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PHILADELPHIA--Staring at the bin in front of me, stacked high with thousands of dollar coins, it's hard not to make like Scrooge McDuck and jump in headfirst.

Except, of course, that security would grab me and I'd have to deal with having a felony on my record for the rest of my life. Also, there's this small detail: These aren't actually dollars. Yet.

I'm at the U.S. Mint here, the largest mint in the world, and a place big enough--at around 600,000 square feet--that all the rest of the American mints could fit … Read more

Riding a cycle of corporate PC and server upgrades, Dell reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results.

The company reported net income of $441 million, or 22 cents a share, on revenue of $14.87 billion, up 21 percent from a year ago (statement). Given HP's strong results, Dell's earnings weren't that much of a surprise. Dell's non-GAAP earnings were 30 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting Dell to report earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $14.27 billion.

As for the outlook, Dell said that the second quarter is likely to resume normal seasonal … Read more

Advanced Micro Devices posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.18 billion, its first profit in three years, largely due to a massive settlement with Intel.

The $1.178 billion profit, or $1.52 per share, beat the analyst consensus estimate that had projected AMD to record a loss of 18 cents per share. In the same quarter last year, AMD lost $1.4 billion, or $2.36 per share.

The second largest global supplier of processors for PCs posted revenue of $1.646 billion, an increase of 42 percent compared with the same period a year ago. This beat analyst … Read more

Intel posted a fourth-quarter net income of $2.3 billion, up 875 percent over the same period last year. Revenue came in at $10.6 billion, up 28 percent year over year.

Earnings per share was 40 cents. The analyst consensus for the fourth quarter called for 30 cents a share on earnings of $10.17 billion. Adjusted income came to 55 cents per share.

Income was about 10 times greater than the $234 million (4 cents per share) that the chipmaker reported in the fourth quarter of 2008.

One of the key financial indicators, gross margin, hit a record … Read more

Updated at 2:30 p.m. PDT: adding statements from Dell.

Intel and Dell are indicating that PC demand may be increasing but it's not clear how sustained or strong this trend is.

The news Friday that Intel raised guidance is not a surprise, according to Ashok Kumar, an analyst at investment bank Collins Stewart. "It's in line with seasonal trends and reflects strong back-to-school build in the PC food chain," he said.

Kumar added, however, that the strength of actual sales to end users of PCs won't be known until later. "The ramifications … Read more

Yesterday we took a look at USAC midget car racing. If you thought that was fun, get ready for Quarter Midget racing!

While the United States Auto Club is arguably the foremost promoter of Quarter Midget racing, there are many national and regional promotions who host events for these cars that are literally about a 1/4 the size of regular midget cars. Partially because of the minute size of these cars, Quarter Midget racing is typically reserved for children 5-16 years of age. The Quarter Midgets, while resembling motorized go-karts, typically reach speeds of up to 45 mph, and … Read more

On Thursday, Nvidia reported a first-quarter loss, as revenue fell 42 percent from last year. But the graphics chipmaker said inventory was easing.

The company announced a net loss of $201.3 million, or 37 cents a share. Last year in the same period, the company posted a profit of $176.8 million, or 30 cents a share.

Revenue was $664.2 million, down from $1.15 billion for the same period last year. This was better than the analysts' average estimate of $534.4 million, however.

Adjusted net loss was 9 cents a share. Analysts had expected a loss … Read more

Yahoo's 5 percent layoff is going to be different this time.

So new Chief Executive Carol Bartz promised Tuesday as she announced first-quarter financial results and described the impression she's now begun trying to make on the Internet pioneer. Instead of an across-the-board cut, Yahoo's layoff of about 675 people is intended to enable new hiring and investments in the company's bigger Internet properties.

"We have good engineers but have to hire more and get them focused on the right stuff. It's probably the most important thing Yahoo's going to do to really … Read more

Updated at 3:20 p.m. PDT throughout.

Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday reported a net first-quarter loss of $416 million, or 66 cents a share, though revenue exceeded estimates.

AMD also refuted Intel statements that PC sales have hit bottom, though the company said inventory problems are improving somewhat.

This loss exceeds the loss reported one year ago, when the chipmaker posted a loss of $364 million, or 60 cents a share.

Revenue hit $1.18 billion, down 21 percent from the $1.5 billion posted last year, but better than reported estimates from analysts who had expected revenue … Read more