CHIP

Getting even a tentative handle on the multi-trillion dollar federal budget is no easy matter. Still, as the debate surrounding U.S. spending, taxes and the looming debt ceiling continues, it's worth asking: Exactly how does America spend all that cash, and what do the choices being debated really mean?

The path to profits for most of Corporate America lately has been cutting costs rather than raising revenue. But a careful look reveals a few companies that are poised to deliver real revenue growth. We've found six with a plus: Their stocks look like bargains.

Advanced Micro Devices has lowered its third-quarter sales guidance, citing weaker-than-expected demand for laptops in North America and Europe. The news comes after another chip maker, Intel, cut its third-quarter forecast last month.

IBM claims it has developed the world's fastest computer chip, and it plans to start shipping the chip as part of its zEnterprise System mainframe computers this month.

Here's news from the business world and other money matters to watch out for Friday (last updated at 8:09 a.m. Eastern time): Economic Reports Affirm Slowing: Data released Thursday raised further questions about the robustness of the economic recovery, sending stocks lower on Wall Street. The...

The cool technology that allows your iPhone or Wii controller to sense how you're moving it is a gyroscopic chip, and as the market for such motion-controlled devices grows, so do the prospects of gyroscopic chip makers like InvenSense, which just announced plans for an IPO.

Annie and Doug Schulte each have health insurance through their jobs. She works for a tiny nonprofit, and he is a truck driver. But neither of their employers offers coverage for children. As a result, their son, A.J., 16, is uninsured. That's a constant worry for his parents. "You always have...

Advanced Micro Devices posted its first quarterly profit in three years. But the world's No. 2 maker of microprocessors said it would have lost money were it not for the payment it received from Intel to squash a long-running antitrust battle.

There's been a lot of fuss at the Las Vegas electronics show over tablets and 3-D TVs, but Intel's new platform for mobile devices is a big deal. Long the leader in computer chips, Intel sees a market for its chips in mobile devices with the blurring of boundaries between computers and smartphones.

After a year in which the cell phone industry was happy with flat numbers, 2010 should see growth for an array of reasons, from next-gen handsets and 4G networks to mobile video and a game-changing entry from Google.