SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Apple Inc. sold its millionth iPhone over the weekend, days after it slashed the price by a third to spur sales.

The milestone was reached weeks earlier than expected and sent shares of Apple up $4.94, or 3.8 percent, to $136.71. The stock regained some of the ground it lost after the price cut spooked investors as a sign of weak demand and slimmer margins.

It took just 74 days for the combination cell phone-iPod to hit the 1 million mark, which Apple had said it would achieve by the end of September. By comparison, it took two years for the company to sell 1 million iPods, Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted in a statement.

Last week, Apple knocked $200 off the price of the 8-gigabyte iPhone, bringing its price to $399, and discontinued the 4-gigabyte version. Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on whether the price cut helped spur sales.

The price cut may have helped a bit, but Apple clearly was on track already to exceed its own expectations, analysts say.

"I'd argue that sales have been fairly strong, and this alleviates concerns that sales were weak," said Shaw Wu, analyst at American Technology Research.

The swift price cut -- not surprising in the cell phone industry but rare behavior for Apple -- angered hundreds of early buyers who bought the touch-screen gadget

How Banks Create Money out of Thin Air

Most money in the economy is held in the form of deposits with banks rather than in the form of notes or coins. If you purchase an asset from me for $1000, payment is normally effected by reducing your checking account by $1000 and increasing my account by $1000. The net change in bank deposits is zero.

If one year later, you decide to sell the asset and I purchase it back from you for $2000, where does the additional money come from? The transaction this time increases your account by $2000 and reduces my account by the same amount. The net effect is still zero.

The bank can loan me the extra $1000 simply because there is a corresponding deposit of $1000 in another account. It does not matter if the deposit is not with the same bank; the clearing system offsets all transactions between banks and any temporary shortfall is made up by

The critical questions in value investing are:

1. At what rate will earnings (and dividends) grow over the investment period?

2. What is the risk? Are we certain to receive our required minimum return (equivalent to a risk-free investment)?

3. Can management be trusted to perform?

Neither of these factors can be answered with certainty, we have to make our best estimate after considering a number of factors.


Growth

Past Performance

1. Do historic earnings (per share) show a strong upward trend?

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Struggling mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. will cut as many as 12,000 jobs in a bid to slash costs and cope with soaring foreclosures and defaults, the company said Friday.

The cuts, amounting to as much as 20 percent of its work force, are needed because the company expects new mortgages to fall about 25 percent in 2008 from this year's levels, Countrywide said.

In a letter distributed to employees, Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo called the current market cycle "the most severe in the contemporary history of our industry."

"During the past two years the growth in home price appreciation has stopped dead in its tracks and in many areas of the country it has turned in the wrong direction," Mozilo said in the letter.

In recent weeks, Countrywide borrowed $11.5 billion and sold a $2 billion stake to Bank of America so it could keep operating its retail

The Euro has finally broken out on the back of sharply weaker US economic data. Next week, we fully expect the EUR/USD to make a run towards its all time high of 1.3850, which is less than 100 pips away.

With the ECB likely to keep interest rates on hold for the remainder of the year, the EUR/USD will once again become the anti-dollar. This means that weak US data will drive the EUR/USD higher while strong US data will drive the currency pair lower. This has not been the case over the past few weeks because weak US data would lead to a flight to safety into US dollars and US treasuries. We have yet to see a material slowdown in Eurozone economic data and even though the central bank will probably not be able to raise interest rates again this year because of problems in the US, they still remain hawkish which is a sharp contrast to the Federal Reserves expected monetary policy

It may take 3 to 5 years to become a good trader. Becoming an expert could take even longer. No one can teach you to press a few buttons on your computer and make money. There are no magic formulas. What it takes is:

1. a sound working knowledge of the basics;

2. an understanding of the traps and pitfalls that you face in the market every day; and

3. above all else, it requires an understanding of yourself.


What it Takes to Become an Expert

Scientists have conducted extensive research into what it takes to achieve mastery in a particular discipline. Karl Anders Ericsson and his colleagues studied top performers in a wide variety of fields and identified a specific type of practice, which they call deliberate practice, that is required to achieve excellence (Ericsson

Let's get one thing out of the way: your employer probably isn't the next Enron.

Bad experiences make a huge impression on investors. A generation of investors who went through the Great Depression convinced themselves that buying stocks was basically the same as betting at the track. Talk to old failed day-traders from the Internet boom era and you'll hear stories about how they'll never do it again.

The same attitude surrounds buying shares of your employer's stock in your 401(k). The very thought of buying company stock brings up images of Enron and Worldcom employees cleaning out their desks and selling paperweights with corporate logos on eBay as macabre reminders of the financial devastation that thousands suffered. Waves of litigation ensued, snaring not just failed businesses but also companies like Boeing (NYSE: BA - News), Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB - News), Dynegy (NYSE: DYN - News), and EDS (NYSE: EDS - News).

Even though some employees lost everything by owning company stock doesn't mean you should avoid it entirely. Here's how to do it right.

1. Don't overdo it.
The employees who lost the most in the Enron and Worldcom debacles took on too much risk in their retirement plans. Their plan balances represented the bulk of

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Employers sliced payrolls by 4,000 jobs in August, the first such decline in four years and a stark sign that a painful credit crunch that has unnerved Wall Street is putting a strain on the national economy.

The latest snapshot of the employment climate, released by the Labor Department on Friday, also showed that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.6 percent, mainly because hundreds of thousands of people left the work force for any number of reasons.

The surprisingly weak report provides the Federal Reserve with a reason to lower interest rates when it meets next on Sept. 18.

Job losses in construction, manufacturing, transportation and government swamped gains in education and health care, leisure and hospitality, and retail. Employment in financial services was flat. The weakness in payrolls reflected fallout from a deepening housing slump, a credit crisis and financial turbulence that

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices gained Friday after U.S. government data showed a larger-than-expected decline in domestic crude stocks.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 25 cents to $76.55 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning in Singapore. The contract added 57 cents to settle at $76.30 a barrel Thursday.

In its weekly inventory report, the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 31., more than tripling analysts' average prediction for a 1.1 million barrel decline.

Gasoline inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels, slightly more than the 1.1 million barrel decline analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected.

Refinery utilization, however, jumped by 1.8 percentage points to 92.1 percent of capacity, much more than the 0.2 percentage point increase analysts had

What about Saving?

Saving money is normally a good idea. Besides "under the mattress", there are many places one can store money for a rainy day: checking, savings, and money market accounts, CDs, savings bonds, and many others.

But before you decide how much to save, you should look at your current debt load. While saving is an important habit to form, it can be done foolishly. Earning 3% on a savings account while paying 7% on a car loan or 22% on a credit card is not a smart move. It takes some thought to figure out a good balance. The important thing to keep in mind: ignore interest at your peril. It adds up, and siphons off thousands of dollars a year from your budget. Your goal should be to minimize that amount as much as possible.

The Stock market

Who says that every man and woman is entitled to free money (8% yearly return) on money they put in the stock market? The excuse "risk merits reward" does not work, because nowadays people truly believe that a rounded pick of stocks will make from 6-10% (or more) every year. When the market takes a dive, everyone feels cheated. I thought that risk was part of the game? But no, people genuinely feel that it is realistic and normal to make money while doing absolutely nothing. "It's my money making money," they say. But how can money make money? Only people can produce the goods and services which have a dollar value. A 10-dollar bill today is a 10-dollar bill next year. Money is not productive by itself.

The Stock market

Who says that every man and woman is entitled to free money (8% yearly return) on money they put in the stock market? The excuse "risk merits reward" does not work, because nowadays people truly believe that a rounded pick of stocks will make from 6-10% (or more) every year. When the market takes a dive, everyone feels cheated. I thought that risk was part of the game? But no, people genuinely feel that it is realistic and normal to make money while doing absolutely nothing. "It's my money making money," they say. But how can money make money? Only people can produce the goods and services which have a dollar value. A 10-dollar bill today is a 10-dollar bill next year. Money is not productive by itself.

Materialism

The constant advertisements thrown at us, and virtually all the peer pressure we experience try to convince us that to be "good patriotic Americans" we have to buy a bunch of "stuff". We are supposed to invest in America—have confidence in the economy—by taking out huge mortgages, buying cars, spending all our money, and even going in debt if need be. Worrying that constant growth cannot be sustained forever is un-American, according to them.

Thousands of tax professionals recently converged on the IRS Tax Forum in Las Vegas. TaxMama asked the pros to tell you what you could be doing right now to bring this year's tax burden under control -- or under budget -- and to finish up last year's tax returns if you haven't already done so.

Speaking of withholding, Mayeda suggests this is a good month for all employees to review year-to-date withholding to see if there is a need to modify it (up or down) to account for changes in life or income.

There are obvious changes that most people realize affect withholding -- like a baby, a new home or a new job. Often, there are invisible changes you forget to consider.

Your tax adviser can help you identify things like pass-through investments that will

Tech Stocks Ignite Market Rally

1 The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 2.5%, while the New York composite leapt 2.4%, the S&P 500 2.2% and the Dow 1.9%. Tech and steel thrived, but NYSE volume slipped. The Nasdaq's turnover, while below average, was higher than Tue.'s total. That fits the bill for a follow-through day. The 10-year T-note's yield rose 5 ticks to 4.57%, but short-term yields declined.

Nokia Dials Into Apple's Market

2 The world's largest phone maker unveiled new services and mobile phones that can download music and play games, seeking to draw share from Apple's iPhone as well as iTunes and the iPod. Nokia's new phones will hold up to 6,000 songs and come with other gadgets, such as docking stations and speakers.

Altria To Break Up Philip Morris

3 Altria Group (NYSE:MO - News) said it will spin off Philip Morris Int'l,