Apple to Sell 'Cheap' iPad to Fend Off Android: Report

Black and white versions of the new iPad 2.When Apple [AAPL  Loading...      ()   ] releases its new and enhanced iPad next week, the company will also re-launch a less expensive version of its current iPad 2 to combat cheaper tablets running Google’s Android operating software, according to a JPMorgan analyst report out of Asia.

“Expect higher resolution new iPad, but also a cheaper iPad 2 to defend against Android Tablets,” wrote Gokul Hariharan of JP Morgan in a note today. “PC vendors like ASUS have issued aggressive guidance on cheap Android Tablets. If Apple comes out with a multi-pronged pricing strategy for iPads, then Android tablets may again find it difficult to gain traction, except for very low-end ones like Kindle Fire.”

Shares of Apple are up more than 30 percent this year in anticipation of the iPad announcement next Wednesday. The device is expected to have 4G capability and even more enhanced features. Meanwhile, shares of Google [GOOG  Loading...      ()   ] are lower for the year and Amazon’s stock is up barely 3 percent for 2012.

It is not unprecedented for Apple to keep selling older models under a new pricing structure in order to take market share on the lower end. After introducing the iPhone 4S last October, Apple announced it would keep selling the iPhone 4 for $99, as well as an iPhone 3GS for free when accompanied with a two-year contract.

For the best market insight, catch 'Fast Money' each night at 5pm ET, and the ‘Halftime Report’ each afternoon at 12:00 ET on CNBC. Follow @CNBCMelloy on Twitter.

______________________________________________________

John Melloy is the Executive Producer of Fast Money. Before joining CNBC, he was an editor for Bloomberg News, overseeing the U.S. Stock Market coverage team. Click here to see his full bio.

______________________________________________________
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Report: Google-Branded Tablet to Land in April

Google's Nexus tablet could be the company's next hardware device. Jon Snyder/Wired.com

The long-awaited Android-running, Google-branded tablet reportedly arrives in April.

The device is aimed squarely at the dominant, and cheap, Amazon Kindle Fire, which is the world’s leading 7-inch Android device. The tablet, which former CEO Eric Schmidt first mentioned in December, also would advance Google’s plan to create a unified software and hardware ecosystem — just like that company in Cupertino.

Richard Shim, an analyst with DisplaySearch, told CNET the Google tablet is on track for production in April and is expected to cost $199. It will sport a 7-inch, 1280×800 display and run Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). Those specs, if they pan out, one-up the Kindle Fire, which also costs $199 but has a 1024×600 display and runs on a modified version of Gingerbread (Android 2.3).

Should the tablet actually materialize, it would be yet another entry in Google’s sweeping hardware initiative. Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility will give the search company a ready-to-go hardware division. The tablet also would follow the rumored music-streaming entertainment device that would take advantage of the proposed Android@Home initiative announced at Google I/O.

This week The New York Times reported that Google is working on HUD glasses that could be formally announced by the end of the year.

Beyond its internal hardware initiatives, Google has partnered with HTC and Samsung for its Nexus-branded smartphones. The current crop of Nexus flagship phones were the first Android phones powered by Ice Cream Sandwich.

Indeed, all the rumored hardware and the Motorola Mobility acquisition suggest Google is positioning itself as a company that owns the entire “product stack,” from operating system to app ecosystem to hardware. This, of course, is the strategy employed by Google’s main rival in the mobile market, Apple.

Should Google continue down this path, it may be the next company, to “own the whole widget,” as Steve Jobs would say.

View the original article here

Saudi Official Says Pipeline Explosion Report Is False

Oil surged nearly 5 percent on Thursday to its highest level since crude's record run in 2008 after a late report out of Iran of a pipeline fire in top exporter Saudi Arabia.

Iranian media reported an explosion on an unknown oil pipeline in the oil-rich Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, although it was not possible to verify the report immediately.

Prices edged off highs after Dow Jones newswires reported a Saudi oil official said the report was untrue, according to CNBC television.

Markets have been on edge this year as threats of a supply disruption due to the West's standoff with Tehran over Iran's nuclear program have added to concerns about actual production losses from South Sudan, Yemen, Syria and the North Sea.

"The sharp move up on the pipeline story points to the market nervousness on anything related to supply problems," said Gene McGillian, analyst for Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

U.S. light, sweet crude [CLCV1  Loading...      ()   ] settled at $108.84 a barrel, up $1.77, before rising to $110.55 in late activity, the highest since May 2011.

Iran, the world's fifth largest oil producer, has been struggling to sell its crude in the face of tightening U.S. sanctions and an EU embargo that kicks in on July 1. This has threatened to tighten global crude supplies.

However, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that global oil producers have enough spare production capacity to make up for a drop in Iranian exports.

Brent crude futures [LCOCV1  Loading...      ()   ] prices topped $128 a barrel in late post-settlement trade, levels not reached since July 2008 when the growing economic crisis sent oil spiraling to record peaks of more than $147 a barrel.

Prices were already up before the pipeline report, lifted by news Israel would test-fire a ballistic interceptor missile, escalating tensions over the crisis that has included tough sanctions against Iran.

International benchmark Brent crude climbed to $128.40 a barrel in post-settlement trade, after settling at $126.20, up $3.54 on the day.

U.S. President Barack Obama said his administration will lay out as "many steps as we can" in coming weeks to unclog bottlenecks in the world's top consumer that are helping to push up the price of gasoline and other fuels, a key issue for consumers as the economy struggles to recovery in an election year.

Data showing U.S. jobless claims fell last week — the latest sign that the labor market recovery was gaining momentum — also helped support prices.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Report: Google-Branded Tablet to Land in April

Google's Nexus tablet could be the company's next hardware device. Jon Snyder/Wired.com

The long-awaited Android-running, Google-branded tablet reportedly arrives in April.

The device is aimed squarely at the dominant, and cheap, Amazon Kindle Fire, which is the world’s leading 7-inch Android device. The tablet, which former CEO Eric Schmidt first mentioned in December, also would advance Google’s plan to create a unified software and hardware ecosystem — just like that company in Cupertino.

Richard Shim, an analyst with DisplaySearch, told CNET the Google tablet is on track for production in April and is expected to cost $199. It will sport a 7-inch, 1280×800 display and run Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0). Those specs, if they pan out, one-up the Kindle Fire, which also costs $199 but has a 1024×600 display and runs on a modified version of Gingerbread (Android 2.3).

Should the tablet actually materialize, it would be yet another entry in Google’s sweeping hardware initiative. Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility will give the search company a ready-to-go hardware division. The tablet also would follow the rumored music-streaming entertainment device that would take advantage of the proposed Android@Home initiative announced at Google I/O.

This week The New York Times reported that Google is working on HUD glasses that could be formally announced by the end of the year.

Beyond its internal hardware initiatives, Google has partnered with HTC and Samsung for its Nexus-branded smartphones. The current crop of Nexus flagship phones were the first Android phones powered by Ice Cream Sandwich.

Indeed, all the rumored hardware and the Motorola Mobility acquisition suggest Google is positioning itself as a company that owns the entire “product stack,” from operating system to app ecosystem to hardware. This, of course, is the strategy employed by Google’s main rival in the mobile market, Apple.

Should Google continue down this path, it may be the next company, to “own the whole widget,” as Steve Jobs would say.

View the original article here

Apple to Sell 'Cheap' iPad to Fend Off Android: Report

Black and white versions of the new iPad 2.When Apple [AAPL  Loading...      ()   ] releases its new and enhanced iPad next week, the company will also re-launch a less expensive version of its current iPad 2 to combat cheaper tablets running Google’s Android operating software, according to a JPMorgan analyst report out of Asia.

“Expect higher resolution new iPad, but also a cheaper iPad 2 to defend against Android Tablets,” wrote Gokul Hariharan of JP Morgan in a note today. “PC vendors like ASUS have issued aggressive guidance on cheap Android Tablets. If Apple comes out with a multi-pronged pricing strategy for iPads, then Android tablets may again find it difficult to gain traction, except for very low-end ones like Kindle Fire.”

Shares of Apple are up more than 30 percent this year in anticipation of the iPad announcement next Wednesday. The device is expected to have 4G capability and even more enhanced features. Meanwhile, shares of Google [GOOG  Loading...      ()   ] are lower for the year and Amazon’s stock is up barely 3 percent for 2012.

It is not unprecedented for Apple to keep selling older models under a new pricing structure in order to take market share on the lower end. After introducing the iPhone 4S last October, Apple announced it would keep selling the iPhone 4 for $99, as well as an iPhone 3GS for free when accompanied with a two-year contract.

For the best market insight, catch 'Fast Money' each night at 5pm ET, and the ‘Halftime Report’ each afternoon at 12:00 ET on CNBC. Follow @CNBCMelloy on Twitter.

______________________________________________________

John Melloy is the Executive Producer of Fast Money. Before joining CNBC, he was an editor for Bloomberg News, overseeing the U.S. Stock Market coverage team. Click here to see his full bio.

______________________________________________________
Got something to say? Send us an e-mail atdocument.write("");document.write("fastmoney-web"+"@"+"cnbc.com");document.write(''); and your comment might be posted on the Rapid Recap! If you'd prefer to make a comment, but not have it published on our Web site, send your message todocument.write("");document.write("fastmoney"+"@"+"cnbc.com");document.write(''); .

View the original article here

FTSE, DAX, CAC Seen Higher; Lloyds to Report

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LinksList Documentid: 35819650Published: Friday, 24 Feb 2012 | 1:18 AM ET

European shares were called higher Friday on the back of gains in the Asian markets overnight, boosted by positive data from the U.S. for both the labor and housing markets.

The FTSE 100 [.FTSE  Loading...      ()   ] is seen higher by 16 points, the DAX [.GDAXI  Loading...      ()   ] higher by 30 points and the CAC 40 [.FCHI  Loading...      ()   ] up 19 points.

Greece is expected to start its bond swap on Friday following the approval by parliament of a law to endorse the swap which will see private investors take a 53.5 percent hit on their holdings but in reality could be over 70 percent.

The swap is intended to wipe around 100 billion euros off liabilities.

Italy will be tendering between 2 billion to 2.5 billion euros worth of short-dated bonds and up to half a billion in longer dated bonds, both at 10.00 GMT.

In earnings news Lloyds Banking Group [LLOY-LN  Loading...      ()   ] , the part state-owned UK bank will post its fourth quarter and full-year earnings before Friday's market open.

Like Royal Bank of Scotland [RBS-LN  Loading...      ()   ] on Thursday, the bank is expected to report a loss of 2011.

Reuters reported that Spain has asked the European Commission to ease strict budget deficit targets for the country, arguing that it needs more leeway to get through the downturn.

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