The technology sector gets a big surprise with Microsoft (MSFT) announcing that it will cease to pursue the acquisition of Yahoo! (YHOO). Most analysts and market pundits expected Jerry Yang & Company would ultimately accept a deal, albeit at a higher price than Microsoft’s initial offer. Expect Yahoo! stock to take a precipitous plunge at the market open and the announcement of class action lawsuits from its larger shareholders. While this saga of two tech giants unwinds, plenty of news in the rest of the tech sector deserves attention.
The Nasdaq …

I wrote about my short thesis on Netflix (NFLX) just about ten days ago. The company just the other day reported growing earnings but disappointed with a weak outlook. The stock fell a whopping 24% as investors ran for the exits. The market responded negatively to the increase R&D costs for developing streaming technology that would allow the company to deliver long-form digital video content over the Internet. These recent expenses have slowed down profit growth and promise to weigh on foreseeable future earnings.
My short thesis …