BlackBerry maker RIM was the biggest winner in a slowing smart phone market in the second quarter, roughly doubling its market share from a year ago to 17.4 percent, research firm Gartner said on Monday.

Posted Sep 02, 2008 10:27am EDT by Henry Blodget

Back in the days when Microsoft was an unabashed monopoly, the company's strategy was "link and lever" -- as in link new products to the Windows operating system and lever them into a dominant market position. Those who once used the market-leading Lotus 123, Notes, WordPerfect, and other programs will remember how effective this strategy was.

Investors tend to stereotype penny stocks as risky no-gainer gambles, says Mark Louie in Penny Sleuth. But this is simply untrue. Learning the truth about what you heard in the past might prove to be a wealth-generating opportunity for the future. Below Mark lists the top three commonly-held misconceptions about penny stocks…

I figured that while the market was just bouncing around today that I would lead you to a great story about the richest man in the world. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is helping millions of people throughout the world, many of whom live in underdeveloped and disease ridden nations.

Interesting article by Tim Sweeney.

"I had to laugh when I heard rumors concerning the new Microsoft-Yahoo negotiations. Let’s see, Jerry Yang turned down Microsoft’s (MSFT) original offer because (a) it substantially undervalued the long term prospects of the company, and (b) he wanted to keep the unique culture and spirit of Yahoo (YHOO)."

Microsoft said on Sunday it has proposed an alternative deal to Yahoo, rather than a full acquisition, in a move that could save the web pioneer from fighting a proxy battle with financier Carl Icahn.

By Aaron Task in Investing, Internet, Newsmakers, Venture Capital, M and A, IPOs

Carl Icahn is going to move forward with a full proxy slate to replace Yahoo's board of directors, Reuters reports.

"Icahn, who has amassed a large stake in the Internet company, has lined up at least 12 potential board candidates," Reuters reports.

An article and commentary on the rumored Microsoft/Facebook merger talks.

After Microsoft withdrew its $33-a-share offer for Yahoo on Saturday, the question was how far Yahoo’s stock would drop. On Monday morning, the markets gave an initial answer: plenty.

Shortly after 10 a.m., Yahoo’s shares were off nearly 20%, at $23.92, down from the close of $28.67 on Friday — a day when the companies were said to be escalating their talks on a merger.

Microstrategy is a Business Intelligence (BI) software vendor, a very attractive business with high switching costs and low capital requirements. The company is in great shape today, but facing down 4 software giants is not an enviable position to be in.

Google is doing everything possible to make Microsofts job hard in this takeover. Google has agreed to help out Yahoo by participating in an unusual test that will gauge how much more advertising Google can sell for Yahoo!

The two-week experiment will be limited to ads posted alongside a small percentage of Yahoo's online search results in the United States.

In light of recent developments, Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) acquisition of Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) is all but inevitabie, Citigroup Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney wrote in a research note.

Wall Street advanced Monday following reports of potential corporate deals -- including news that Washington Mutual might get a $5 billion investment from private equity firms.

Excerpt from Raymond James strategist Jeffrey Saut's latest essay:

STP to $60 tomorrow? And boy, do we have the next Microsoft just for you!