Apple is finally the king of the castle.

Research firm Strategy Analytics has come out with a report showing that Apple has overtaken Samsung as the top phone maker in the all-important U.S. market. The Cupertino, Calif.-based firm sold 17.7 million smartphones during the fourth quarter, taking 34 percent of the market. Samsung sold 16.8 million units, capturing 32.3 percent of the market. The South Korean tech giant sells the majority of its phones using Google's Android operating system, but also sells some Microsoft Windows-based phones as well.

Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, noted that Apple's success was driven by its ecosystem, carrier subsidies and the new iPhone 5. "Apple has become the number one mobile phone vendor by volume in the United States for the first time ever," he said, in a statement. "Apple's success has been driven by its popular ecosystem of iPhones and App Store, generous carrier subsidies, and extensive marketing around the new iPhone 5 model."

A decade ago, in the wake of the dot-bomb, I was looking for something to write about when I came upon what's now called the Internet of Things.

The promise was enormous. Single-chip computers can add intelligence to everyday objects, connected via wireless links to the enormous promise of the Internet.

Your yogurt could tell you when it was turning, your garden could be watered on its own schedule, and your doctor might find out about your imminent heart attack before it came upon you — a real killer app.

Option traders have been extremely active in Phillips 66 for months, and the bulls were back yesterday.

OptionMonster's monitoring programs detected heavy buying in the March 65 calls, with some 5,500 contracts trading against open interest of just 612 contracts. The first blocks priced for $0.90, but premiums then climbed to $1 as the activity heated up.

Those calls have locked in a $65 entry price on the red-hot oil refiner for the next 1-1/2 months, no matter how high the stock goes. The trader stands to generate some nice leverage in the event of a continued rally, but the contracts can also become worthless if it doesn't move.

It would be a tall order to repeat last year's performance for large-cap bank stocks, but some of the industry's best-known names are still trading at very attractive valuations to book value and earnings estimates.

JPMorgan Chase analyst Vivek Juneja said in a report on Wednesday that he expects "bank stocks to be choppy near term, but benefit over time as equity fund inflows continue and [the] economy recovers gradually."

The theme of equity inflows was underscored in a report by Jefferies analyst Daniel Fannon on Wednesday. After a "really bad" December, when investors pulled $20 billion from equity funds as the fiscal cliff debate continued in Washington, "total active equity inflows have equaled almost $15B," during the first several weeks of 2013.

CNBC's Jim Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street" Thursday that Facebook's spending strategy is catered to growth investors and that he was pleased by the company's conference call.

"This is what we want from great American companies," he said. "If you want to win, you do exactly what (CEO Mark) Zuckerberg is talking about."

Cramer said the stock is down after its "tremendous" run-up because investors are selling to lock in profits.

However, he thinks Facebook's strategy is similar to that of Netflix, Amazon.com, and Salesforce.com, where the focus is on the long term instead of the short term.

The bulls have been targeting Staples recently, and yesterday they were back in the trade.

OptionMonster's tracking programs detected the purchase of about 33,000 September 15 calls for $0.70 to $0.80. Volume was almost 155 times previous open interest at the strike, indicating that new money was put to work.

Calls lock in the price where investors can buy shares in the office-supply retailer. That can result in some nice leverage in the event of a continued rally, but they can become worthless if it doesn't move.

Google is hot. Maybe too hot.

After beating estimates on its most recent quarterly earnings, as Insider Monkey writes, Google is now priced at more than $750 a share, with an earnings multiple of 23.

The company seems to be hitting on all cylinders.

The Hess story sounds complicated: They're selling their refining assets, they've received overtures from super-investor Paul Singer for $800 million in shares and board seats and they've orchestrated one of the greatest stock-price rallies in the oil patch, jumping almost $20 a share since early December. But the single takeaway from the Hess story is far more simple: Smart oil companies are concentrating solely on growing their production of crude oil.

The Hess refining assets have been such a strong component of its corporate structure that it's difficult to think of Hess without its 20 terminal fields and east coast refining presence. But the plan to sell everything "downstream" (the transport, storage and refining assets) has really made Wall Street happy; since announcing its restructuring plan, shares have soared. The added interest of Elliot Associates (the hedge fund of Paul Singer) has further boosted shares, as many believe he is investing to position the company for a sale.

(Read More: Elliot's Singer Is a Backer of 'Les Miserables'—The Movie)

Deere has been growing international sales, and its stock has been running rapidly.

OptionMonster's tracking systems detected heavy trading yesterday in the February 100 calls for $0.56 to $0.60 and the February 105 calls for $0.19 to $0.23. In some cases, traders bought one and sold the other to leverage a sprint higher in the next two weeks.

Calls lock in the price where investors can buy shares, so they can generate significant leverage in the event of a rally. It would take quite a move to reach those $100 and $105 strike prices, but yesterday's traders are willing to take that risk.

My one and only son is a wheeler-dealer when it comes to buying and selling all kinds of items on the Internet. When he isn't working his magic using Craigslist, he's bidding or offering on the site of the "King" of online marketplaces.

EBay and its e-commerce business have remained a successful, American enterprise where bidders can buy and sellers can ponder the offers. When the company began in 1995 many wondered if the business model it offered would work. Today there are not many doubters left.

Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., eBay has become a true legend in its own time. As its online site describes, "With more than 100 million active users globally (as of the fourth quarter in 2011), eBay is the world's largest online marketplace, where practically anyone can buy and sell practically anything.