Applied Materials has approached beleaguered Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASM International to buy a significant part of its business for $400 million to $500 million.
Money is moving out of commodities and into growth cyclicals such as technology and financials in anticipation of an economic recovery in the second half of 2009.
The first quarter stumbled to a close, the second quarter began with the eighth-biggest daily point gain ever for the Dow Jones Industrials -- and that was just part of a busy week for stocks, traders, analysts and investors.
As fuel prices soar and the government debates Big Oil taxation, what's an investor to do? Turn to alternative ways to play energy, according to Kevin Landis, chief investment officer at Firsthand Capital Management.