ORACLE

Tech's Highest-Paid CEOs

Yahoo's Marissa Mayer is the second-highest paid CEO in the tech world this year. Who's No. 1, and who else made the Top 12 list? Read on:

Why Is Warren Buffett Buying Back Berkshire Hathaway Stock?

Earlier this month, famed billionaire and Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett dropped a bombshell. Breaking with past practice, and changing the financial rules he himself laid down, Berkshire is buying back its own stock -- and he plans to keep buying it back. What lessons does that hold for investors?

Ellison, Oracle One-Up Everyone with a December Triple Dividend

A lot of companies have moved up their January dividends to late December this year, to help shareholders avoid a 2013 tax hike. And some of those dividends have been made extra juicy. But Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is going even bigger: He's issuing three quarters worth of dividends at once.

Apple and the Burden of Being a Behemoth

In the annals of meaningless milestones, Apple's latest achievement -- surpassing Microsoft, circa 1999, as the largest U.S. company ever -- is right up there. I mean, how high is up? How big is BIG? What does Apple win, Johnny!?

What to Watch This Week: The Games Are Afoot

Let's go over some items that will help shape the week ahead for Wall Street: The Hunger Games will give theaters a much needed boost; FuelBand may do the same for Nike; video game sellers hunger for hits; and Tiffany and Oracle will give us clues about the recovery.

What to Watch This Week: Seeds, Sex, Schools and FedEx

On Monday, the stock market will take the day off to shake the confetti out of its hair. But on Tuesday, it'll be back to business as usual on Wall Street. Here are some of the items that will shape the first trading week of 2012.

Who Will Be the Next Steve Jobs?

On a split-adjusted basis, Apple went public at $2.75 a share 31 years ago; the stock closed at $378.25 yesterday. Investors lucky enough to hold for the entire period have enjoyed a 17% annualized return. Find a founder capable of delivering on a similar scale and you'll have a much easier time funding your retirement.

What Was Wall Street Thinking Last Week?

Last week's most puzzling moves included Bank of America turning ingrate on its debit card users -- who also pay taxes, and hence bailed BoA out -- Oracle's Larry Ellison and HP writing a new chapter in their feud, Warren Buffett opting for a stock buyback, and Sony refusing to pay for 3-D glasses.

Why Young Investors Should Stick With Stocks

Stats compiled earlier this year by Money magazine show a disturbing trend: Young investors seem to have been spooked by the stock market. But if they lose their nerve now, they're sure to regret it later in life. Here's how those of you lucky enough to be starting out early can position yourselves for success.

Renting Relics: An Offbeat Fix for Greek Debt Woes

Greece is in debt, in trouble, and its people are rebelling against austerity measures. But it's not without resources: What could the government in Athens get if it leased the Parthenon? Or naming rights to the Acropolis? Sacrilege, perhaps -- but when you really need the money...

IBM Capitalizes on a Need to Make Cities Smarter

Last week, IBM announced its Intelligent Operations Center for Smarter Cities, aimed at providing in one easy package a software platform for cities to use in monitoring and managing city resources. Trefis sees this as a potentially huge boost IBM's lucrative middleware business.

Six Things That Have Changed for Investors

Friday's employment report has created an even hazier backdrop for stocks. Recent data showed an economy starting to cool, but with 244,000 jobs created in April, this expansion may have legs after all. But the economy's areas of support aren't what you'd have expected a few months ago.

Good Corporate Citizens With Good Returns

Everybody wants to support good corporate citizens and everybody wants high returns on their investments, but is it possible to combine the two? This list of good companies with good returns suggests that it is!

Why Apple May No Longer Be a Hot Stock

The re-weighting of the Nasdaq-100, which is expected to be announced today, could harm Apple's share price. But that may be the least of the tech giant's problems right now.

What You Can Buy With a Literal Ton of Cash

With more and more financial transactions being conducted electronically, it's easy to forget the physicality of money. What a dollar weighs, or a pile of them. So just for fun, let's start piling up the Benjamins and see what a pound -- or 10, or 100, or a ton -- of C-notes will buy.

Week in Preview: Discover, Oracle and Tiffany Earnings

Oracle, Discover and Tiffany are all expected to report year-over-year growth for their most recent quarters this week. Meanwhile, many will be looking for an updated snapshot of the housing market, with three sets of real-estate data coming out.

Here's the Next Company Buffett Should Buy

Warren Buffett recently said he was anxious to pull the trigger on another large deal. Sheldon Liber, who correctly predicted some of Buffett's earlier acquisitions, writes about which company Buffett could acquire next. You heard it here first.

Bill Gates Sells 90 Million Microsoft Shares

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has cut his stake in the world's largest software maker -- which he co-founded -- by 13% over the past year, InformationWeek reported. In the last five years, the company has delivered far lower returns than Apple or Oracle.

Facebook Buys Former Sun Site for New Headquarters

Social networking giant Facebook announced Tuesday it's moving its headquarters into the old digs of server and storage maker Sun Microsystems in Santa Clara, Calif. With the relocation from Palo Alto, Calif., Facebook will snag 57 acres and nine buildings that offer roughly 1 million square feet.

HP to Launch Investigation into Hurd's Departure

Hewlett-Packard is planning an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the forced resignation of CEO Mark Hurd last year and the compensation package he received. A shareholder lawsuit claims HP's directors wasted company money by awarding Hurd as much as $53 million in severance.

Measuring Rich People's Toys Against Average Incomes

The gap between America's super-wealthy and the rest of us has grown so vast it's hard to even comprehend the sums they spend on their luxuries. But if you measure, say, a $200 million luxury yacht in terms of the average U.S. family's household income, the picture comes back into focus.