Gartner’s new research on PC sales for 2009 is out and there it nothing in it to cheer the likes of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) or Dell (DELL). Sales of computers will drop so drastically this year that even the Apple (AAPL) Mac may be effected. According to the reseach company “the PC industr...

Filed under: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Bank of America (BAC), Comfort Zone Investing Ted Allrich is the founder of The Online Investor and author of the book: Comfort Zone Investing: Build Wealth and Sleep Well at Night . In this weekly column, he'll offer advice to investors who ...

A look at the companies which announced layoffs in December and January demonstrates that almost no industry is immune from job losses due to this contracting economy. Tech companies like Microsoft (MSFT) fired people.  So did many retail operations like Macy’s (M).Consolidation efforts led by Pf...

There are an extremely small number of companies which are likely to do relatively well during the recession, either because they are the market share leaders in their industries by a wide margin, or they are in businesses which sell products and services which are a necessary part of everyday life....

The car industry in the US is no longer just under siege. It is irreparably broken. There are no longer circumstances under which costs can be cut enough to make the business viable if vehicles are built in the US and sold through dealers. Domestic car sales by American manufacturers are down 40%. E...

Over the last two years, in the PC business Michael Dell has been beaten like a rented mule. His company continues to lose market share particularly in the US. Industry analysts would say that Dell has done a poor jobs of bringing out innovative and attractive products. Apple (AAPL) Mac sales keep r...

If you are not familiar with the name Kingdom Holding Co., you may know its owner by the name of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.  He has been a very visible investor in many companies including Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C).  There are reports that his holding company has lost roughly $8.26 billion...

It would be hard to miss the headline that Alcoa (AA) fired 15,000 people yesterday. The actions of big companies are probably a much better indicator for what is ahead for the economy than forecasts from business professors. The fascinating and troubling aspect of the Alcoa cuts is that the company...

Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is expected to report earnings after the close of trading today.  Last week, the company gave guidance which was ahead of plan and gave guidance farther out on the curve than any of the major tech companies have offered.  But there are still issues surrounding t...

Business is crummy, but at least the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a go. It's hard to believe, but the day of thanks is upon us. Despite the struggling economy, a near depression, and what is expected to be a long recession, we do have much to be thankful for. What started as a pricking of the s...