When it comes to easing robots into mainstream consumer markets, nobody is doing better than iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT ) . The company has pumped more funds into its advertising during the past year, which means catchy ads for its Roomba floor cleaner are sweeping (no pun intended) television and the Internet.
But iRobot is so much more than just robotic household appliances. This company has helped the U.S. government in a big way, and is venturing into the world of health care, all while keeping some pretty solid financials. Even after spending $14 million on Roomba advertising last year, iRobot has still managed to maintain a 5% operating margin. �In the video below, Motley Fool contributor Caroline Bennett takes a closer look at why iRobot might be a good bet to take your portfolio into the future.
The retail space is in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift since mail order took off at the turn of last century. Only those most forward-looking and capable companies will survive, and they'll handsomely reward those investors who understand the landscape. You can read about the 3 Companies Ready to Rule Retail in The Motley Fool's special report. Uncovering these top picks is free today; just click here to read more.
10 Best Clean Energy Stocks To Buy Right Now: Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN)
Amazon.com, Inc. operates as an online retailer in North America and internationally. It operates retail Web sites, including amazon.com and amazon.ca. The company serves consumers through its retail Web sites and focuses on selection, price, and convenience. It also offers programs that enable sellers to sell their products on its Web sites, and their own branded Web sites. In addition, the company serves developer customers through Amazon Web Services, which provides access to technology infrastructure that developers can use to enable virtually various type of business. Further, it manufactures and sells the Kindle e-reader. Additionally, the company provides fulfillment; miscellaneous marketing and promotional agreements, such as online advertising; and co-branded credit cards. Amazon.com, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CNBC]
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images By Kayla Tausche and Amara Omeokwe Twitter executives have spent weeks on Wall Street and in major U.S. cities touting the company's highly anticipated initial public offering, set to take place this week. But despite their best efforts to pitch the site's profit prospects in mobile, international growth and TV integration, investors are still skeptical, results from a new AP-CNBC poll show. According to the poll, nearly half of active investors -- those who had adjusted their holdings within the last year -- say Twitter would not be a good investment. That sentiment is stronger from higher-income respondents; some 56 percent of those with incomes of $75,000 a year have doubts about its investment prospects. While the survey's respondents remain anonymous, some potential investors have taken to Twitter -- ironically -- to talk about its investment prospects. "I will wait and see how the price action looks for awhile before I jump in," said Jason Whitman, a Wyoming-based optometrist who considers himself a "risk-tolerant" investor, in a Tweet. "I will not be investing until I see how $TWTR will make a profit," tweeted Matthew Sigafus, a 35 year-old nurse practitioner from Philadelphia who invests on the side. Conventional wisdom would say Twitter's most frequent users -- which, according to an August 2013 study at Pew Research Center, are adults aged 18-29 -- would have the most faith in its future. The AP-CNBC study showed that to be only partly true. More than half of Americans under age 35 do think Twitter will be a success in five years, but they're not sold on investing. Fifty-two percent of respondents 18-34 said they wouldn't put their money in it. Millennials seem to be wary of buying stocks in general. In a Wells Fargo (WFC) survey of 1,500 adults aged 22 to 32, more than half said they were "not very" or "not at all" confident in the stock market as a place to invest their money. A similar survey by Acce
- [By Rick Munarriz]
Apple's iPad has the high-end, full-sized market cornered. Android has everything else, and it also has companies willing to take a hit on the hardware. We're not just talking about Google's own Nexus line. The Android-propelled Kindle Fire can be had for as little as $159 because Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) wants consumers paying to download books, movies, games, and music through its platform.
- [By Rick Munarriz]
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) is a big player in China. It acquired the country's joyo.com, eventually folding it into Amazon.cn. Even Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) has some skin in this game after acquiring a majority stake in Chinese e-tailer Yihaodian last year.
- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Alamy Technology has changed a lot of things around your home over the past dozen years. You can buy a refrigerator that dispenses carbonated water. You can install a thermostat that learns your patterns and adjusts your climate accordingly. You can use your phone to turn off your porch light and check on your high-def webcam. However, of all of the rooms in the house, nothing has changed as dramatically as your living room. Digital delivery of media of the convergence of home theater appliances has radically transformed what the ideal living room looks like in 2014. Back in 2002, a showcase living room home theater wasn't complete without a DVD player, a VCR, a CD changer and more than likely a heavy tube TV. Some early adopters had the first DVRs. Blu-ray would be introduced a year later, and it would take a few years before the lighter LCD and plasma units (with larger screens) to be reasonably priced. These days no one is surprised when the only components of a home theater are a high-def TV, a Web-tethered streaming media player and perhaps a high-end audio system. The digital revolution is real, and it has transformed your living room. Investors aware of the shift may be able to profit from the convergence. Back to the Future Physical media is becoming obsolete. CDs were the first to go, peaking in popularity more than a decade ago. The record labels originally blamed piracy for the decline, but as Apple's (AAPL) iTunes Music Store gained in popularity, legal downloads replaced both the unreliable file-sharing MP3s and the compact disc. Books and DVDs followed. Both media forms may have peaked a couple of years ago with Amazon.com's (AMZN) Kindle and other e-readers gaining market share from traditional leafy reads, and streaming video has gained in popularity in homes backed by high-speed broadband connectivity. Netflix (NFLX) now has more than 50 million global subscribers. These companies were around in 2002. Apple was selling Macs, and it had j
Hot Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: Google Inc.(GOOG)
Google Inc. maintains an index of Web sites and other online content for users, advertisers, and Google network members and other content providers. It offers AdWords, an auction-based advertising program; AdSense program, which enables Web sites that are part of the Google Network to deliver ads from its AdWords advertisers; Google Display, a display advertising network that comprises the videos, text, images, and other interactive ads; DoubleClick Ad Exchange, a real-time auction marketplace for the trading of display ad space; and YouTube that provides video, interactive, and other ad formats for advertisers. The company also provides Google Mobile that optimizes Google?s applications for mobile devices in browser and downloadable form; and enables advertisers to run search ad campaigns on mobile devices, as well as Google Local that provides local information on the Web; and Google Boost for small businesses to participate in the ads auction. In addition, it offers And roid, an open source mobile software platform; Google Chrome OS, an open source operating system; Google Chrome, a Web browser; Google TV, a platform for the consumers to use the television and the Internet on a single screen; and Google Books platform to discover, search, and consume content from printed books online. Further, the company provides Google Apps, a cloud computing suite of message and collaboration tools, which includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, and Google Sites; Google Search Appliance that offers real-time search of business and intranet applications, and public Web sites; Google Site Search, a custom search engine; Google Commerce Search for online retail enterprises; Google Checkout to make online shopping and payments streamlined and secure; Google Maps Application Programming Interface; and Google Earth Enterprise, a firewall software solution for imagery and data visualization. Google Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG )
Google actually has phones, tablets, and laptops in production, and is clearly going to be interested in commercializing Khare's invention. In fact, according to press reports, Google's reached out to Khare already.
Hot Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: Symantec Corporation(SYMC)
Symantec Corporation provides security, storage, and systems management solutions internationally. The company?s Consumer segment delivers Internet security, PC tune-up, and online backup solutions and services to individual users and home offices. Its Security and Compliance segment provides solutions for endpoint security and management, compliance, messaging management, data loss prevention, encryption, and authentication services to large, medium, and small-sized businesses, as well as offers solutions through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) security offerings. This segment?s products enable customers to secure, provision, and remotely manage their laptops, PCs, mobile devices, and servers. The company?s Storage and Server Management segment provides storage and server management, backup, archiving, and data protection solutions across heterogeneous storage and server platforms, as well as solutions delivered through its SaaS offerings to large, medium, and small-s ized businesses. Symantec?s Services segment offers implementation services and solutions, including consulting, business critical services, education, and managed security services. The company also provides various enterprise support offerings, such as annual maintenance support contracts, including content, upgrades, and technical support. It sells its products through its eCommerce platform, as well as through distributors, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, system builders, ISPs, and retail locations worldwide. Symantec markets and sells its products through distributors, retailers, direct marketers, Internet-based resellers, original equipment manufacturers, system builders, and Internet service providers; and its e-commerce channels, as well as direct sales force, value-added and large account resellers, and system integrators. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Judith Collins/Alamy WASHINGTON - Home improvement retailer Home Depot (HD) has been in contact with the U.S. Secret Service about an alleged major breach of customer and credit card data that came to light this week, a law enforcement source told Reuters on Thursday. Any investigation by the Secret Service appears to be at a very early stage, the source said. The Secret Service, which declined comment, usually is the lead agency in federal criminal investigations into complex breaches of credit card and other consumer data. Another law enforcement source said the FBI, which also sometimes participates in such investigations, doesn't appear to be involved. It is unclear whether the U.S. Department of Justice is playing any role. Customer data could have been stolen from nearly all of Home Depot's 2,200 stores in the United States, according to information released Wednesday by security blog Krebs on Security. Home Depot hasn't confirmed that a breach occurred and it remains unclear whether or how many customers were impacted. If confirmed, the Home Depot incident could be among the most widespread in the string of security breaches at U.S. retailers in the recent past. Spokeswoman Paula Drake said Wednesday that the retailer is working with IT security firms, including Symantec (SYMC) and FishNet Security, to investigate whether there has been a data breach. A Symantec spokeswoman confirmed that Symantec was assisting with the investigation but didn't elaborate. Home Depot sought to comfort its consumers, promising free identity-protection services, including credit monitoring, to any potentially impacted customers and reassuring that the retailer or the banks that issued the cards will be responsible for any fraudulent charges. Home Depot shares were up 1.6 percent at $90.39 Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange. Concerns about a potential Home Depot data theft follow a major breach at retailer Target (TGT), where hackers late last yea
- [By Anora Mahmudova]
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) slid 13% after the security-software maker fired Chief Executive Steve Bennett late Thursday and replaced him with board member Michael Brown.
Hot Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: CYNK Technology Corp (CYNK)
Cynk Technology Corp., formerly Introbuzz, Inc., is a development stage-company. The Company intends to develop a social network business. Social networks are Web based services that allow individuals to post a profile and link their profile to other friends and organizations.
The Company intends to develop a database of professional and other business persons, as well as other interested persons in providing and utilizing contacts. As of November 14, 2012, the Company had not generated any revenue.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
CYNK Technology (CYNK), the mysterious over-the-counter stock that at one point broke a $6 billion market cap, dropped roughly 80 percent in its first trades after a Securities and Exchange Commission halt. The SEC halted CYNK for two weeks following a massive rise in the stock's value -- it had been worth only a few cents per share in June, but it jumped above $21 on July 10. The Belize-based CYNK Technology supposedly operates a social networking site, but filings indicate it only has one employee and virtually no assets. Experts told CNBC the week of the SEC halt that they expected CYNK to fall precipitously after reopening, and its first day of trading is proving those predictions correct. When it was halted, the stock was worth just less than $14 per share, and is now below $3 a share after briefly hovering around $5 earlier Friday morning. An OTC Markets spokeswoman told Reuters that CYNK's shares were not trading on its platform, but were occurring over the phone. Earlier this week Reuters reported that OTC's CEO did not expect CYNK to trade on its platform at all after reopening, as no brokerages would file the required paperwork for the stock to trade on their exchanges. An SEC spokesman said that the organization cannot comment on the status of a company after a suspension period ends, citing an online explanation of the process. That document notes that broker-dealers may not solicit investors to trade the previously suspended OTC stock until they satisfy several regulatory requirements. The SEC warned, however, that "unsolicited" trading may occur after a reopening -- as CYNK is now seeing -- but "even though such trading is allowed, it can be very risky for investors without current and reliable information about the company."
Hot Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: Yahoo! Inc.(YHOO)
Yahoo! Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital media company that delivers personalized digital content and experiences through various devices worldwide. It offers online properties and services to users; and a range of marketing services to businesses. The company?s communications and communities offerings include Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, Flickr, and Connected TV, which provide a range of communication and social services to users and small businesses enabling users to organize into groups and share knowledge, common interests, and photos. Its search products comprise Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Local, available free to users to navigate the Internet and discover content. The company?s marketplaces offerings and services include Yahoo! Shopping, Yahoo! Travel, Yahoo! Real Estate, Yahoo! Autos, and Yahoo! Small Business, which allow users to research specific topics, products, services, or areas of interest by review ing and exchanging information, obtaining contact details, or considering offers from providers of goods, services, or parties with similar interests. Its media offerings comprise Yahoo! Homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo!, Yahoo! Toolbar, Yahoo! Entertainment & Lifestyles, Yahoo! Contributor Network, and Yahoo! Pulse, which are designed to engage users with online content and services on the Web. The company also offers marketing services, such as display and search advertising, listing-based services, and commerce-based transactions to advertisers. In addition, it provides software and platform offerings for third-party developers, advertisers, and publishers, such as Yahoo! Developer Network, Yahoo! Open Strategy, Yahoo! Application Platform, Yahoo! Updates, Yahoo! Query Language, and Yahoo! Search BOSS. The company has strategic alliances with Nokia and ABC News, Inc. Yahoo! Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Californi a.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]
Julie Jacobson/APYahoo CEO Marissa Mayer SAN FRANCISCO -- Yahoo (YHOO) is still prospering from its lucrative investments in Asia while the Internet company's listless advertising sales are picking up, if ever so slightly, under CEO Marissa Mayer. The positive signs in the Yahoo's first-quarter report overshadowed a 20 percent decline in the company's earnings during the opening three months of the year. The results released Tuesday highlight the contrasting performances of Yahoo's investment portfolio and the company's main business of running ad-supported online services. Yahoo Inc. is making most of its money from its holdings in two Asian Internet companies -- China's Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. Meanwhile, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company has been struggling to sell more ads, even as marketers divert more of their budgets to the Internet. Most of those digital dollars, though, have been flowing toward Google (GOOG), the Internet's search leader, and Facebook (FB), the online social networking leader. Yahoo's share of the worldwide market for digital advertising is expected to shrink to 2.5 percent this year, down from 3.4 percent in 2012, while Google's share climbs to 33 percent and Facebook's share rises to 8 percent, according to the research firm eMarketer. A 24 percent stake in Alibaba has turned into Yahoo's crown jewel as the Chinese company prepares to go public on the New York Stock Exchange later this year. Since selling Yahoo its stake for $1 billion in 2005, Alibaba has built a massive e-commerce network that caters to businesses and consumers in the world's most populous country. Yahoo's report provided that latest tantalizing peek at how rapidly Alibaba has been growing. The numbers covered Alibaba's fourth quarter from last year because there is a three-month lag before Yahoo books its portion of Alibaba's income. Alibaba's fourth-quarter earnings more than doubled from the previous year to $1.35 billion while its revenue surged
Hot Internet Companies To Invest In Right Now: eBay Inc.(EBAY)
eBay Inc. provides online platforms, services, and tools to help individuals and merchants in online and mobile commerce and payments in the United States and internationally. Its Marketplaces segment operates ecommerce platform eBay.com; vertical shopping sites, such as StubHub, Fashion, Motors, and Half.com; and classifieds Websites, including Den Bl�Avis, BilBasen, Gumtree, Kijiji, LoQUo, Marktplaats.nl, mobile.de, Alamaula, Rent.com, eBay Anuncios, eBay Kleinanzeigen, and eBay Annunci, as well as provides advertising services. The company?s Payments segment offers payment and settlement services for consumers and merchants on and off eBay Websites and other merchant Websites. This segment operates PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to send and receive payments online and through mobile devices; Bill Me Later that enables the United States merchants to offer, the United States consumers to obtain, credit at the point of sale for ecommerce and mobile tra nsactions; Zong, which allows users with mobile phones to purchase digital goods and have the transactions charged to their phone bill; and BillSAFE that enables customers pay for purchases upon receipt of an invoice. Its GSI segment offers an ecommerce services suite for enterprise clients that operate in general merchandise categories, including apparel, sporting goods, toys and baby, health and beauty, and home; and marketing services comprising full-service digital agency, enterprise email marketing, mobile advertising, affiliate marketing, advertisement retargeting, and in-depth analytics services. The company also offers X.commerce platform that provides software developers access to the company?s applications programming interfaces to develop functionality for various merchants; and Magento Connect, which allows developers to market and sell add-on functionality and solutions to merchants that use a Magento storefront. eBay Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquarter ed in San Jose, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Motley Fool Staff]
In this video segment, Remer describes the platforms and ecosystems in use for money transfer, how they're evolving with each generation, and what he sees ahead for current giants such as MasterCard (NYSE: MA ) , Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU ) , and eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY ) .
- [By Dimitra DeFotis]
Among other retail stocks this morning, shares in the online world are moving at a faster clip than brick-and-mortar stores: �Ebay (EBAY) is up nearly 2% this morning just after the open, while Amazon.com (AMZN) is up about 1.2%. Higher-end retailers�Coach (COH), Tiffany (TIF)�and Nordstrom (JWN) are up less than a point. Shares of�Wal-Mart Stores�(WMT), T.J. Maxx/Marshalls parent TJX Companies (TJX), and�Target (TGT) were each up about half a point.
- [By Steven Russolillo and Chris Dieterich Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Facebook]
Facebook�� wait to join the S&P 500 was roughly in line with Google Inc.(GOOG), which joined less than two years after its August 2004 IPO. Others waited longer. Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN), eBay Inc.(EBAY) and Yahoo Inc.(YHOO) each took over three years to join the S&P 500.
- [By Demitrios Kalogeropoulos]
A new federal law is being debated that would allow states to force Internet retailers to collect sales taxes. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN ) supports the bill, while�eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY ) wants it changed. In the following video, Fool contributor Demitrios Kalogeropoulos discusses what the two companies stand to lose from the coming state sales tax changes, and what consumers could gain.
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