intel

ALTAMIRA SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY FUND $7.59 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (Altamira Investment Services, The Exchange Tower, 130 King Street West, Suite 900, Toronto, Ont. M5X 1K9. 1-800-263-2824; Web site: www.altamira.com. No load — deal directly with the company) mostly invests in U.S. companies in the telecommunications, biotechnology, environmental-technology, health-care and computer industries. Altamira Science & Technology’s top holdings include Apple, Microsoft Corp., Google, Hewlett-Packard Co., Oracle Corporation, Electronic Arts, Pfizer, Intel, EMC Corp., Cisco Systems, IBM, Qualcomm, Canon and Merck & Co. The fund’s MER is 2.35%. The $44-million fund gained 21.7% (in Canadian dollars) in the year ended November 30, 2009. The Nasdaq index rose 19.4% (also in Canadian funds) in the same period. Over the last 10 years, the fund has lost 11.3% annually, compared to a loss of 7.4% annually for the Nasdaq index....

Many U.S. corporations cut their information-technology spending while they waited for the economy to start growing again. At the same time, U.S. consumers were buying less computer equipment as job losses pushed up the unemployment rate and eroded confidence. Spending has started to recover. As well, many U.S. technology companies have increased their international sales. At the same time, the high value of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar has boosted foreign profit contributions. Still, it would be a mistake to let volatile tech stocks dominate your portfolio. If you want to invest in tech funds, limit your investment to modest quantities. And these funds should only make up a portion of your portfolio’s manufacturing-sector holdings. Above all, only hold funds that focus on established businesses rather than start-ups....

H&R BLOCK INC., $20.62, New York symbol HRB, lost $126.5 million, or $0.38 a share, in its second quarter, which ended October 31, 2009. That’s 5.0% less than the $133.2 million, or $0.40 a share, that it lost a year earlier. The current figure also beat the $0.40-a-share loss that analysts were expecting. Revenue fell 7.2%, to $326.1 million from $351.5 million. H&R Block gets about 75% of its revenue from its tax-preparation business. As a result, it earns most of its money during its fourth quarter, which includes the April 15 income-tax-filing deadline. The company typically loses money in its first and second quarters....

AUTODESK INC. $23.81, Nasdaq symbol ADSK, fell 12% this week. That’s mainly because the software maker’s earnings forecast for the current quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. But the company reported better-than-expected earnings in its latest quarter. Autodesk earned $63.1 million, $0.27 a share, in its third quarter, which ended October 31, 2009. That’s down 51.5% from $130.0 million, or $0.56 a share, a year earlier. These figures exclude several unusual items, including costs related to a restructuring plan that involved cutting over 10% of its workforce and consolidating certain facilities. However, Autodesk expects these cost cuts to lower its expenses by $300 million in the next fiscal year. Without restructuring costs, analysts expected the company to earn $0.23 a share. Revenue fell 31.3%, to $416.9 million from $607.1 million. The weak economy has prompted many of Autodesk’s customers, mainly engineers and architects, to delay upgrading their computer-aided design software. The company spent a high 26% of its revenue on research in the latest quarter....

NASDAQ-100 TRUST SHARES $41.33 (Nasdaq symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers), or “Qubes,” hold the stocks that represent the Nasdaq 100 Index, which is made up of the 100 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the Nasdaq exchange. The Nasdaq 100 Index contains firms from a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial companies. The shares’ expenses are about 0.20% of assets. The index’s 10 highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco, Intel, Research in Motion, Gilead Sciences, Oracle and Teva Pharmaceuticals....

While ETFs won’t protect you from the three costliest mistakes an investor can make, they may have a worthwhile place in your portfolio. Unlike many other innovations, ETFs don’t load you up with heavy management fees, or tie you down with heavy redemption charges if you decide to get out of them. Instead, they give you a lower-cost and more flexible and convenient alternative to mutual funds. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You’ll have to pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell them, but you will quickly make these back because of the low management fees....

Vanguard Information Technology ETF, $49.46, symbol VGT on New York (Shares outstanding: 14.9 million; Market cap: $737.7 million), aims to track the MSCI U.S. Investable Market Information Technology Index, which consists of stocks of mostly large U.S. companies in the IT area. The fund’s MER is just 0.25%. The index is made up of companies in these three general areas: 1) Software and services firms, including those that mainly develop software in various fields (such as the Internet, applications, systems, databases, management, and/or home entertainment). This area also covers companies that sell information-technology consulting and services, data processing and outsourced services;...

INTEL CORP., $20.18, Nasdaq symbol INTC, reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and sales this week. In the three months ended September 26, 2009, the computer-chip maker’s earnings fell 7.8%, to $1.9 billion from $2 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 5.7%, to $0.33 from $0.35, on fewer shares outstanding. However, the latest earnings were 83.3% higher than Intel’s second-quarter earnings of $0.18 a share. They also beat the $0.28 a share that analysts were expecting. Sales fell 8.1%, to $9.4 billion from $10.2 billion a year earlier. However, that was better than the consensus forecast of $9 billion. Moreover, the latest sales were up 18% from the second quarter....

On October 22, Microsoft will launch its new Windows 7 operating system. If the release goes smoothly, Microsoft stands to gain from sales of the new software. That’s because many computer users put off upgrading from earlier versions because of complaints about its previous Windows release, Vista. The company has also timed the launch of Windows 7 to coincide with the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

Other technology stocks stand to gain from Windows 7

...

INTEL CORP. $20 (Nasdaq symbol INTC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.6 billion; Market cap: $112 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is the world’s leading computer-chip maker, with 80% of the market. The company is combining its operations into two main divisions. These will be organized by function instead of by product. The first, the Intel Architecture Group, will design chips for computers, cellphones and similar devices. The second, called the Technology and Manufacturing Group, will manage Intel’s manufacturing plants. Most chipmakers focus on either design or manufacturing, but not both. The reorganization would make it easier for Intel to split itself into two companies. However, any potential breakup is probably years away....