If you're feeling good about the market, you're not alone. Take my hand as we go over some of this week's more uplifting headlines.
1. Apple's cloud-hopping ways
There was plenty to like in the presentation kicking off Apple's
However, Apple's "one more thing" magical moment was the iCloud. The ability to work on a document or take a photograph and have it sync up with the rest of your iOS devices is huge.
The PC -- or Mac, to be fair -- will no longer need to be tethered to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad through a USB cable for updates or syncing up files. The coolest thing here from an Apple shareholder perspective is that iCloud should be the catalyst for even more Apple gadgetry.
If you own an iPhone, why would you buy a tablet that isn't an iPad? If you own an iPad, why buy an Android smartphone? As swift as Apple's tablets and smartphones are selling, it's about to sell a whole lot more.
2. Sirius-ly funny
Shares of Sirius XM Radio
Live from UCB Theatre -- a weekly show featuring an hour of sketch, stand-up, and improvisational comedy from the popular Upright Citizens Brigade troupe -- will begin airing on its Raw Dog uncensored comedy channel.
The show will be broadcast at 11 on Saturday nights, with an encore presentation at 7 p.m. Monday. I like the scheduling. There probably aren't too many people who are routinely in their cars for an entire hour that late on a Saturday. The chances are a bit better earlier on Monday nights for the encore airing, but this move should encourage car-based subscribers to pay an extra $3 a month for online streaming to hear the show on their smartphones, PCs, or wherever they may be connected.
3. Moving pictures in India
Sify Technologies
The Bollywood bonus here is that investors have typically underestimated Sify as a content company. The online services seller is better known for its ability to get India connected than for profiting from online experiences through content. It was its IT strengths that led me to single out Sify as one of two India investments worth buying two days before the positive Sify Movies development.
What will happen to Sify's valuation once we stop underestimating its portal operations?
4. This buy is due
Hopping from the world's second-most-populous country to its largest, there are signs that the meltdown of Chinese growth stocks is nearing an end. Susquehanna International reiterated its bullish calls on several of China's dot-com leaders.
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster followed, arguing that Baidu's
Investors who have been selling off all Chinese stocks because of a few bad actors won't be able to ignore China's fast-growing potential for long.
5. Welcome back, Potter
Blackstone
Blackstone and Comcast's recently acquired NBCUniversal shared equal stakes in the Universal Orlando resort in Florida. Blackstone triggered a clause where Comcast has to buy back its 50% share or sell off the entire resort.
Maybe Blackstone was trying to catch Comcast off guard. Maybe it really did want to unload its stake. Either way, Comcast did the right thing by agreeing to pay roughly $1 billion for full ownership of the resort that includes two theme parks, an entertainment complex, and three third-party-managed hotels.
It's the right call, even though Comcast isn't in a position to go on a buying spree right now. It wouldn't have made sense for someone else to own popular attractions that promote many of its NBCUniversal characters.
