financials

Flipboard, the popular news-reading app, is making it easier for people to add -- and track -- their original content to Flipboard with the latest magazine curation features for Android devices.

The magazine curation feature, which lets users collect articles around a specific theme or subject matter into a Flipboard magazine is now available for Android phones and tablets, and online as a Web-based editing tool that also provides metrics.

Flipboard introduced the magazine curation feature for iOS in late March, gaining 6 million users since the launch. It's network of 56 million users have created 1 million magazines … Read more

Although Sony has been in a bit of trouble over the last few years, things appear to be looking up.

The company on Thursday revised its initial forecast for the fiscal year ended March 31, saying that its sales will rise 3 percent compared to its initial forecast, landing at 6.8 trillion yen (about $69 billion). Better yet, Sony has bumped up its operating income and net income figures by 76.9 percent and 100 percent, respectively.

If Sony's final numbers for the fiscal year match its forecasts, the company will have dramatically improved its performance over the … Read more

Dell painted a somewhat bleak depiction of its prospects in a recent SEC filing.

In a 274-page filing on Friday, the PC maker indicated market and product challenges on several fronts. In the filing, Dell makes a case for accepting a $24.4 billion offer to go private so it can be in a better position to deal with the myriad challenges facing the company.

Those included "the deteriorating outlook for the PC market as a result of, among other things, smartphones and tablets cannibalizing PC sales," according to the filing.

The SEC filing also cited "the … Read more

Michael Dell might not be as close to taking his company private as originally thought.

Dell's Special Committee of the Board, a team tasked with considering other proposals for the future of its business, confirmed today that it has received two buyout offers. One of those offers comes from investment firm Blackstone and the other from Carl Icahn.

"The Special Committee, consisting of four independent and disinterested directors, has determined, after consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, that both proposals could reasonably be expected to result in superior proposals, as defined under the terms of the … Read more

TurboTax is big in tax software, so we were interest to see how their online tax service compared to similar services from other big names in the tax prep game. TurboTax Online offers five options: Free, Deluxe, Premier, Home & Business, and the new Military Edition. The Deluxe edition is the most popular. Why? Maybe its mission: Maximize your deductions. TurboTax Deluxe 2012 is ready to help you prepare and file your 2012 taxes. Better yet, it's ready for the IRS: One of the advantages of online tax tools from trusted services is their ability to handle changes in … Read more

Sharp, the ailing electronics maker that's in desperate need of cash, has decided to take out a major loan from three banks, according to a new report.

Sometime this week, Sharp will sign deals with three financial institutions for loans that equate to 30 billion yen ($313 million), Bloomberg is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the company's plans. Sharp hasn't publicly confirmed that it's getting loans, but a representative said that the company is hoping that many more banks will come to its aid.

Sharp has watched its business hemorrhage cash over … Read more

TurboTax is big in tax software, so we were interest to see how its online tax service compared with similar services from other big names in the tax prep game. TurboTax Online offers five options: Free, Deluxe, Premier, Home & Business, and the new Military Edition. The Deluxe edition is the most popular. Why? Maybe its mission: maximize your deductions. TurboTax Deluxe 2012 is ready to help you prepare and file your 2012 taxes. Better yet, it's ready for the IRS: one of the advantages of online tax tools from trusted services is their ability to handle changes in … Read more

A Dell committee, made up of four board members charged with deciding whether going private is the right move, has responded to Dell investor Carl Icahn, who says it isn't.

In a February 5 letter, Icahn said that he and others do not "believe that [the Going Private Transaction] is in the best interests of Dell's shareholders and substantially undervalues the company." Instead of going private, Icahn would like to see Dell issue a special dividend of $9 per share. That should result, he said, in a stock price increase to $13.81, which, added to … Read more

Barnes & Noble had a rough fiscal third quarter -- the three-month period ended January 26 -- due mainly to its ailing Nook operation.

During the period, Barnes & Noble snagged $2.2 billion in revenue, down 8.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization slumped 63 percent from $150 million last year to $55.5 million this year.

The big decline in its operation during the period was its Nook business. Revenue in its Nook division, which includes its e-reader and related services, hit $316 million, down … Read more