oracle

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.

Tech Takeovers: Nine Good Bets for 2011 Stock Gains

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.