Manikandan Raman

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) completed its swap of common stock and notes for preferred shares as part of its efforts strengthen its capital base ahead of Fed's 2012 stress test.

Canaccord Genuity analysts released their stocks picks to avoid for the upcoming year and that includes Intel, LM Ericsson, Research In Motion, Powerwave Technologies, Netflix and Intuit.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) said on Monday that it was ending a $39 billion bid to acquire T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, which began in March. The announcement came via an AT&T statement and after a thorough review of options.

Smartphones are, increasingly, becoming quite common, particularly with several wireless carriers making feature-rich devices affordable through contracts. The key aspect of a smartphone, apart from its operating system, is its processor... something which determines the speed of the device and acts as its brain.

The outlook for Europe looks gloomy especially after the European Central Bank (ECB) warning that risks to euro area financial stability increased considerably in the second half of 2011, as the sovereign risk crisis and its interplay with the banking sector worsened in an environment of weakening macroeconomic growth prospects.

After a year in which global macro machinations drove stock correlations to record highs, the Canaccord Genuity technology team is hopeful that 2012 will be a year in which favorable returns are the reward for superior fundamental analysis.

Verizon Wireless began selling the much-awaited Samsung Galaxy Nexus for $299.99 on its network from Thursday, triggering an interesting competition within the Samsung devices.

Greece, one of the worst hit countries in the Eurozone crisis, may begin official negotiations to exit the Eurozone in 2012, according to Oliver Pursche, co-portfolio manager of GMG Defensive Beta Fund.

Long-Term Evolution (LTE), or sometimes called 4G, seems to be the new buzzword for all smartphones and carriers as it offers lightening fast internet speeds compared to the existing networks.

President Barack Obama is expected to win the re-election in 2012, according to Oliver Pursche, co-portfolio manager of GMG Defensive Beta Fund.

The top pre-market NASDAQ gainers are: Broadcom, Melco Crown, Acme Packet, Endocyte and Silicon Precision. The top pre-market NASDAQ losers are: First Solar, Grifols, RADVision, ARM Holdings and Amazon.

There are only a few persons who are still remembered after their death as they have left their remarkable legacy behind them, and Steve Jobs is one of those personalities who will be remembered for Apple's iPhone and iPad.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Urban Outfitters, Diamond Foods, Netflix, Arena Pharma, DryShips and Clearwire. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: ProShares UltraPro Short and Amazon.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) shares are expected to touch $70 in 2012 as it is poised to benefit from the strong demand for smartphones and tablets, and from increased spending on wireless infrastructure.

Chip giant Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) slashed its fourth-quarter outlook Monday citing hard disk drive (HDD) supply shortages related to flooding in Thailand.

Raymond James has lowered its profit estimates of telecom giant AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), which is facing several regulatory roadblocks in its $39 billion deal to acquire T-Mobile USA, a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom.

The top after-market NASDAQ gainers are: Saba Software, Urban Outfitters, Skullcandy, Cypress Semiconductor, Avanir Pharma and Atmel Corp. The top after-market NASDAQ losers are: Liquidity Services, Perceptron, Diamond Foods and BioMarin Pharma.

Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD) could come in to spotlight after Blue Coat Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BCSI) said Friday it has agreed to be acquired by an investor group led by San Francisco-based private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo, LLC, for about $1.3 billion.

Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) whose Kindle Fire tablet is one of the hot-selling products in this holiday season may have a tough time in convincing investors over its margins.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Endo Pharmaceuticals, Biosante Pharmaceuticals, Ariad Phamaceuticals. The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Diamond Foods, Nuance Communications, ASML Holding, Cisco Systems.

Graphics chip maker Nvidia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NVDA) is going through a difficult fourth quarter, hurt by supply chain issues.

Oppenheimer has issued its top picks in the technology sector for the month of December which include IAC/InterActive, Cisco, Nuance Communications, Teradata, Ceva, Broadcom and SanDisk.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) said on Thursday that it had agreed to acquire software company DemandTec, Inc. (NASDAQ:DMAN) for about $440 million or $13.20 a share.

Online retailer Amazon, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is expected to release a higher-end 7-inch Kindle Fire in the second quarter of 2012... one that could come with improved touch capabilities.

Nokia, on Thursday, released its first software update for its Lumia 800 smartphone, which is the fruit of its partnership with Microsoft, whose Windows Phone 7 operating system powers the device.

The top pre-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Blue Coat Systems, Silver Standard Resources, Golar LNG, Logitech and Perrigo. The top pre-market NASDAQ losers are: Sears Holdings, Lattice Semiconductor, Intel, ProShares UltraPro and First Niagara Financial.

This year has been a good one for the music industry, with digital music sales witnessing a steady growth.

Researchers have developed an efficient, cheap liquid solution that fights antibiotic-resistant bacteria on hospital surfaces and keeps patients safe from life-threatening infections.

Susquehanna Financial cut its profit estimates of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) after the company guided weak results for its investment bank unit.