MSFT, ZNGA & OUTR Soar; Callaway Skyrockets Despite Losses; NQ Mobile Drops 47%

Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) are both surging on their earnings, which came out after yesterday's closing bell. The climb puts Amazon at an all-time high. As of yesterday's close it was already up 29% year-to-date. Amazon had adjusted losses of 9-cents a share for the quarter. That's exactly what was expected. Investors seem to be ignoring the fact that the company issued guidance for the current quarter that was below consensus. Not a good thing when you consider the period includes the holiday season. As for Microsoft, the software giant had a healthy beat for the period with earnings of 62-cents a share, 8-cents above estimates. Revenues also beat expectations. Shares of Microsoft were already up 22% going into today's session.

Next up are service sector stocks Zynga (ZNGA) and Outerwall (OUTR). Zynga lost 2-cents for the quarter, but it was expected to lose 4-cents, and revenue topped estimates at $152-million. Revenue was actually down 36% from a year ago, and the company lowered its outlook for the current quarter.

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Microsoft and Facebook team up to offer bug bounties for a safer internet

In an effort to battle hackers and keep the internet safe and secure, Microsoft has teamed up with Facebook to sponsor an Internet Bug Bounty program that'll offer a cash prize to anyone able to uncover important web vulnerabilities. Rewards range from $300 to $5,000 depending on the severity of the flaws, and might go even higher if the discovery is deemed important enough. Only those in the US will be eligible to receive the prize and the money will have to go through a legal guardian if you're under 12 years old. 

The security findings must be widespread, severe, novel and not specific to any one site. They'll be judged by a panel of experts from Microsoft, Facebook, Google, security consulting firm iSEC partners and Etsy. Read more.

Microsoft Corporation Need More 2 Months To Select 1 CEO

According to sources familiar with the matter said that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has lessened list of outer candidates to substitute CEO Steve Ballmer to about five people, including Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) chief Alan Mulally and ex- Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) CEO Stephen Elop.

The source also said that the company also has at least three internal candidates on its shortlist, including Satya Nadella, the company’s cloud and enterprise chief and ex- Skype CEO Tony Bates, who is now responsible for Microsoft’s business development. The process can take a few more months. But the company was reluctant to comment on the process and on behalf of the internal candidates. However, Ford spokesman Jay Cooney said that there is nothing new yet. Alan is still committed with One Ford plan.

In recent months, investors have pushed Microsoft’s board to consider Mulally or Computer Sciences Corp CEO Mike Lawrie, to replace Ballmer.

Chart Says Tech Giant's Breakout Could Lead to an 18% Rally

Technology giant Microsoft (MSFT) reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter 2014 earnings on Oct. 24, after the close. Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.62 versus the Street's estimate of $0.54 and up from $0.53 in the same quarter last year. 

This growth in earnings came despite a 7% year-over-year decline in revenue from its Windows operating system. Overall, the company's revenue was up 16% from last year to $18.53 billion, beating the $17.78 billion estimated by analysts.

Furthermore, the tech firm said its devices and services business is progressing, which has been a focus for many analysts since the firm's failed attempts over the years to gain traction in the mobile computing world and its recent $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's handset business. Read more

Google, Microsoft develop new ways to snoop on you

Microsoft MSFT -0.13%   , Google GOOG -0.20%   and Facebook FB -0.34%   are working on systems that could mean the end of, or at least a vast reduction in, cookies — those tiny files that marketers use to record consumers’ online behaviors, like which articles you’ve read, ads you’ve clicked on and items you’ve purchased.

On its face, this sounds like it should be a relief to many consumers: less tracking, more privacy. But in reality, the opposite may be true, says tech writer Bob Sullivan, author of the book “Gotcha Capitalism.” “You’ll still be getting tracked, and now you’ll be getting tracked more effectively,” says Anthony Mullen, a senior analyst at Forrester Research. It should be noted Google isn’t the only one snooping on Google searches: The NSA has reportedly hacked Google so it can spy on searches.

In fact, the tech giants would use their new systems to harness that tracking data themselves, the Wall Street Journal reports. Facebook’s new ad service places Facebook code on retailers’ sites so that the retailer can put an ad on Facebook’s mobile app. MSFT.

Microsoft spending $405 million on Windows marketing, aiming for 16 million tablet sales

Microsoft started a huge advertising campaign for Windows 8 and Surface during its launch last year, but the company is reportedly planning to spend even more this year for Windows 8.1. Winsupersite reports that Microsoft spent $241 million on retail Windows efforts last year, but that it’s expected to spend around $405 million this year. $131 million is said to be related to offers and incentives, while the rest ($274 million) will be spent on marketing and operating expenses.

The aim of the big spend is to push Windows tablets in retail stores. Microsoft is reportedly aiming for around 16 million Windows tablet sales over the holiday season, with improvements to its marketing and retail efforts being the main changes to help convince consumers to buy Windows tablets. Microsoft recently teamed up with Best Buy to create Windows Stores inside 600 retail locations and the software giant is doing the same with over retailers around the world. Windows tablet sales have been slow since the release of Windows 8 a year ago, and Microsoft is clearly hoping that Windows 8.1 and a new range of devices will help spur them on this time around. Read more MSFT.

Cloud Computing: Four Lightning Bolts From the Sector

Cloud computing is a game-changer, affecting the entire value chain. The industry involves players offering services like data centers, software as a service (SaaS) and networking equipment. Every player in this industry is trying to integrate its offerings and cater to the requirements of cloud and data centers. Still an evolving industry, competition is expected to intensify and data centers will be the epicenter.We believe the companies best positioned to take advantage of the opportunities offered by this industry include Equinix (EQIX), Interxion (INXN), Salesforce.com (CRM) and Cisco (CSCO).

Cloud computing has revolutionized how the IT industry deals with the addition, manipulation, retrieval and submission of data. The transformation has, to some extent, affected every player in the IT ecosystem, while paving the way for several new pure play companies in the cloud computing industry. Read more.