Joseph Hogue: Chinese search engine giant Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is scheduled to report earnings on October 29^th, with expectations for a net of $1.29 per share on $1.0 billion in revenue. Read more…

Mac Slavo: Following the trend of shipping company Fedex, the largest advertising venue in the world is showing signs of strain in a weakening global economy. Read more…

Jim Trippon: Investors in stocks AOL (NYSE:AOL) and Fisher Communications (NASDAQ:FSCI) had to feel the glow of holding onto a lucky winner the other day, when both companies announced special dividend payments. As part of a plan to return $1.1 billion Read more…

The volatility space continues to expand in the direction of the atomic level, with today’s announcement by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) that it will begin disseminating implied volatility data utilizing the VIX calculation methodology for five stocks as of Friday, January 7^th.

The five stocks are:

• Amazon (AMZN): volatility ticker: VXAZN
• Apple (AAPL): volatility ticker: VXAPL
• Google (GOOG): volatility ticker: VXGOG
• Goldman Sachs (GS): volatility ticker: VXGS
• IBM (IBM): volatility ticker: VXIBM

My initial thought include some of the following:

• It will be interesting to see how much divergence there will be between the CBOE NASDAQ 100 Volatility Index (VXN) and the volatility indices for some of the key components of the NASDAQ-100 index, notably Apple, Google and Amazon
• A Goldman Sachs volatility index will be particularly useful in terms of financial crisis
• IBM is an interesting choice for a fifth wheel here, as IBM does not have the same bellwether status that it once did
• Finally, first with weekly options and now with volatility indices for individual stocks, the CBOE has managed to shorten the scope of volatility analysis both at the issue level and in terms of the time frame. I’m calling this the march toward atomic volatility.

Related posts:

• The Evolution of the Volatility Index Family Tree
• Weekly Options Gain Momentum
• CME to Use VIX Methodology for New Crude Oil, Corn, Soybean and Gold Volatility Indices

Read more here:
CBOE to Publish VIX-Style Volatility Indices for Individual Stocks

The launch of new products, rapid growth smartphones and an increase in replacement sales enabled the mobile phone sector to post second quarter growth paving the path to opportunity for the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the iShares S&P Global Technology (IXN) and the PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ).

According to research firm IDC, manufacturers of mobile handsets shipped a more than 317 million units worldwide in the second quarter of 2010, marking an increase of 15% year-over-year.  One reason behind this demand is the increased appeal of smartphones.  The research firm further stated that sales of smartphones, which account for nearly 19.8% of all mobile device sales, grew nearly 50% year-over-year and is expected to continue to grow.  Drivers behind this exponential growth included an improved business environment, healthy operator subsidies, vigorous competition between vendors, and a growing tide of lower-cost models.

A second force that has supported growth is new technology and enhanced product lines which result in consumers wanting to trade-up.  Mobile phone manufacturers continue to improve technology seeking to deliver the fastest networks and offer unique features which entice consumers.  In fact, a major driver for replacement sales was the transition from traditional mobile phones to trouchscreen and QWERTY devices. 

As for the future of the mobile phones, the sector is set to witness healthy growth, primarily in smartphones.  Furthermore, this growth in smartphones will likely come from international mobile adoption and the desire for increasingly sophisticated services, like GPS and touchscreen.  In some developing parts of the world, like Africa, mobile penetration rates far supersede those of land lines. In fact, the mobile phone penetration rate in Africa is greater than 20% compared to mere 9% for land line penetration.  This emphasis on mobile phones in Africa is being fueled by governments in that it is far less expensive to build infrastructure for mobile phones than it is for land lines.  As a result, many governments in Africa have made cell phone infrastructure a priority and have partnered with major cell phone carriers to facilitate the development of this infrastructure. 

Government’s in Africa and elsewhere made the construction of adequate cell phone infrastructure a priority. In several cases they have performed partnerships with major carriers to facilitate the development of this infrastructure. While factors obstacles such as high taxes, in adequate availability of power and lack of geo-political stability may hinder growth some countries, there are numerous developing countries in which the environment is ripe for further cell phone infrastructure development.

Lastly, the anticipated launch of several refreshed operating systems is expected to further support enhanced demand for mobile phones.  In fact Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system, which is relatively new to the new mobile phones space, has been a hit and is starting to gobble up market share.

• Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), which allocates 10.91% of its assets to Apple (AAPL), manufacturer of the iPhone and includes Google, AT&T (T) and Verizon in its top holdings.
• iShares S&P Global Technology (IXN), which, in addition to giving exposure to Apple, includes Samsung Electronics and Nokia (NOK) in its holdings. 
• PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ), which allocates more than 19% of its assets to Apple and also includes Blackberry maker, Research In Motion (RIMM) in its holdings. 

Although an opportunity seems to exist in mobile phones, investing in the aforementioned equities carry risk.  To help protect against this risk, the use of an exit strategy which identifies specific price points at which downward price pressure is likely to be seen is important. Such a strategy can be found at www.SmartStops.net.

Disclosure: No Positions

Read more here:
Three Tech ETFs To Be Boosted By Mobile Phones

HERE IS YOUR FOOTER

Apologies to all the VIX and More newsletter subscribers who have been victimized by Google’s (GOOG) Gmail glitch that resulted in multiple emails containing Sunday’s subscriber newsletter.

According to news reports, this glitch was finally resolved yesterday.

I note that a few subscribers have elected to cancel their subscription during this period of Gmail difficulties. To those who have canceled their subscriptions, I want to make four points:

1. news reports (see links above) confirm that the problem originated with Google
2. the multiple emails did NOT involve any virus (Norton and two other anti-virus programs confirm I am running in a virus-free environment) and thus did not put any subscriber at risk
3. I elected not to communicate more than once during this period, because I was concerned about starting another chain reaction of recurring emails
4. anyone who recently canceled their subscription and wishes to resubscribe may do so here and receive another 14 days free of charge

Thank you all for your understanding and patience.
Cheers and good trading,
-Bill

Disclosure(s): none

Read more here:
Google Fixes Gmail Problems Plaguing VIX and More Newsletter Subscribers

Apologies to all the VIX and More newsletter subscribers who have been victimized by Google’s (GOOG) Gmail glitch that resulted in multiple emails containing Sunday’s subscriber newsletter.

According to news reports, this glitch was finally resolved yesterday.

I note that a few subscribers have elected to cancel their subscription during this period of Gmail difficulties. To those who have canceled their subscriptions, I want to make four points:

1. news reports (see links above) confirm that the problem originated with Google
2. the multiple emails did NOT involve any virus (Norton and two other anti-virus programs confirm I am running in a virus-free environment) and thus did not put any subscriber at risk
3. I elected not to communicate more than once during this period, because I was concerned about starting another chain reaction of recurring emails
4. anyone who recently canceled their subscription and wishes to resubscribe may do so here and receive another 14 days free of charge

Thank you all for your understanding and patience.
Cheers and good trading,
-Bill

Disclosure(s): none

Read more here:
Google Fixes Gmail Problems Plaguing VIX and More Newsletter Subscribers