Stories by Marc Ferranti

Despite the frothy headlines stirred by Twitter's initial public offering, tech is not in a bubble of the sort that arose before the 2000 dot-com crash.

Though the shutdown and spending cuts by the U.S. government are taking a toll on IT sales this year, market surveys and financial results from the likes of Apple and Facebook this week show some positive signs for tech.

Strong earnings news from Internet and IT vendors gave a boost to tech stocks Friday, with Microsoft shares touching a six-year high.

After a rollercoaster ride, tech stocks rebounded toward the end of the week following reports of a possible compromise on the political impasse over the U.S. budget.

The tech sector appears to be going about business as usual in the face of the U.S. federal government shutdown, but some industry insiders are nervous about a long-term stoppage or, even worse, the possibility of a debt default if a political compromise on the budget is not reached.

Several recent IPOs and eBay's US$800 million cash offer for payments startup BrainTree this week highlight what looks like a burgeoning market for tech initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions.

Enterprise tech companies including Oracle this week started reporting financial results that cover at least part of the third calendar quarter, and so far, the trends look mildly promising compared to last quarter.

Even before Twitter's initial public offering announcement grabbed the spotlight Thursday, the market for tech IPOs had been heating up thanks to a general rise in stocks.

With the U.S. Labor Day holiday marking the unofficial end of summer on the markets, tech stocks got off to a fairly positive start in the new season as several major deals and the mobile phone market came under especially intense scrutiny.

Heading into the heart of hurricane season 10 months after Sandy slammed the New York metropolitan area, Wall Street has had time to reassess and revamp backup plans.

Though earnings from some tech vendors brightened up a week of tepid market reports, shares of IT companies broadly declined Friday along with the rest of the market.

IBM has elected Virginia Rometty as president and chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, replacing Sam Palmisano, who will retain the chairman's role.

Anyone daring to hope for better financial news from IT vendors this week has been sorely disappointed, as the financial report season continues with layoff announcements by SAP, IBM, Sprint, AOL, Citrix, Texas Instruments and Eastman Kodak, as well as losses and revenue declines.
Citing a turbulent market, few tech companies offered sales forecasts, and most of those that did revised figures downward.

Former WorldCom Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers Tuesday was found guilty on all charges of conspiracy and fraud levelled against him in connection with US$11 billion of accounting misstatements that led to the telecommunications giant's bankruptcy, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.