QUALCOMM

Qualcomm Inc's dual-core chips are poised to appear in more than 20 new tablets made by smartphone and PC manufacturers rushing to win market share in the red-hot mobile market, a Qualcomm executive said.

Qualcomm Inc said on Thursday that its newest dual-core processor was designed to compete in the red-hot tablet market against Texas Instruments and smaller rival Nvidia, which has dominated design wins in early 2011.

Qualcomm could be the major beneficiary if Nokia shifts its smartphone operating system strategy.

Texas Instruments announced plans for a chip on Monday that it said will give users more versatility in how they use their cellphones, helping it to compete better with rivals including Qualcomm Inc and Nvidia.

Jefferies & Co. said investors are uncertain about Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) future in consumer technology and that they have chosen to discount all parts of the business until it becomes clearer what Microsoft’s competitive position in the key areas of tablets, smartphones and online search will be.

U.S. stocks rose modestly on Thursday on earnings, holding near 29-month highs, but technical gauges suggested near-term resistance to strong gains.

Stock indexes held near 29-month highs on Thursday as buyers took their cues from companies reporting strong numbers, like Netflix, but the short-term technical picture suggested big gains are going to be hard to achieve.

The company reports tremendous first quarter earnings driven by strong growth in the mobile market.

The Dow and S&P were little changed on Thursday as disappointing labor market data offset strong results from Caterpillar, but a strong outlook from Qualcomm lifted the Nasdaq.

Morgan Keegan upgraded Qualcomm Inc. to outperform from market perform, a day after the CDMA chip maker reported strong quarterly results and boosted its fiscal 2011 outlook.

The top after-market NASDAQ stock market gainers are: Netflix, Qualcomm, Tractor Supply, Integrated Silicon Solution, and Abington Bancorp. The top after-market NASDAQ stock market losers are: Rex Energy, Southern National Bancorp of Virginia, Starbucks, E*Trade Financial, and Verigy.

Qualcomm Inc raised its forecasts for second-quarter and 2011 revenue as sales of its chips for wireless devices accelerate in China and India, and its shares rose 6 percent.

Corrects para 2 to say that the merger deal between Atheros and Qualcomm has not yet been completed

Canadian patent licensing firm Wi-LAN Inc said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Atheros Communications Inc to settle all lawsuits between it and the chip maker for an undisclosed amount.

Apple shifting from Infineon to Qualcomm for a new processor.

Jefferies & Co. recommends semiconductors' stock selection for 2011 in order to deliver relative outperformance as it continues to prefer the secular stories such as those with specific revenue share gains, product cycles, or new business ramps.

British chipmaker CSR said it had settled its legal battle over technology patents with U.S. rival Broadcom Corp, boosting the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi specialist's shares on Tuesday.

Stocks fell further on Friday as bank shares were pressured by a court ruling on foreclosures and a drop in Qualcomm Inc dragged the Nasdaq composite index 1 percent lower.

Qualcomm Inc plans to dominate the supply of wireless chips for tablet devices such as Apple's iPad with its $3.2 billion planned purchase of Atheros Communications Inc .

Qualcomm Inc. agreed to purchase chip maker Atheros Communications for $45 per share, or a total of about $3.2-billion.

Auriga's previous valuation model had suggested that Sprint’s spectrum was worth $7 billion based on older auction sales of spectrum by the U.S. Government, while the updated model suggests a valuation closer to $9 billion.