Cisco Systems

Talk about volatility: Since Oct. 1, there has been only one trading day where the market hasn't swung by at least 1% between its low and high points. This sort of market leads many investors to make big mistakes, but we have some time-tested tactics that will help you avoid the pitfalls.

Are you hungry for a piece of the Facebook IPO? If so, then pull up a chair. There's plenty of room at the table ... because the other guests are fleeing. After months when all we've heard is that this (eventual) stock sale will be the hottest thing since Google, the hype trend has reversed.

Video services company Harmonic, a competitor for much larger providers Motorola and Cisco, is poised to grow at a rate of 15% over the next five years, making it a very promising long-term stock pick.

Even after a round of acquisitions in 2010, some big tech companies are still rolling in cash -- and 2011 looks like another promising year for tech mergers. Here's columnist Peter Cohan's list of top tech acquisition targets for 2011.

The CEOs of 20 companies are visiting the White House Wednesday, and those executives will try to get something in return for the political cover they're giving President Obama. That could mean higher earnings for their shareholders down the road -- so which ones should you have in your 2011 portfolio?

Shares of networking equipment maker Cisco Systems plunged more than 16% Thursday as the company's forecast and comments from CEO John Chambers spooked investors.

Cisco Systems grew its fiscal first-quarter profit 8% from a year ago, beating analysts' expectations, but lower margins have pushed its shares down more than 12% in extended trading.

Former Cisco Systems senior vice president Tony Bates has answered Skype's call for a new leader. He's signed on as the Internet-telephone service's CEO, replacing Josh Silverman, who had headed eBay's Shopping.com division before taking the top spot at Skype since 2008.

In a sign of confidence in the economy, Microsoft says it's raising its dividend for the first time in two years. Shareholders will now get a quarterly dividend of 16 cents, up 23% from 13 cents. The news comes a week after Cisco said it would start paying a dividend.

Tech giant Cisco Systems reported a 79% increase in earnings but the company's revenue fell short of analyst expectations, causing investors to push the stock down over 5% after hours. Cisco's tepid results suggest that technology spending isn't growing as fast as investors had hoped.