We may be OK after all.

I can't be the only one who was nervous heading into a week with both Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) reporting results for what was -- by most accounts -- a rough quarter for both companies. Lesser companies were going to buckle, but what would happen if both of the coolest consumer tech stocks would come undone?

As it turns out, I was gnawing my fingernails for nothing more than a crummy self-imposed manicure. Apple topped market expectations handily on Wednesday. Google followed suit a day later.

Sure, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) came up short, but the company has been fading away as a bellwether for some time. Apple and Google were the two darlings that had every reason not to shine, yet they still posed pretty for the snapshot.

Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.

  • Speaking of faded bellwethers, what's going on with eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)? Fourth-quarter revenue fell by 7% at the company in its latest quarter, and that's with PayPal and Skype posting double-digit gains on the top line.
  • John Thain didn't last long at Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). The Merrill Lynch CEO -- who was the master architect in taking NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) public -- resigned just weeks after Bank of America completed its acquisition of the struggling investment banker. Does that make him a CEO speculator instead of a "buy and hold" executive?

Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz