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It's just a rumor -- and one from a site called "SemiAccurate" to boot -- but it's enough to boost shares of ARM Holdings (ARMH) 6% today and knock Intel (INTC) shares by nearly 2%.

SemiAccurate says Apple (AAPL) is going to boot Intel as a chip partner for its laptop line and move to ARM-designed chips around the middle of 2013. "So short story, x86 is history on Apple laptops, or will be in 2-3 years," writes Charlie Demerjian. "In any case, it is a done deal, Intel is out, and Apple chips are in."

Some tech observers say the idea makes sense. Apple's iOS operating system rules the roost at the company, and that already runs on ARM, writes Larry Dignan at ZDNet. Apple already bought ARM chip maker P.A. Semi in 2008 and ARM core experts Intrinsity soon after. (ARM designs chips, and then licenses those designs to other companies that make them.)

Post continues after this analysis of ARM Holdings and the stock: 

The chief executive of CBS (CBS) was paid nearly $57 million last year. The head of Occidental Petroleum (OXY) made $76 million. And the top boss at Comcast (CMCSA) took home $31 million.

The recession has clearly faded into ancient history for executives at the largest public companies, who are getting paid more now than in 2007, The Associated Press reports. Using data from a compensation research firm, AP has gathered a list of last year's 50 highest-paid CEOs.

Seven chief executives took home more than $30 million, including salary, perks, bonuses, stock options and other factors. Viacom (VIA) head Philippe Dauman topped the list, with $84.5 million in compensation -- a 149% gain from the year before. Viacom's stock did well last year, rising 46% to end December at an adjusted close of $45.72. Viacom owns MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures. 

By Jake Lynch, TheStreet

 

The Russell 2000, the closely followed U.S. small-cap benchmark, reached an all-time high Monday, passing a previous peak reached in 2007.

 

While earnings at small-cap companies, typically defined as those with a market value of less than $3 billion, have impressed investors in 2011, the economy is showing signs of weakness. Still, the following five small-cap stocks have delivered enormous gains this year, rising between 82% and 126%. Here is a closer look at these high-flying red chips. Some may offer further growth potential in the months ahead.

 

5. TeleNav (TNAV) offers location-based services, including voice-guided navigation on mobile phones and automobiles. It offers its service through wireless telecom carriers, including Sprint (S) and AT&T (T). The company swung to an adjusted fiscal third-quarter profit of 11 cents a share, exceeding researchers' estimate for a 12 cent loss. Average monthly paid subscriptions increased 15%, sequentially, to more than 22 million. A switch in revenue recognition with partner Ford (F) allowed TeleNav to book $6.6 million of additional revenue during the quarter. Net sales increased 33% during the quarter, beating researchers' consensus expectation by an impressive 5.6%.

 

 

By Don Dion, TheStreet

 

Although he has traditionally focused his attention on opportunities based in the U.S., Warren Buffett appears more than willing to make deals in other corners of the global marketplace as well. In recent months, the investor has spent time traveling abroad to countries including India and South Korea. Reportedly, a major goal of these trips has been to identify large acquisition targets.

 

This week, Bloomberg pointed out a handful of companies from Brazil and China that appear to meet Buffett's criteria for attractive acquisition targets. Listed among the names are firms including Marcopolo, the largest bus maker in Brazil, and Chinese construction company Lonking.

 

One common quality seen across these and many of the other companies highlighted by Bloomberg is their focus on the domestic populations of these popular emerging markets. As the economies of Brazil and China continue to grow and expand, the consumers from these nations have become increasingly popular targets for investors.

 

Here is this week's roundup of the dumbest actions on Wall Street.

 

5. Sony makes world safe for hackers

 

For the hackers who haven't figured it out yet, Sony's (SNE) online security code is up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, triangle, X, start.

 

We're joking, of course. (Or maybe we're not...?) Regardless, Sony's sure making it look like it's as easy to get a PlayStation 3 user's credit card number and other personal information as it was to get extra lives in Contra about 25 years ago.

 

So much good happened Thursday we should have been up, not down.

 

Think about it: We had the possibility of a 10% cut in the price of gasoline; we had one of the most important central banks decide that raising rates again is suicidal; we had General Motors (GM) in a position to pay back the United States within a couple of quarters; AIG (AIG) in a similar position, despite the big loss last night.

 

We also have the makings of a budget deal that could keep a debt ceiling crisis from happening. We had a major break in the froth, the silver speculation. We had better-than-expected​ sales from so many retailers. We had a huge decline in mortgage rates that could bring on a level of stability and affordability in housing.

 

And the one dark spot, a weekly jobless claims number, may not be that daunting given that the Federal Reserve  has said it will still use any means necessary to make sure things get better.

 

 

After spending a week mired in a tight sideways channel, the U.S. dollar blasted higher against the euro Thursday in a big way-- sending shockwaves through the financial system. You see, the dollar isn't just what we use to buy our morning coffee. It's status as the world's de facto reserve currency means its undulations has far reaching impacts from the price of commodities like crude oil to the level of interest rates.

 

Lately, as I've discussed in my recent columns and blog posts, the dollar's sustained and persistent decline has big increases in dollar-sensitive assets like silver and crude oil -- increases which now threaten our fragile recovery.

 

All of this is changing now. The catalyst: A less "hawkish" European Central Bank and a stready stream of weak economic data. Hedge fund types are scrambling to exit anti-dollar "carry" trades. For consumers, this is great news. And it can be great news for investors too. Here's how the play the dollar's bounce.

 

By Jonas Elmerraji, Stockpickr

 

With most markets looking wishy-washy this week, it's time to take a technical look at what's going on with the biggest-name stocks on Wall Street.

 

Technical analysis is used every day by proprietary trading floors, the Street's biggest financial firms and individual investors to get an edge on the market. And according to some sources, skilled technical traders can bank gains as much as 90% of the time.

 

Every week, we take an in-depth look at large-cap stocks that are telling important technical stories. This week, we're focusing on oil.

 

By Scott Moritz, TheStreet

 

Skype's delayed journey toward an IPO has attracted interest from Facebook and Google (GOOG) as possible acquirers.

 

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has discussed a takeover of the Luxembourg-based Net calling service, according to a Reuters report that hit late Wednesday. The story also says that Google has explored a joint venture deal with Skype.

 

Last month, Skype filed for a public stock offering, but a shakeup of top management caused the company postpone its IPO. With a little more time to consider its options in a shaky equities market, it's not too surprising to see some big players kicking Skype's tires.

 

 

By Don Dion, TheStreet

 

As evidenced by the National Stock Exchange's monthly fund-flow data, April proved popular for ETF investors. Since ETF assets initially broke through the $1 trillion mark at the start of 2011, the universe has continued to grow at an impressive stride. At the close of April, total assets stood near $1.12 trillion.

 

Additionally, the industry welcomed 23 new funds. This lifted the total product count to 1,030.

 

On top of market appreciation, strong investor inflows played a major role in boosting assets. During the opening weeks of the second quarter, the ETFs saw net inflows totaling more than $21 million. This represents the largest single-month inflow of the year.

 

 

By Jake Lynch, TheStreet

 

Value investor David Einhorn, who runs the hedge fund firm Greenlight Capital, disclosed a position in out-of-favor electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY) in his latest quarterly letter, ahead of his firm's official 13-F filing. Best Buy's stock has fallen 30% in 12 months, underperforming U.S. stock indices. Because of that, Einhorn's pick merits attention.

 

Best Buy has fallen 8.9% this year, and Einhorn, who established his position at an average price of $33.33, is in the red on this bet. Still, he makes a compelling argument for the down-but-not-out security.

 

Of note: Greenlight's long-run annualized return since 1996 is close to 25%. It ranks as one of the best-performing U.S. hedge funds, despite a focus on mainly domestic equities. Also, unlike its peers, Greenlight has a small staff and rarely trades. Its operations are focused on researching and then owning, or shorting, stocks, not vacillating on its investments.

 

In his quarterly letter, Einhorn stressed that investors are far too concerned that Best Buy has reached its growth limit and will suffer declining sales in the future. In particular, he views Best Buy's holiday dip as a fleeting issue rather than a signal of looming obsolescence.