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. The PS3 time is the charm for Netflix
It's about time,
Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX). The flick flicker is
finally going to be
streaming movies through Web-enabled PS3 video game
consoles. It shunned other systems last year, when it
went exclusively with
Microsoft 's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox.
I understand why Netflix made that choice. After all,
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sits on Microsoft's board. However,
it never made sense for Netflix to ignore the PS3. It's the
only console that plays Blu-ray discs, so it's a logical
home-theater platform for film junkies who pay Netflix a
premium for Blu-ray access.
So what's it going to take for Netflix to appease the
typically younger Wii families? Surely there's an argument to
be made about for supporting the homes that game together.
How else is Netflix going to move copies of those
Air Budsequels?
2. Good things come in small packages
There's no such thing as an acquisition so small that
it will never move the needle.
BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: BMRN) is
paying a mere
$15 million for Huxley, a company whose sole product is a
promising treatment for Lambert Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome, a
rare autoimmune disease.
If things go well, BioMarin will have to pay an additional
$7.5 million on approval of the treatment in Europe and up to
$36 million more in future payments if certain sales and
development milestones are met.
If successful, BioMarin sees peak sales in Europe alone of
$100 million annually. If the treatment flops, BioMarin is
out only the $15 million. This isn't an acquisition! It's
either a call option or a buyout on a contingency basis. Well
played, BioMarin.
3. How to praise Steve Jobs in Mandarin
It finally happened.
Apple 's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone officially
landed in China this week. I realize this isn't going to be a
slam dunk, though. The vast majority of China's 1.3 billion
citizens can't afford the fancy smartphone and the costly
data plans.
Fellow Fool
Tim Beyers is also concernedabout the quality of the new
3G network in China and about regulators who are stripping
the device of its Wi-Fi charm.
I see the speed bumps, but I still think this is a great
move by Apple. The company's computing and portable media
players aren't as popular overseas as they are domestically.
Any success that Apple achieves with its iPhone will help it
win over MacBook and iPod users, too.
4. Don't look back, WiMAX
Connectivity may never be the same. WiMAX, the
broadband-enabling platform championed by heavies including
Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and
Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), took a major step
when it
successfully tested roamingin Taiwan this week. Continued... |