5 Reasons Why This Is the Most Important Apple Event Ever

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tdp2664 InvestorPlace The world is on the edge of its seat again as we approach yet another landmark Apple ( NASDAQ : AAPL ) launch. It's a little bit later than the previous summer splashes reserved for the latest iPhone model — the iPhone 5 — but has just as much fanfare. And for several reasons, Tuesday’s Apple event could be the most important in the history of the iPhone since the first big reveal in 2007. One easily could argue that Apple has a lot more riding on this launch than ever before. Here's what's at stake for Apple on Tuesday: Can Cook Match the Magic of Jobs? With the departure of iconic executive and founder Steve Jobs, this is the first true test for new CEO Tim Cook. Yes, Jobs' health problems have persisted for some time, and you can bet Cook knows Apple like the back of his hand by now. But Apple is part gadget maker and part cultural force. Don't fool yourself into thinking the gadgets will speak for themselves — Tim Cook needs to step up and be the new public face of Apple. Can Apple Go Low-Price and Protect Its Brand? There are rumors that the iPhone might go populist for the first time ever — with an "entry-level" model priced at $99. The so-called "iPhone 4S" will have the same appearance but lower-priced internal parts — the biggest money-saver being just 8GB of onboard memory , if you believe the rumors. Will consumers who have held off on an iPhone sign up for a lower-priced model with less flash? If they do, it could be a huge windfall as Apple exerts its dominance at both the high end and low end of the market. But if it flops, more than dismal sales are on the line. Apple always has prided itself on a fantastic user experience — and if consumers start to get the impression cost is trumping quality, that's a dangerous development.

Kibali mine in Congo fully running by 2014 – Randgold

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gol2664 Negocioenlinea Kibali mine in Congo fully running by 2014 – Randgold Reuters – 1 hour ago KINSHASA Oct 3 (Reuters) – Randgold Resources and Anglogold Ashanti's Kibali joint venture in northeastern Congo will be fully operational by the beginning of 2014, Randgold's chief executive said …

Gold Buying in China “Strong as an Ox”

While last months sell-off in gold may have rattled many investors, that has
not been the case in China, at least according to Scotia Mocatta. In a note to
clients on Monday, the firm discussed the yellow metals weakness and the strong
level of dip-buying that remains in two key emerging markets. Over the past 2
weeks commodities, including gold, have been in the crusher, although to be fair
losses in non USD currencies have been significantly less than those that have
been suffered at the hands of the strong USD, analysts at Scotia Mocatta wrote.

Groupon IPO at an 88% Discount?

Groupon looks like the incredibly shrinking IPO. Just six months ago, its
valuation was roughly $25 billion. Now? Well, according to a Bloomberg article,
it could be as low as $3 billion . Keep in mind that last December, Google
(NASDAQ: GOOG ) offered $6 billion for the daily-deals site. So why the
implosion? For the most part, it is yet another classic case of the boom-bust
nature of the tech world. Let's face it, only a few companies are able to
become long-term winners, such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT ), Oracle (NASDAQ:
ORCL ) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ). The rest either sell out or go bust. In the
case of Groupon, it certainly was targeting a huge market opportunity. Local
merchants always are trying to find ways to get customers. So yes, they will pay
a premium for this. The problem is the Groupon model is flawed. As noted in a
recent piece in The New York Times , many merchants are disappointed with the
results . Basically, the deals often draw customers who have little loyalty. So
merchants are learning a valuable lesson that is, not all customers are good.
In fact, enough bad customers can kill a business. Interestingly enough, it
looks like Facebook has taken note of all this. The company recently closed down
its daily-deals business but continues to focus on local merchants . To this
end, it has teamed up with the Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of
Independent Business to provide support and training to help business owners
with social marketing. It looks like an approach that should get traction. As
for Groupon, there certainly are other reasons for its discounted valuation. The
company had to restate its revenues , resulting in a number less than half of
its original report, and the company continues to face extreme competitive
pressures. And the company is losing hundreds of millions of dollars as the cost
of acquiring customers escalates. Amid all this, investors likely will focus on
the business model. And for the most part, it is hard to believe it can be
sustainable for the long haul. Tom Taulli is the author of "All About Short
Selling" and "All About Commodities." You can also find him at Twitter
account @ttaulli. He does not own a position in any of the stocks named here.

Top 10 Best-Performing Small Cap Stocks in September: HGIC, GLBL, CALP, OPTR, FNDT, LQDT, TZA, FAZ, MNKD, HRBN

Below are the top 10 best-performing Small Cap stocks for the past month. One
Chinese company (HRBN) is on the list. Harleysville Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HGIC) is
the 1st best-performing stock last month in this segment of the market. It was
up 105.3% for the month. It was up 60.2% year-to-date. Global Industries, Ltd.
(NASDAQ:GLBL) is the 2nd best-performing stock last month in this segment of the
market. It was up 79.6% for the month. It was up 14.3% year-to-date. Caliper
Life Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:CALP) is the 3rd best-performing stock last month in
this segment of the market. It was up 39.2% for the month. It was up 65.1%
year-to-date. Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPTR) is the 4th
best-performing stock last month in this segment of the market. It was up 39.1%
for the month. It was up 22.4% year-to-date. Fundtech Ltd. (NASDAQ:FNDT) is the
5th best-performing stock last month in this segment of the market. It was up
35.2% for the month. It was up 43.1% year-to-date. Liquidity Services, Inc.
(NASDAQ:LQDT) is the 6th best-performing stock last month in this segment of the
market. It was up 33.6% for the month. It was up 128.3% year-to-date. Direxion
Small Cap Bear 3X Shares (ETF) (NYSE:TZA) is the 7th best-performing stock last
month in this segment of the market. It was up 31.2% for the month. It was up
13.2% year-to-date. Direxion Daily Finan. Bear 3X Shs(ETF) (NYSE:FAZ) is the 8th
best-performing stock last month in this segment of the market. It was up 28.6%
for the month. It was up 39.8% year-to-date. MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD)
is the 9th best-performing stock last month in this segment of the market. It
was up 25.5% for the month. It was down 53.0% year-to-date. Harbin Electric,
Inc. (NASDAQ:HRBN) is the 10th best-performing stock last month in this segment
of the market. It was up 24.6% for the month. It was up 19.0% year-to-date.

Todays Stock Market DJIA Dow Jones Average Index DJX DJI, S&P 500, Nasdaq; BAC Bank Of America Stock Quotes

Stocks tumbled throughout the last trading session in the U.S. Futures
positioned stocks lower this morning prior to opening bell and stocks were not
able to recover during the session today. All three primary indices in the U.S.
finished off on the negative side of break-even today. As close finalized in the
U.S., the Dow Jones was negative by 2.36 percent at 10,655.30. The Nasdaq was
lower by 3.29 percent at 2,336 and the S&P 500 closed out the session lower by
2.85 percent at 1099.23. Previous close for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was
10,913.38. The index is still negative by 1.63 percent for the one year change.
Todays market trading volume posted at 189,664,040 which was about 26,000 lower
than the three month average. The majority of the companys that make up the S&P
500 closed out the last trading session in the red. Bank of America finished red
once again. BAC closed out the day red by 9.64 percent at 5.53. Sprint Nextel
closed out lower by 10.86 at 2.71. Citigroup closed out lower by 10.09 at 23.03.
Micron Technology closed out the session lower by 14.09 percent at 4.33. Bank of
America has been grabbing big headlines lately. It continues to attract negative
attention as one of the first major banks to reveal to the public that it would
be charging an additional $5 a month for its customers who use a credit card.
This negatively skewed news is just the latest to push stock values lower. Frank
Matto

5 Reasons Why This Is the Most Important Apple Event Ever

The world is on the edge of its seat again as we approach yet another landmark
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL ) launch. It's a little bit later than the previous summer
splashes reserved for the latest iPhone model the iPhone 5 but has just as
much fanfare. And for several reasons, Tuesdays Apple event could be the most
important in the history of the iPhone since the first big reveal in 2007. One
easily could argue that Apple has a lot more riding on this launch than ever
before. Here's what's at stake for Apple on Tuesday: Can Cook Match the
Magic of Jobs? With the departure of iconic executive and founder Steve Jobs,
this is the first true test for new CEO Tim Cook. Yes, Jobs' health problems
have persisted for some time, and you can bet Cook knows Apple like the back of
his hand by now. But Apple is part gadget maker and part cultural force. Don't
fool yourself into thinking the gadgets will speak for themselves Tim Cook
needs to step up and be the new public face of Apple. Can Apple Go Low-Price and
Protect Its Brand? There are rumors that the iPhone might go populist for the
first time ever with an "entry-level" model priced at $99. The so-called
"iPhone 4S" will have the same appearance but lower-priced internal parts
the biggest money-saver being just 8GB of onboard memory , if you believe the
rumors. Will consumers who have held off on an iPhone sign up for a lower-priced
model with less flash? If they do, it could be a huge windfall as Apple exerts
its dominance at both the high end and low end of the market. But if it flops,
more than dismal sales are on the line. Apple always has prided itself on a
fantastic user experience and if consumers start to get the impression cost is
trumping quality, that's a dangerous development.