Stocks in the News

There's always plenty to chew on in an Apple earnings report, but here are the seven numbers that investors should keep in mind as they assess the tech rock star's blowout quarter.

Microsoft, which just bought patents from AOL for $1 billion, is now turning around and selling most of them to Facebook for $550 million.

Google has faced heavy criticism since it announced its first-ever stock split, which creates a new class of nonvoting shares. Don't believe the hype. If you were happy owning Google stock before, you should be just as pleased now. Here's why:

AOL said Monday that it would sell 800 patents and their related applications to Microsoft and grant it a license for its remaining patents for a total about $1.06 billion in cash. AOL plans to return some of the proceeds to its shareholders.

Nearly 70 top executives at three companies bailed out by the taxpayers during the 2008 financial crisis -- AIG, Ally Financial and GM -- were ordered to take pay 10% cuts by the federal government, and the CEOs had their pay frozen at 2011 levels.

The holidays may have come and gone, but when Best Buy posts its quarterly earnings, it's going to very publicly relive them -- whether it wants to or not. Wall Street analysts are generally optimistic, but there reasons for investors to worry.

Last week's broadside from an ex-employee didn't help Goldman's image, but all the to-do ignored the public's real issue with the firm.