stocks

Gates: Tech can save the economy

As investors around the globe view the sputtering U.S. economy with fear and trembling, at least one maven of the market economy sees a reason for hope: Bill Gates.

Stopping in Berlin on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he's expected to speak Thursday about the ways a more "creative capitalism" could benefit society's needier members, Microsoft's chairman told the German newspaper Bild that the best medicine to stave off a worldwide economic crisis is a good dose of new tech.

"I am an optimist. The U.S. … Read more

Getty Images confirms it's for sale

Getty Images, a major seller of stock photos and other licensed media, confirmed on Tuesday a New York Times report that it's for sale.

Or at least that its board is "exploring strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value," according to a company statement.

The company didn't comment on the Times' report that the most interested buyers were private-equity firms such as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Bain Capital, or that its price could go as high as $1.5 billion.

Getty hired Goldman Sachs as financial adviser and Weil Gotshal & Manges as legal adviser, the Seattle-based … Read more

Attention, holiday procrastinators: Only three weeks left

Some may be thankful there are only three weeks left in the holiday shopping season, but many of you are panicking because there are only three weeks left. For you anxious-ridden procrastinators, we're here to help.

CNET's holiday gift guide is packed with great tech gift ideas, and we're updating it as choice new items hit the shelves. If you just need a little something, check out our stocking stuffers and the tech gifts under $100.

If you're still seeking something perfect for that ubergeek on your list, we've got high-end tech sure to please … Read more

Want to make a fortune at Google? Rub lots of backs

Some people at Google slave away at building a better search engine, or enabling social networks like Orkut, or helping people find directions to places. Not Bonnie Brown. She rubs people's backs. And she has made multiple millions doing so.

Ms. Brown didn't get rich on her salary. In fact, Google paid her a miserly $450 per week (part-time, mind you). No, it was her stock options that have crowned her queen of the massage parlor.

She's not alone, either. There are apparently lots of millionaire-masseuses-in-waiting at Google:

It is estimated that 1,000 employees, Ms Brown among them, have accrued fortunes worth at least $5 million apiece from the nine-year-old web giant's rise and rise. The money has flowed from Google's stranglehold of the hugely lucrative online advertising market (it reported revenues of $7.5 billion in the first half of the year alone) and investors? seemingly insatiable appetite for the group?s shares. Yesterday, the company, founded in a garage by two students, sported a stock market value of some $207 billion.… Read more

Apple shareholder lawsuit over backdating dismissed

New Apple General Counsel Daniel Cooperman won his first battle on behalf of his new company yesterday, successfully convincing a judge to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit over Apple's stock-options backdating mess.

The New York City Employees Retirement System had sued Apple claiming that the company's practice of backdating stock options diluted the value of the stock. Apple has admitted that it improperly backdated stock options on several occasions, including two awards to CEO Steve Jobs, and last December it took a $84 million charge to account for the options.

But the suit had to show that Apple shareholders … Read more

PhotoShelter Collection gets good start

Last Saturday, the online image backup and storage website PhotoShelter officially launched its new stock photography outlet PhotoShelter Collection, which will compete with high-end stock houses, such as Getty Images and Corbis. With established stock image providers feeling serious pressure from microstock sites, such as Fotolia, which offer their images for as little as $1, it might seem strange for PhotoShelter to enter the game now, but they plan to distinguish themselves from the competition by giving photographers a larger commission, control over pricing, and by promising that they won't participate in what they see as the devaluation of … Read more

Pro photogs protest plummeting prices

Just last week, CNET blogger Stephen Shankland, shared his thoughts that recent changes affecting the professional photography market have a "silver lining that shouldn't be overlooked." While his optimism is a nice respite amid increasingly weary economic times, six professional photographers' trade associations are now speaking out against a new pricing scheme by stock photo giant Getty Images that offers its high-end Rights-managed and Rights-ready images, alongside its lower-priced Rights-free images, for the same low price of $49 when used on the Web. For all but the Rights-free images, this represents a price reduction of more than … Read more

Sun looks to brighten stock with reverse split

So, Sun investors, does that $5 stock price got you down? Change may be in the wind.

No, there is no crystal ball or vision of a mega-buyout around the corner. But rather, the company is looking to throw a little Miracle-Gro on the stock.

Sun Microsystems is proposing a 1-for-4 reverse stock split and is asking its investors to sign off on the idea at its annual shareholders meeting on November 8, according to its filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If investors approve the reverse split, four of those $5 stocks would be combined and increase … Read more

Socks vending machine is quite a feat

As a wise woman once said, "Socks rock." Most people never leave home without a pair of socks, at least if they're wearing shoes.

But just in case, the Gallo stockings vending machine allows anyone to protect their feet from the inside of their shoes in a pinch.

The psychedelic Italian vending machine dispenses a wide array of absorbent footwear, perfect for yuletide emergencies, ad-hoc puppetry sessions, or avoiding fashion police busts.

Unfortunately, seeing and using the machine could lead to a frustrating infinite loop.

1. You see the machine.

2. It blows your socks off.

3. … Read more

Tech stocks mere passengers in Thursday's downhill ride

This is based on an initial, somewhat superficial look at Thursday's stock tumble, but it's hard to say tech stocks played all that much of a role in the plunge. Many of them lost a little ground but didn't get hammered like some among the Dow industrials, which ended up almost 300 points lower at the end of their second-worst trading day of the year. Most of the selling was said to be prompted by concerns over weakness in the housing market and grim prospects for buyout financing.

As of about 4:30 p.m. East Coast … Read more