Of the 11 sectors covered by S&P Capital IQ, only one is on track for lower profits in 2013: technology. The profit anemia stems from several factors, including: Extremely low levels of government spending due to the current sequester. Depressed sales activity in Europe. The tech sector has more exposure to Europe than any other sector. A lack of any hot new products or trends to trigger interest among buyers. #-ad_banner-#Yet as we’ve… Read More
Of the 11 sectors covered by S&P Capital IQ, only one is on track for lower profits in 2013: technology. The profit anemia stems from several factors, including: Extremely low levels of government spending due to the current sequester. Depressed sales activity in Europe. The tech sector has more exposure to Europe than any other sector. A lack of any hot new products or trends to trigger interest among buyers. #-ad_banner-#Yet as we’ve noted many times, several tech firms are sitting on stunning levels of cash. Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and others may have a hard time generating organic growth, but they have a long track record of acquisitions to help get the needle moving. Though it’s unwise to buy a stock simply because you suspect it is a buyout candidate, you can’t ignore a company’s appeal in a merger and… Read More