Tech Earnings and Apple

Still, the results were impressive. Net earnings beat by nearly $2 a share ($7.79 vs. $5.87 expected) and sales came in $3.6 billion better than expected at $28.6 billion. Apple sold 20.3 million iPhones and 9.3 million iPads.

Perhaps even more amazing, Apple added $10 billion to its cash hoard during the quarter. It now has $76 billion.

Apple is the leader, but tech earnings in general have been excellent so far. We still have Intel (Nasdaq:INTC) tonight and Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) tomorrow.

Now that Congress is reportedly getting closer to a budget agreement, we may have some more upside for stock prices coming. Yesterday’s ramp job was a sign of relief from investors who have been increasingly worried that playing politics would trump good sense in the budget talks.

If we can get resolution on the budget and the debt ceiling, then all we have to worry about is Europe and its inability to craft a decent solution to debt problems.

EU leaders are meeting (again) in Brussels to try and come to some kind of agreement.

I know a lot of readers believe the Fed’s response to the financial crisis (basically providing as much liquidity and asset guarantees as needed) was inappropriate. And I still believe that some banks should have been allowed to fail — or at least broken up and sold off.

But I’ll also argue the Fed’s response was a lot better than the EU’s actions surrounding its own debt problems. It’s been a year and a half since Europe’s debt problems entered the headlines. And despite a $1 trillion bailout fund, the problems persist.

It still seems 50/50 whether the EU will survive, but that’s probably a couple years away.

The S&P 500 just tested support at 1,301. And yesterday’s rally took it above resistance at 1,320. I’d say there’s a pretty good chance that we see a new 52-week high by the end of the summer.

What to buy? How about the tech stocks being recommended by Top Stock Insights? With the help of TradeMaster’s analyst/trading strategist Jason Cimpl, we’ve got some great tech stocks in that portfolio.

I told you yesterday how we’ve already taken a 36% gain on Google (Nasdaq:GOOG) and then re-bought ahead of earnings on July 8 at $530 and are up another 12% after Google’s blowout earnings.

Top Stock Insights has also been holding IBM since $115 a share. With yesterday’s gain, that’s 57%. Overall, Top Stock Insights has delivered 41 winners out of its last 49 recommendations over the last two years. It’s a phenomenal track record.

But the best may be yet to come… I’ve been recommending a $5 stock that could double in the next 12 months as its revolutionary wireless antennae technology rolls out.