amazon.com Inc.

AMAZON.COM $335.78 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 462.0 million; Market cap: $154.6 billion; No dividends paid) has launched its Kindle Unlimited service for a flat $9.99 monthly fee.

Kindle Unlimited offers access to over 600,000 books that can be read at no additional cost on Kindle e-book readers, as well as over 2,000 audiobooks. Amazon is offering a free 30-day trial to entice users to try the service, which is also available using the Kindle app on a smartphone or tablet.

The new Kindle Unlimited also lets users alternate between reading and listening to their books (if those books are available as audiobooks) without losing their place.

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Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for advice on specific stocks, as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week we offer you a report on one of the stocks profiled in these Q&A sessions. We give you Pat’s buy-hold-sell recommendation as well as his analysis of the stock. This is part of our new approach offering you regular and specific buy, hold and sell advice in our daily posts. Every week you’ll get “A Stock to Sell” on Monday, “Best Canadian Stocks” on Tuesday, and “Our Top U.S. Stocks” on Thursday. This week an Inner Circle member asked us about one of the top tech stocks competing for market share in online search and content. Two years ago, Yahoo hired a new president and CEO away from rival Google to help the company make up lost ground against Google and Facebook. Pat examines the measures Marissa Mayer has taken to improve Yahoo’s competitive position. He also discusses Yahoo’s big stake in Alibaba, the Chinese “Amazon.com”, and the impact that company’s upcoming IPO will have on Yahoo’s prospects. Q: I would like your evaluation on the prospects for Yahoo. Thank you....

MAJOR DRILLING GROUP INTERNATIONAL INC., $8.92, symbol MDI on Toronto, jumped over 14% this week after agreeing to buy privately held Taurus Drilling Services for $27.7 million, plus a further $11.5 million tied to performance. Taurus, which operates in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, provides underground longhole drilling to mining companies. Longhole drilling is used in operating mines to drill holes for various purposes, including blasting, drainage, electrical service and ventilation. The acquisition includes Taurus’s 39 drill rigs, together with related equipment, inventory and contracts. Major is also keeping the company’s management and employees, which include experienced drillers....

AMAZON.COM $358.14 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 460.2 million; Market cap: $166.1 billion; No dividends paid) has enticed Babik Parviz, a key director at Google’s secretive Google X labs, to join the company. Parviz pioneered the development of Google Glass, a wearable computer that displays information on a small display attached to a pair of glasses. More recently, Parviz led the Google team working on contact lenses with embedded electronics. Amazon recently introduced its long-awaited Amazon Fire smartphone, which features a screen that can display seemingly 3-D images without the need for special glasses. This new technology—called Dynamic Perspective—uses retina-tracking technology embedded in four front-facing infrared cameras to make some images appear to be 3-D, similar to a hologram....

POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $94.06 (Nasdaq symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers; www.invescopowershares.com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds stocks that represent the Nasdaq 100 Index, which consists of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange, based on market cap.

The Nasdaq 100 Index contains shares of companies in a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial companies. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets.

The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel, Amazon.com, Gilead Sciences, Comcast Corp. and Facebook.

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CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES LTD., $19.71, symbol CTY on Toronto, has acquired Ottawa-based DWP Solutions Inc. for an undisclosed amount. DWP has been in business for 18 years and helps government and defence customers secure their computer networks. The company’s annual revenue is around $6 million. To put that in context, Calian reported $51.2 million of revenue in the latest quarter. The purchase is small for Calian, but it will be a good fit with the company’s Business and Technology Services division, which supplies engineers, health care workers, information technology professionals and other personnel on a contract basis. Calian’s clients are asking for more cyber-security specialists, and DWP will help it meet that demand....

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are set up to mirror the performance of a stock market index or sub-index. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. That’s different from mutual funds, which you can only buy at the end of the day, at a price that reflects the fund’s value at the close of trading. Prices of ETFs are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell them, but their low management fees give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....

AMAZON.COM $358.14 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 460.2 million; Market cap: $166.1 billion; No dividends paid) has enticed Babik Parviz, a key director at Google’s secretive Google X labs, to join the company.

Parviz pioneered the development of Google Glass, a wearable computer that displays information on a small display attached to a pair of glasses. More recently, Parviz led the Google team working on contact lenses with embedded electronics.

Amazon recently introduced its long-awaited Amazon Fire smartphone, which features a screen that can display seemingly 3-D images without the need for special glasses. This new technology—called Dynamic Perspective—uses retina-tracking technology embedded in four front-facing infrared cameras to make some images appear to be 3-D, similar to a hologram.

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ADOBE SYSTEMS INC., $72.61, Nasdaq symbol ADBE, rose 9% this week after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. In its fiscal 2014 second quarter, which ended May 30, 2014, Adobe earned $186.3 million, up 1.9% from $182.9 million a year earlier. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 2.8%, to $0.37 from $0.36. That beat the consensus forecast of $0.30. Revenue gained 5.7%, to $1.07 billion from $1.01 billion. That also beat the consensus forecast of $1.03 billion....

RUBY TUESDAY INC., $7.48, symbol RT on New York, posted a smaller loss in the latest quarter as it continues to close unprofitable restaurants. It’s also moving its remaining locations back to their roots, serving reasonably priced food in a bar-and-grill atmosphere. However, Ruby Tuesday continues to face weak consumer spending, along with most U.S. casual dining chains. Competition also remains intense. The company’s shares have jumped 36% since it released its latest quarterly results. We think now would be a good to time sell the stock....