Blog Posts by Henry Blodget

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If you've been waiting for Apple (AAPL) iPhone 5 devices to become available, you may have to wait a while longer.

In the latest reminder of the harsh working conditions endured by those who make the gadgets the world loves, 3,000—4,000 workers at a Foxconn plant went on strike last week, according to China Labor Watch. Foxconn denied the report, saying that there had merely been two isolated "disputes" and that iPhone production had not been stopped.

The China Labor Watch report said the conflict was over impossibly-high work-quality standards and that it shut down iPhone production lines at the factory for a day.

Here's the statement from China Labor Watch:

(New York) China Labor Watch (CLW) announced that at 1:00PM on October 5 (Beijing time), a strike occurred at Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory that, according to workers, involved three to four thousand production workers. In addition to demanding that workers work during the holiday, Foxconn

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One of the most amazing entrepreneurs in history, Steven P. Jobs, died a year ago this week.

In his absence, the company that Jobs built and then resurrected, Apple, has thrived.

"This is an incredible company, singular, in the history of business, and it continues to be a singular success despite his absence," says David Kirkpatrick, the founder of the Techonomy Conference and the author of The Facebook Effect.

To that point, several products that Jobs helped invent, including Macs, iPods, iPhones, and the iPad have powered Apple's (AAPL) stock to a record high, up nearly two-fold this past year.

Related: Apple's Run Is "Not Finished": Josh Brown Says Fund Managers Can't Resist It

The iPhone, a revolutionary gadget launched only 5 years ago, has become so phenomenally successful that it is now larger than all of Microsoft--a company that once dominated the tech industry and nearly drove Apple to extinction. And Apple itself has become the most

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On Friday, President Obama took the highly unusual step of blocking a Chinese company from building wind farms in Oregon.

The Chinese company, Ralls, is furious and has threatened to sue the president.

According to a statement issued by the Treasury Department, President Obama made the decision because of national security concerns: The proposed sites for the four wind farms Ralls wants to build are located in or near restricted airspace used by the Navy to test weapons.

In the current political environment, with Obama being attacked for being too weak on China, the decision smacks of politics. It also feels like tit-for-tat: China's government has prevented many American companies from aggressively pursuing projects in China, and complaints about China's brazen theft of U.S. intellectual property are widespread.

With China's economy growing ever larger and richer, and with the U.S. running a massive trade deficit, clashes like these are likely to

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Facebook (FB) announced a major new feature Thursday: "Gifts."

The company will be working with partners to allow Facebook users to send cookies, chocolate, socks, and other types of gifts to other Facebook users, simply by clicking a small "gift" icon.

The service will keep track of special dates, like birthdays, and ask a user's friends whether they want to send something. The gift will consist of a coupon or physical item: Your friends will be prompted to enter the address to which they want the gift shipped, and then you'll be asked for a credit or debit card to pay for it. According to Facebook, you can pay with a Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover branded credit or debit card.

Related: Will Groupon's Move into Mobile Payments Revitalize the Daily Deals Company?

Facebook has tried other eCommerce features before, but they've mostly failed. People go to Facebook to hang out and share things with friends, not to shop. One merchant

Yesterday, Google's stock hit a new all-time high. It's up again this morning.

These moves cap an extraordinary run in which Google's stock has surged more than 30% since July, when it traded around $560.

So, what gives?

Why is Google flying?

I did an informal survey via Twitter yesterday, and here's what I heard back (combined with some of my own thoughts):

• Motorola is proving to be less of a disaster than people expected (and Google is selling off some of the really crappy parts)
• Everyone is realizing that Facebook isn't really a threat to Google's core business and that Facebook is not "the next Google."
• The core business, search, is still growing like a weed.
• Android, Google's mobile operating system, is the world leader, and it continues to gain market share at almost everyone's expense.
• Android-based phones are finally as good as Apple phones, and Google's new tablet has also gotten rave reviews.
• Founder and new CEO Larry Page has re-energized the company.
• Stock-market investors

Editor's note: This post originally appeared on BusinessInsider.com

Apple reported on Monday that it sold 5 million iPhone 5 devices in just 3 days since the product's launch -- a new record for the tech giant but also 3 million short of most Wall Street estimates. A good percentage of those phones are made by Chinese workers at Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group's plants.

Millions of these phones are now in the hands of rich consumers in the 7 lucky countries that got the iPhones first.

And, for the most part, these customers love them.

As well they should!

Because, relative to what we all carried around as recently as 6 years ago, the iPhone 5 is nothing short of a miracle.

So, it's time to send a thank-you note to the folks who made our iPhones.

Apple and its shareholders have been thanked already, billions of times over, and they'll get thanked even more in the months ahead. The iPhone is the most profitable product in history. And it has made Apple the most valuable company in

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Fifteen years ago, Apple (AAPL) was left for dead.

Vanquished by Microsoft (MSFT) in the operating system wars, and badly mismanaged in the wake of the firing of founder Steve Jobs, the company was running on fumes.

Then Steve Jobs came back.

And, over the next decade, Jobs led what is probably the most remarkable turnaround in corporate history. Thanks to a host of amazing products that Jobs and his team invented, Apple has become the most valuable and profitable company in the world.

[Related: iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Blow The Doors Off—But Is Apple Losing Its Edge?]

Importantly, though, Apple's current wealth and power makes the company much less sympathetic than it was in the early years of its turnaround.

In those years, the only people who cared about Apple, were its devoted faithful--folks who believed in "Think Different," hated the Microsoft empire, and believed that, with Steve Jobs back at the helm, Apple could pull off a miracle. As Apple

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A new national Wall Street Journal poll found that President Obama has extended his lead over Gov. Mitt Romney, in part on renewed optimism about the economy.

Obama leads Romney 50% to 45% among likely voters, the WSJ says. And Obama's job approval rating has hit 50%.

Importantly, an equal number of those polled now think Obama will be better for the economy. In past polls, Romney has dominated on this issue. We should also note that this poll was taken before Mitt Romney's recent gaffe over how 47% of Americans are dependent on the government.

[Related: Are 47% of Americans Govt. Moochers?]

Helping Obama in the poll was an increase in optimism about the economy: 42% of those surveyed think the economy will get better in the next 12 months, a higher number than in prior polls.

But when you look at what is actually going on in the economy, that number is somewhat surprising, at least from a macro standpoint. China is slowing, Europe is a mess and