July 16 - 5:10pm EDT   Research firm IDC reports that worldwide PC shipments grew at 15 percent in the second quarter of 2008. The quarter also saw Apple roughly tie Acer in the US market, assuming fourth place and missing third place by only a few thousand units. Demand in the United States suffered from the ongoing economic pressure, with rowth in the low single-digits. Dell continued its recovery with another quarter of double-digit growth, while HP saw year on year growth rise from the first quarter. Portable adoption continues to be a key driver, even though consumer share is generally at its lowest during the second quarter. [full story]

April 7 - 8:45am EDT  Research firm Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP) on Monday upgraded Apple stock and set a target price of near its previous trading high, noting that the current price severely discounts the long-term growth potential and that any risk for a near-term earnings shortfall has faded. While most analysts have focused on the impending launch of Apple's "3G iPhone" that runs on AT&T's faster mobile network, analyst Doug Reid said that Apple will continue its longer-term growth through its core Mac business as well as continued roll-out of the iPhone to additional countries. [full story]