From paidContent.org, May 8, 2008:

The awkward pairing of Circuit City and Blockbuster is past the spitball phase and into the handholding phase. The struggling electronics giant says it will allow Blockbuster and its investor Carl Icahn to conduct due diligence into the company, and it says it has hired Goldman Sachs to help it explore strategic alternatives. But it notes that no agreement has been made yet, and you can assume that it would like to know what else is out there before going with Blockbuster. In its initial announcement, Blockbuster said that its purchase offer could include shares and cash, in the (off) chance that CC shareholders wanted to keep a stake in the new company. Most likely, they just want cash.

One of Circuit City's concerns had been financing. How would Blockbuster pay for the buy which comes to over $1 billion? The answer it got from Blockbuster is that Carl Icahn could conceivably buy Circuit City himself (and merge it with Blockbuster) if Blockbuster couldn’t obtain financing directly.Release.

Not much new from Blockbuster’s end. It's "pleased." Release.

Blockbuster first announced in mid-April that it was interested in acquiring Circuit City, for a premium of at least 54 percent over its then closing price. Analysts investors pretty much hated it off the bat, not really getting the vision, or understanding how the two made sense together.

On Tuesday, Apple inked a deal with Vodaphone to sell iPhones in separate countries as well as a separate pact with Telecom Italia.

Apple's overseas ventures are a potential concern for AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier which is reportedly making a lot of concessions to Apple ahead of the launch of the 3G iPhone.

But Apple's moves are potentially devastating for Synchronoss, whose shares are tumbling Wednesday after the company "materially lowered" its 2008 growth expectations "due in large part to reduced revenues associated with the iPhone."

Synchronoss handles the iPhone activation process for AT&T and is already being hurt by large volumes of iPhones being shipped unlocked to ports abroad, as AlleyInsider.com details.

"The gap between the number of iPhones expected to be sold and the actual number that we are activating continues to be significant," Synchronoss CEO Stephen Waldis said Tuesday evening.

With more iPhones set to head overseas, a bad situation for Synchronoss may yet get worse.

Two big news stories broke late Tuesday not involving Microsoft-Yahoo.

First, Cisco Systems reported fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations but essentially met the company's cautious guidance from the second-quarter call.

Tuesday's conference call had a very similar tone to its second-quarter call in February: Cisco is forecasting 9%-10% growth from the current quarter, but maintains its long-term growth rate of 12%-17% remains doable.

A big difference between the two calls is that last night's cautious tone was far less surprising vs. back in February, which is why Cisco shares are basically flat today. It's also a sign Cisco CEO John Chambers has done a good job managing expectations during this downturn. (Apparently he learned a lesson after being very late in seeing the 2000 tech bust.)

Second, Sprint and Clearwire are spearheading a WiMax joint venture that is ambitious in its scope from both a technological and participatory perspective. In exchange for Sprint's spectrum and Clearwire's leadership, cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks are contributing a combined $1.7 billion, while Intel is chipping in $1 billion and Google $500 million.

With that kind of broad technological expertise and financial firepower and so many participants, this WiMax venture can't fail, right?

Grand Theft Auto IV is raw, raunchy, and almost certainly another mega-hit for the world's best-selling videogame franchise. But will it be enough to compel Electronic Arts to raise its bid for GTA producer Take-Two?

Earlier this week, Henry Blodget argued GTA IV is "like a Roman candle." Once the fireworks subside, Take-Two's shares will follow and EA's bid will suddenly look more generous.

Taking the other side of the trade this morning, Darren Chervitz, co-manager of the Jacob Internet Fund, said Take-Two is more than just GTA, citing its success with BioShock, Carnival, and sports titles.

Given that, and a view GTA IV will far exceed the already lofty expectations, Chervitz says Electronic Arts will ultimately up its bid for Take-Two, which is his fund's largest position.

The 3G iPhone isn't even out yet but AT&T is already planning steep discounts to lower the cost to $199, Fortune reports.

Such a move is destined to frustrate a lot of people who've recently bought existing-model iPhones, which Fortune also says Apple is planning to phase out.

Arguably, it makes more sense for AT&T to subsidize older iPhones and take advantage of pent-up demand for the 3G iPhone by charging full price, at least initially when the phone is launched -- presumably mid-summer.

But if the Fortune report is true, AT&T would be taking a big step in making the 3G iPhone accessible to the mass market. AT&T will also give Apple a major leg up in its battle for smartphone supremacy over Research In Motion, although that market looks big enough for the both of them.

From All Things Digital, April 29, 2008:

Apple (AAPL) and Canadian wireless provider Rogers Communications (RCI) have finalized a deal that will soon bring the iPhone to the RIM BlackBerry’s backyard. In a brief note issued this morning, the company said it has reached an agreement to offer the iPhone in Canada.

“We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year,” Rogers chief executive Ted Rogers said in a statement just full of details. “We can’t tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned.”

Good news for Rogers, which had suggested prior to the iPhone’s launch it would offer the phone in Canada, but was later forced to admit it hadn’t yet inked a deal with Apple.

Ahead of the Fed's rate decision Wednesday and Friday's jobs report, the market is taking a dip Tuesday amid data showing falling consumer confidence and rising foreclosures. (Hmm, you think there's a connection?)

Further testing the bulls' mettle is the latest setback for big pharma: Merck shares are tumbling after the FDA rejected its cholesterol drug Cordaptive, a decision that also weighed on shares of Eli Lilly, which has a similar product in its pipeline.

On the flipside, Watson Pharmaceuticals was rising sharply after the FDA completed an inspection of its Davie, Fla., manufacturing plant.

Further signs of optimism could be seen in Corning's better-than-expected results and guidance, while Visa was shaking off concerns about its guidance. Very strong results from Mastercard probably helped Visa's cause.

The Microsoft-Yahoo drama is dominating the headlines -- and dragging down major averages -- but some smaller tech names are delivering for investors.

Shareholders of Baidu were winners Friday after the so-called "Google of China" reported better-than-expected results and raised guidance. Citigroup upgraded in reaction.

Still, some Baidu shareholders (like Henry) worry that Baidu is taking its eye off the prize (China) by focusing attention and resources on Japan.

CNET Networks would kill to have the kind of "problems" Baidu is facing; the interactive media company reported a loss of 4 cents per share, revenues below expectations, and disappointing guidance. But CNET shares were rising Friday after the firm inked a content agreement with Tech Ticker's parent. The three-year deal is unlikely to satisfy Jana Partners, activist investors who've been agitating for more dramatic change at CNET.

Despite posting quarterly results that bested expectations, shares of both Apple and Amazon.com were falling Thursday.

Apple's fiscal third-quarter earnings guidance was below expectations, and analysts expressed concern about their gross margins. Meanwhile, traders overlooked Amazon.com's raised revenue guidance and focused instead on its weak operating income guidance and gross margins.

The reality is both stocks are richly valued, which also helps explain why short-term traders are focusing on the negatives.

But long-term investors should not lose sight of the big picture, which is "spectacular" for both companies, says David Kirkpatrick, senior editor of Internet and technology at Fortune.

But Nokia is the world largest cell phone maker and while its first-quarter results topped expectations, the Finnish firm's outlook for 2008 was pretty grim. While forecasting 10% handset volume growth this year, Nokia simultaneously believes revenues will be down in Euro terms, because of the weak dollar and weak U.S. economy.

Looking deeper inside Nokia's results and guidance, one thing becomes apparent: Nokia is feeling the heat in the high-end market from Apple and Research In Motion in the U.S., and the iPhone is taking a lot of 'mindshare' worldwide.