it won't attract venture capital, won't be acquired by a larger rival, and doesn't have an exit strategy. Instead, it's a cooperative run by its own photographers who get paid a relatively high percentage of the royalties generated by each image sale: 50 percent. On top of that, photographers split the profits left over … Read more

Apple shareholders to Samsung: Thank you

Samsung's newest smartphone, the Galaxy S4 -- evolutionary or revolutionary? Given the hype leading up to yesterday evening's product debut, that debate likely will rage for days, if not weeks.

But the news is a boon for shares of Apple as jittery investors finally saw reason to hit the "buy" button. At the close of today's trading, Apple's stock was up 2.58 percent to $443.66 -- and this on a day when the overall stock market has been trading in the red.

In the lead-up to the Galaxy S4 announcement, there had … Read more

HiddenApps hides stock Apple apps on your iOS device

From day one of iOS, users have looked for different ways to hide or get rid of the default Apple apps they will never use. Jailbreak users have been able to accomplish this task through tweaks for years, but users who don't jailbreak have been left with a lone folder tucked away somewhere full of apps that'll never be touched.

For some reason, Apple has approved HiddenApps, and it's currently available in the App Store, as first reported by 9to5Mac. It's unknown how long it will be available, so download it while you can.

Update, 7:… Read more

Facebook served new lawsuit over bungled IPO

Just when it seemed like the Facebook shareholder lawsuits were easing up, the social network has been hit with a new IPO suit.

Investor Gaye Jones filed a new case against Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and the company's underwriters today, according to Reuters. Like several other investors that have sued Facebook, Jones claims that the social network knew about its weak revenue trends before its IPO but failed to disclose this information.

"The defendants were unjustly enriched because they realized enormous profits and financial benefits from the IPO, despite knowing that reduced revenue and earnings forecasts for … Read more