People have been clamoring for smartphones ever since Apple (AAPL) introduced the iPhone in 2007. Today, thousands of people carry smartphones or tablets. Now, soon the military may too.

Military operations require dependable information on locations, a way for communicating efforts and a way to share information in real-time – sounds like a regular Saturday night for most people as they use their smartphones or tablets to get directions, meet up with friends, and share pictures of the festivities.

Of course, the military versions of these items are considerably “hardened” and developed specifically for military usage by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), but many of the apps carry similarities to those used by civilians, such as DARPA’s custom application that sports Google-like maps based on satellite images.

“Darpa, the defense research arm that contributed to the development of the Internet, has launched an effort called Transformative Apps under which it has developed a few dozen smartphone applications that work on a number of mobile devices it is evaluating,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “In addition to mapping, the apps can do things like identify explosives and weapons and help navigate parachute drops” and they have shown marked success.

“During a battle in a village near Kandahar, Afghanistan, Lt. Kevin Pelletier used a tablet computer with a custom map application to direct soldiers’ movements,” continues the paper. “As thousands of rounds flew through the village near Kandahar, Lt. To continue reading, click here.

Thanks to mortgage rates remaining at historical lows, mortgage REITs continue to reap the benefits while at the same time rewarding their investors with high dividend yields and growth of share price. In this article, I will discuss why American Capital Agency (AGNC) will continue providing its double-digit dividend at least through 2014.

Analyzing the Fundamentals

With its monthly dividend of $0.10 per share, American Capital has been paying out a dividend yield in excess of 17%. Although the company’s second-quarter 2012 financials were not as exhilarating as they were in 2011, or even in the first quarter of 2012, it is expected that this REIT industry leader will continue rewarding dividend-seeking investors with a yield between 10% and 14% in both the short and long run.

While using a great deal of leverage tends to increase the risk for investing in REITs, American Capital has reduced this risk in some areas by investing most of its assets in guaranteed U.S. government agency securities. Of late, American Capital has been providing investors with one-year returns of over 23%, and three-year annualized returns of approximately 30%. In addition, the company’s shares seem to be reasonably priced, with a book value of just under $29.50 per share.

Where Other REITs Stand in Comparison

Due to a recent decline in mortgage applications — primarily due to a slight hiccup in interest rates — many REITs have seen a slight lowering of share price. And, in a recent slew of downgraded ratings by FBR Capital Markets, even REIT industry leader Annaly Capital Management (NLY) was not immune. To continue reading, click here.

One of the leading independent energy companies leading the way in the exploration and development of natural gas liquids (NGL) is Devon (DVN). While other energy companies are searching out alternative resources because of the downward pricing of natural gas, Devon is going for the liquid.

This is a smart move especially when analysts are expecting this company’s growth, due to NGL, to be close to 13% this year. Of course NGL is not Devon’s only energy resource to bring to market. The company is expecting growth of up to 24% from its oil plays. In the most recent quarter, the company reported record production of 694,000 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day in the most recent quarter, up 10% from the first quarter of 2011. Devon is a company that I believe investors should not just keep a keen eye on, but own the company while watching its phenomenal growth.

Two of Devon’s competitors, Apache (APA) and Anadarko (APC) are in for a surprise when Devon’s plans finally begin to take hold. Lesser competitors such as Cabot Oil & Gas (COG), Comstock Resources (CRK), and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) will also need to be on their toes as Devon begins taking action on its lofty goals. The company has set a goal to spend $1 billion more than originally planned for oil exploration, or close to $6.5 billion, with expectations of increasing its oil and gas production by 6% to 8% on an annual basis over the next five years.To continue reading, click here.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is in the news primarily for its hostile bid to take over Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) and secondly because of its work on skin cancer drugs.

Let’s look at the hostile takeover bid first. This refers to the ongoing story that GlaxoSmithKline is attempting to acquire Human Genome Sciences, a company that it has worked with in peace for many years up until now. The most recent development in this case is that Human Genome Science has decided to use a “poison pill” strategy to put the larger pharmaceutical company off. As one source puts it, the company has “adopted a “poison pill” shareholder rights plan to ward off unsolicited takeover bids for the biotech drug maker”. This will essentially dilute the holdings if anyone, or any company such as GlaxoSmithKline, tries to acquire fifteen or more percent of the company. This is quite a good move, but GlaxoSmithKline seems unperturbed by Human Genome Science’s reluctance to give in. In addition, Human Genome Science is recommending that its shareholders reject the offer form GlaxoSmithKline and they do not tender their shares in the company. Human Genome Science states that its reason for this recommendation is that the bid made by GlaxoSmithKline is inadequate and does not correspond with the true value of the company.

What has GlaxoSmithKline’s reaction been? Well, the company has no intention of withdrawing or adjusting its bid for Human Genome Sciences. It plans to follow its current course of action as the acquisition will serve it and its stockholders well.To continue reading, click here.

The number of homes refinanced under the new and improved Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) nearly doubled in the first quarter of 2012. That should benefit mortgage REITS that invest in government guaranteed mortgages, such as AG Mortgage Management (MITT), Hatteras Financial (HTS), American Capital Agency (AGNC), and Annaly Capital Management (NLY).

Stocks from mREITs like these should see a small boost in profits from this news. Even though the volume of refinances under HARP 2.0 has nearly doubled, the number is still very low. Around 180,000 mortgages were refinanced under the program in the first quarter, compared with around 93,000 in the last quarter of 2011.

The number of refinances does seem to be refinancing dramatically – around 80,000 HARP refinances were completed in March. The reason for this increase appears to be new mortgage refinancing software written expressly for HARP. The New York Times reported that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHA) only made the program fully available at that time.

These numbers show that the refinancing business is getting a dramatic boost, which should increase the volume of business at mREITs. This should also increase their cash flow and profits. Also increased will be the amounts that those companies can leverage.

The major factor holding the number of HARP refinances down is the requirement that homeowners be current on their mortgage payments. Many underwater homeowners have had a hard time meeting mortgage payments because of the dismal economy.To continue reading, click here.

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) is a well-known brand in the technology industry. Over the years, the company has managed to build a strong reputation in the global market with a diverse portfolio of products and services. In this analysis, I will discuss some of the most recent developments that will affect the company’s competitive advantages. The most prominent among these developments are acquisitions and divestment plans that the business has announced recently, formation of new partnerships, launch of new innovative products and introduction of aggressive market expansion strategies.

Hewlett-Packard has always targeted a greater market share with its diversified portfolio of innovative products and services. It has recently launched the HP 3PAR, a program that allows clients to boost returns on investment in server utilization by effectively doubling the performance of physical server virtual machines. This innovative new technology has tremendous commercial applications in the future as it promises to boost the capacity of virtual servers by two times.

Apart from this, the company remains as dedicated as ever to push for greater share of the business market. For this reason, Hewlett-Packard has recently unveiled its latest fleet of state-of-the-art high-tech business-oriented commercial computers that are specifically engineered to cater to designing, reliability, performance and security needs of businesses and end-users. This will significantly help Hewlett-Packard in widening its competitive moat in the global market for Ultrabooks.

Hewlett-Packard has assembled a temporary moat around its server and cloud computing businesses.To continue reading, click here.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is a stalwart integrated oil company that offers very little risk to its investors. Exxon Mobil is the largest publicly owned oil company in the world, with stable earnings and a very consistent stock price that has remained between $67 to $87 over the past 52 weeks.

Currently at the year to date low of about $81, Exxon Mobil stock has stayed steady in the mid $80 range since the beginning of 2012. In the five months since January, investors have pushed Exxon shares against the apparent price ceiling of $87 no less than seven times. Along with the Standard & Poor’s assessment of low qualitative risk, Exxon Mobil deals out a healthy dividend rate of $2.28 per share. Given these factors, I believe Exxon Mobil has prepared itself for sustainable growth. Coupled with the nature of oil and gas prices as summer approaches, I think Exxon Mobil is a valuable stock to own.

Due to regulation from the US Environmental Protection Agency, oil companies like Exxon Mobil must use a special blend of gas for the summer season, putting a cap on vapor pressure in gasoline. Oil refineries often are forced to shut down at the beginning of the season so they can adjust the refinery to the new blend of gasoline they need to produce. This temporarily lowers the supply of oil, and thus gasoline produced by companies like Exxon Mobil. As driving vacation season comes with summer, the demand for gasoline increases in the United States and the final outcome is a rise in the price of gasoline.To continue reading, click here.

In an era when authenticity and complete transparency rule, Yahoo (YHOO) is failing miserably, and shareholders are not happy. The company is currently engaged in a battle for eyeballs with Google (GOOG) and a tussle for corporate control with the hedge fund Third Point. The hedge fund’s vocal leader, Daniel Loeb, has been on a tear lately as he asserts his company’s 5.8% ownership of Yahoo to empower change within the organization.

Loeb’s latest ammunition comes by way of recent findings that suggest that Yahoo’s CEO, Scott Thompson, grossly misrepresented himself in company documents that detail his educational background. In response, Yahoo has admitted that it may have misstated the educational background of its new CEO. Yahoo attributed the discrepancy to an “inadvertent error.” This news would barely make a ripple if Yahoo was on a tear, but that is not the case. If anything, Yahoo has been in a holding pattern trying to figure out its next move, and the stock is down a few percentage points this week while flirting with a dip below $15 per share. Certainly the company did not imagine its ideal next step as a PR rebuttal to cover its collective behinds.

In past weeks, Loeb was nothing more than a bully shooting spitballs through a straw at Yahoo, but armed with new data, Loeb’s little spitballs are now grenades. Citing falsified documents in which the current Yahoo CEO claimed educational accolades that were never achieved, Loeb’s voice of discontent is certainly louder than it’s ever been.To continue reading, click here.

Jerry Yang, one of Yahoo’s (YHOO) founders, leaves Yahoo earlier this year as many investors breathe easier. Yahoo was courted by Microsoft (MSFT) four years ago to the tune of $45 billion. Jerry Yang apparently felt it was not enough at the time. Now Mr. Yang is pursuing other interests.

Yahoo recently lost other key senior executives and is laying off 2,000 employees. Scott Thompson, CEO, is actively structuring the company in a different direction. Analysts agree something needs to change. Yahoo traditionally is a culture of consensus. It is difficult to operate with committees that focus on monetizing an idea. It slows the process down. It is time to break out of the mold, open the way for more creativity, and allow some dissension in the ranks.

Other analysts feel Yahoo. needs to look at the sales organization and upgrade technology to more effectively meet the needs of its 700 million users. One way to monetize traffic might be through acquisitions of sites like TripAdvisor (TRIP), Yelp (YELP), HomeAway (AWAY), Zillow (Z), OpenTable (OPEN) or StockTwits. Yahoo’s traffic would enhance not only the user’s experience but also the site numbers of all concerned.

Any of those mergers are in alignment with the new direction of the consumer commerce business unit. The new commerce business unit is focusing on delivering engaging and personalized consumer commerce experiences that connect consumers to marketers and merchants. Yahoo! has a tremendous opportunity to transform commerce on the internet. To continue reading, click here.

For the past several years, Sprint Nextel (S) has endured some difficult financial circumstances which, despite its best efforts, have resulted in continued losses entering the second quarter of 2012. Sprint reported a loss of $863 million in the first quarter of 2012, which comes on the heels of its dismal 2011 that saw it lose a reported $1.3 billion.

As a result of the continued losses sustained by Sprint, its share price dropped from its 52 week high of $6 in June, 2011 all the way down to $2 in December, 2011.

Although it may be easy to discount Sprint as a lost cause with no substantial upside, recent news and the rise in Sprint’s customer base have begun to show that it is on the rebound. As a result its share price, after finding its floor during the middle of 2011, has started to rise.

Despite the first quarter losses reported by Sprint, there was also an abundance of good news including a reported 5% rise in growth for the first quarter of 2012. This growth was the result of the additional 1.1 million net new customers that joined the Sprint network in the first quarter of 2012.

This is great news for Sprint as its figures surpassed AT&T (T), which reported 736,000 net new customers for the first quarter and Verizon (VZ), which reported 734,000 net new customers for the same time period.

A significant factor to Sprint’s substantial rise in new customers was its entry into the Apple (AAPL) iPhone market. To continue reading, click here.

Phoenixes do rise from the ashes, as evident by the fabled revival of Apple (AAPL). Technology investors generally focus on growth and avoid these potential phoenix opportunities as too risky to justify the time and energy. Yahoo’s (YHOO) missteps are well-documented and whether the company represents a value investment that may award investors like Apple or simply keep falling like Newton’s Apple, is one of the most debated ideas in technology. So, let’s add my opinion to the debate.

Background

Yahoo was founded in 1994 by co-founders Jerry Yang and David Filo, whose combined stake in the company’s common equity is still slightly above 7%. The company grew rapidly during the 1990s and its stock price soared to an all-time record of $118.75 on January 3, 2000, during the dot com boom. Yahoo became the most successful of the web portal companies to emerge during the 1990s, and it successfully defended itself from the occasional attempts by Microsoft (MSFT) to break into the portal space. As Yahoo grew, it made a series of acquisitions in the belief that web users would prefer a one-stop website for their news, gossip and search activities.

Current Situation

A simple look at Yahoo’s 2011 revenue ($4.9 billion versus $6.3 billion in 2010) shows a fairly dramatic decline in revenue, but this is primarily due to the search agreement that Yahoo signed with Microsoft. Excluding this agreement, revenue appears roughly unchanged from 2010. It should be noted that Microsoft offered to buy all of Yahoo in February 2008 for $31 a share, or approximately 100% over Yahoo’s recent share price of $14.75. To continue reading, click here.