1. Dark days for BlackBerry: All of the Windows Phone 8 news issued by Microsoft (MSFT) in recent days should remind smartphone fans that there once was another company that had IT departments giddy with the wireless possibilities.
Research In Motion (RIMM) has been largely forgotten in the smartphone chatter, and perhaps rightfully so. We live in a world where Android and iOS devices rule. The only reason that we're entertaining Windows as a mobile operating system is because Microsoft is an eccentric billionaire that loves to throw big money at pet projects.
Well, RIM will be back in the spotlight -- at least temporarily -- when it reports its latest quarterly results Thursday.
As you can imagine, it's going to be ugly. Analysts see revenue declining by a whopping 36%. The chunky $1.33-a-share quarterly profit that the Canadian company posted a year earlier is expected to be replaced by a mere 1 cent a share in earnings.
2. The school is in your computer: The downside to the University of Phoenix is that the online school's fraternity row is a bit of a snoozefest. Don't even get me started on the intramural program or the sorry state of the student union center.
Apollo Group (APOL) is the company behind the University of Phoenix. It's a more popular choice for folks wanting to secure college degrees than you probably think. The virtual school's enrollment in degree programs registered at 355,800 students in Apollo's most recent quarter. Unfortunately that's 12% below where it was a year earlier.
For-profit postsecondary educators have come under fire lately over the ineffectiveness of their programs, their uninspiring graduation rates, and their crummy student loan repayment rates.
Some companies are holding up better than others, but investors shouldn't be surprised to see Apollo posting declines in revenue and profitability when it reports early this week.
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