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. China calling
The iPhone 5 is a hit in China.
Despite earlier reports that indicated that Apple's (AAPL 0.64%) newest smartphone wasn't generating a lot of buzz in the world's most populous market, it was apparently popular enough to deliver Apple's biggest debut weekend in China.
The world's most valuable tech company revealed on Monday that it sold more than 2 million iPhone 5 handsets in China during the smartphone's first weekend of availability there.
2. Sirius XM is moving higher
For the first time in 57 months, shares of Sirius XM Radio (SIRI 0.96%) traded above $3.
It could get even better.
Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Niknam initiated coverage of the satellite radio provider with a buy rating and a $3.50 price target.
One of the bigger knocks on Sirius XM is that it has too many shares outstanding, but Niknam sees the company buying its way out of that critique in the coming years. The analysts sees Sirius XM using share repurchases to lower its share count by 20% in the next three years and by 45% between now and 2022.
3. RIM shot
Research In Motion (BB 3.21%) isn't moving in the right direction, but at least it's not getting too far away ahead of next month's potentially game-changing BlackBerry 10 launch.
Yes, revenue fell 47% year over year and 5% sequentially. RIM posted a quarterly loss. Despite shipping nearly 7 million smartphones, the company closed out the quarter with a million fewer users than it had three months earlier.
So? RIM's results still beat the market's bleak projections. RIM also has more than $2 billion in cash and 79 million active BlackBerry users. It's a strong base in terms of audience and balance sheet stability heading into the Jan. 30 launch event.
RIM has a shot, and that's why the stock moved higher after Thursday night's results before heading lower again. In the end, the shot is everything.
4. Indexing gets a friend request
Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU) appears headed to its second consecutive week of double-digit percentage gains.
Shares of China's leading video streaming website are up 12% through Thursday's close after popping 15% higher last week.
Last week it was part of a broader bounce in Chinese growth stocks. This time around there was some encouraging company-specific news to fuel the rally.
Research firm Macquarie boosted its prognosis on the dot-com speedster to "outperform" and a new price target of $21. In an encouraging move, Macquarie sees the company potentially turning a profit by the second quarter of next year. Wall Street isn't holding out for a profit on an annual basis until 2014, but profitability may be coming sooner than expected.
5. Brewing a board of brands
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR.DL) is making sure that its boardroom has plenty of star power.
The Keurig company is making some changes to its board. Former Kellogg CEO David Mackay is being added as an independent director. Norman Wesley -- the former Fortune Brands CEO who joined Green Mountain's board this summer -- will now be its new chairman. Along with last month's announcement of Coca-Cola executive Brian Kelley stepping up as its new CEO, Green Mountain is making sure that it doesn't lack seasoned experience from prolific consumer brands.
Given the challenges that Green Mountain faced late last year and early this year, regaining investor credibility is crucial. The new CEO and spruced-up board will help do exactly that.
