financial

Despite growing concern from some major shareholders, Dell says its decision to go private is the best one.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today, Dell reports that it "considered an array of strategic alternatives." The company also hired a "prominent management consultant to help it assess the Company's strategic position." Those alternatives, along with the consultant's assessment, led Dell down the path of going private.

"Based on that work, the Board concluded that the proposed all-cash transaction is in the best interests of stockholders," Dell wrote in its filing. "… Read more

Nintendo investors aren't the only ones bummed by Wii U's uptake.

Speaking yesterday during an earnings call with investors, Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick said he was "somewhat disappointed with the launch of the Wii U." That dagger came just minutes after Kotick acknowledged that his company faced "challenges from slower-than-expected adoption of the Wii U."

It's no secret that the Wii U has faced some trouble since its release in November. Last month, Nintendo released its earnings for the nine-month period that ended December 31 and revealed that the company mustered only … Read more

Although Sony has watched its troubles mount over the last few years, the company had a strong fourth quarter, leading some to wonder if the worst is behind it.

During the fourth quarter of 2012 (Sony's fiscal third quarter), the company generated $22.4 billion in revenue, representing a 6.9 percent gain over the same period in 2011 (PDF). And although the company still lost $124 million during the period, that was far better than the $1.7 billion it lost in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Sony's improved performance came by way of its mobile products … Read more

Facebook shares are down today, spelling some possible erosion in the stock price heading into the rest of the week of trading.

Shares in the big social network are down 3.5 percent today to $30.13 in early trading. The company's stock ended the day yesterday at $31.24, up significantly from the company's 52-week low of $17.55. That rally has been due to Facebook's ability to gain traction in mobile and reassure investors that it could continue to grow.

The company went a long way in making its case yesterday, reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. … Read more

Nintendo had a rough end to 2012, and the situation might become a bit more difficult in the coming months.

The company today announced its earnings (PDF) for the nine months ended December 31. During that period, Nintendo generated 543 billion yen (about $6 billion) in revenue, dropping 2.4 percent compared with the same period in 2011. Despite that decline, Nintendo was able to muster a small profit of 14.5 billion yen, up significantly from the 48.4 billion yen it lost a year earlier.

The Nintendo 3DS handheld game player was the highlight of the company's … Read more

Apple has lost its top spot as the world's most valuable company.

Apple shares today are down more than $11 to around $439, pushing its market capitalization below $412 billion. That decline, coupled with a 16-cent gain in Exxon Mobil's stock price that pushed that company's market cap to $417.2 billion, has robbed Apple of its market-cap leadership position.

Market capitalization measures the value of a company, and is calculated by multiplying a company's total shares outstanding by the share price.

Apple and Exxon Mobil had been battling for the top spot in 2011, when … Read more

Google's shares are on the rise following a strong earnings report yesterday.

In early trading, Google's shares jumped more than 5 percent to $740.37. The company's stock price closed the day at $702.87 yesterday.

Google's share jump is due in part to Google's strong fourth quarter. The company beat analyst expectations during the period and posted a $2.9 billion profit on $14.4 billion in revenue. That performance helped Google post its first $50 billion revenue year.

It didn't take long for a slew of analysts to chime in on Google'… Read more

Apple investors can't seem to shake their concern over the company's future.

Shares in the iPhone maker ended the day at $485.92, down just over 3 percent for the day after having closed yesterday at $501.75. In trading today, Apple's stock never rose above the $500 mark.

On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal cited sources who said that Apple had cut component orders for its iPhone 5 due to slumping demand for the handset. That bad news pushed Apple's shares lower yesterday as investors became concerned with the company's ability to compete as … Read more

The wave of distributed denial of service attacks that hit U.S. banks in October was next-to-nothing compared to what could happen if cybercriminals actually carry through with their plans for next year.

According to a report (PDF) released today by McAfee Labs, an impending attack on U.S. financial institutions -- dubbed Project Blitzkrieg -- isn't only a possibility, it's a "credible threat."

"McAfee Labs believes that Project Blitzkrieg is a credible threat to the financial industry and appears to be moving forward as planned," the report reads. "Although Project Blitzkrieg hasn'… Read more