Amazon’s fourth-quarter forecast implies a profit margin of “effectively zero,” Youssef Squali, an analyst at Jefferies & Co., noted during a conference call with the company. Click here to learn what the impact of this announcement will be on Amazon stock.

Apple is among an elite few stocks right now that is not only delivering strong top and bottom line growth but is also seeing analysts estimates revised higher. For example, the current full year 2012 EPS consensus estimate for Apple is $34.50. That's up 56% from just 12 months ago when consensus was $22.03, according to Factset. Click here to learn more.

Many investors and analysts have felt that Oracle was bit behind the curve in cloud computing adoption and some believe this acquisition indicates just how serious Oracle is about being a player in the cloud space. Click here to learn the details and the impact for investors in both RNOW and ORCL.

Tucci said EMC spends 12 percent of its revenue on R&D, which will come to about $2.4 billion from almost $20 billion in expected 2011 revenue. EMC doesn't want to be relegated to history with the big data and cloud computing trends that are the future of IT. EMC continues to make acquisitions and position itself as a player in both big data and cloud.

We are on the precipice of a tech bubble similar to the one we last saw roughly ten years ago. Pre-tax corporate profits are also somewhere in the clouds, measuring 13 percent of U.S. Gross National Income as of Q3 2010 (Haver Analytics), levels that parallel those of the dot-com bubble. We know what happened then.

A P/E ratio of 650+ is a bit comical, and reminds me of Bubble 1.0 days. Defenders of such outlandish P/E ratios suggest that such a high ratio reflects market expectations of growth.

With the stock up by more than 38% since 2008 and strong fundamentals going forward, Oracle (ORCL) is increasingly appearing to be a safe hedge against a stagnating economy. The enterprise software company trades just below its historical average at 18.1x and 12.1 past and forward earnings, respectively.

Let’s be honest: The cloud is a killer. Other than the microprocessor, I think we would be hard-pressed to find another technological innovation that has so effectively killed off its predecessors. Click here to read this fascinating article that speaks at a high level of the impact Rapic Application Development (RAD) is having on the cloud computing industry.

True maturity begins when enterprises adopt the cloud. Enterprises – a catch-all including big corporations, government and non-profit biggies like hospitals and universities – represent the bulk of IT spend. They're where the money is, reliable money, and when a software or hardware company achieves success but wants to last that's where it goes. It becomes an “enterprise” company.

Businesses are experimenting with cloud computing, gaining experience with the services model and assessing the value benefits. But few are actually moving mission critical applications to the cloud. It will take another generation before the industry starts to see a wholesale shift towards the cloud model. Click here to learn about the McDonalds’ Rule of Cloud Computing.

VMWare's stock has the potential to rally because the stock outperformed the Dow Jones sevenfold during last week's rally. Other events that can cause a particular security to rally are earnings and upgrades. Click here to learn more about the potential for VMWare to rally.

The MSME secretary said that while the government would provide substantial subsidy for cloud computing to the SMEs, it does not want "fly by night operators". The Ministry is banking on the SME associations which will create special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to implement the technology upgradation schemes. This is happening worldwide. Click here to learn more about what India is doing to move its SMB's into the future.

Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) chooses Compushare as the preferred technology management service provider for community Banks. This relationship allows ICBA member Banks access to a full suite of Cloud Based Technology Solutions built exclusively for financial institutions. This is the type of cloud based solution that can influence the mass adoption of cloud solutions in the financial services industry.

Thank you Steve for all that you did for mankind. Rest in peace. Click here for more.

Awesome events! TechCrunch Disrupt, GigaOM Mobilize, and Vatorsplash were all amazing. Great speakers, diverse venues, solid companies, and the best of the investment community all coming together to help the entrepreneurs succeed and to find new and exciting opportunities. Click here to read my blog on these killer events in tech.