WALL STREET JOURNAL

Last November, Google (GOOG) and 30 partners were said be developing a new type of handset using Android software that was expected to revolutionize the industry. The first new phones were expected to be available in this year’s second half but are now slated for the fourth quarter the Wall Street Journal reported…According to people familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal reported that Citigroup (C) will make sharp cuts in its investment banking division this week.The Wall Street Journal reported that Live Nation (LYV) Chairman, Michael Cohl, stepped down down as a director and executive to end the strategy feud over how to pursue the “360 deals” with music superstars with CEO Michael Rapino…FINANCIAL TIMES: There Financial Times reported that there are worries that investment banks will accelerate the pace of their layoffs this summer, after it became known that Goldman Sachs (GS) gave pink slips to workers in its investment banking division last week. Goldman is now expected to lay off up to 10% of the workers at the division…STAR LEDGER: New Jersey put its $150M center for stem cell research on hold, the Star Ledger reported, eight months after ground was broken on the project…

H&R Block back in the hot seat-NY Post

H&R Block (HRB), whose shares are up 17% this year after closing Option One, is back in the hot seat. Block, which agreed last week not to foreclose on any Massachusetts mortgages until at least July 14, could be forced to take hundreds of millions of dollars in writedowns if Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley proves the tax preparation giant used predatory lending practices to sell over 30,000 mortgages in the state between 2004 and 2007. Coakley believes there is increasing evidence Option One was pressured to inflate home values to complete mortgages. H&R Block representatives did not comment.

Google’s cellphone plans delayed-WSJ

Last November, Google (GOOG) and 30 partners were said be developing a new type of handset using Android software that was expected to revolutionize the industry. The first new phones were expected to be available in this year ’s second half. Now they’re slated for the fourth quarter as deadlines are repeatedly pushed back, reports the Wall Street Journal. On issue is that the software hasn’t enthuastically been supported by mobile phone software developers.

Citigroup to make more cuts in investment banking this week-WSJ

People familiar with the situation say that Citigroup (C) will make sharp cuts in its investment banking division this week.Citigroup which will likely suffer through more writedowns this quarter is looking to reduce the business unit by 10%.

Weekly additions to the Investors Business Daily-100

The following are additions to the Investors Business Daily- 100 list for the week of June 20: Renesola Ltd. (SOL), Metalico Inc (MEA), Tera Nitrogen Co.(TNH), Penn Virginia Corp (PVA), American Public Education (APEI), Transocean Inc (RIG), Diana Shipping Inc. (DSX), Oceaneering International (OII), Wabtec (WAB), Chart Industries (GTLS), Ensco International Inc. (ESV).

Weekly subtractions from the Investor’s Business Daily-100

The following are subtractions from the Investors Business Daily-100 list for the week of June 20: Valmomt Industries (VMI), Nordson Corp.(NDSN), Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), Joy Global (JOYG), Plexus Corp. (PLXS), Darwin Professional Underwriters (DR), Mindray Medical International (MR), Millicom International Cellular SA (MICC), Atheros Communications (ATHR) Robbins & Myers (RBN), Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC).

High Tech Computer’s new Touch Diamond outshines Apple’s smartphone - Barron’s

The Taiwanese company, High Tech Computer, launched its sleek Touch “Diamond” smartphone in London in May. The phone is a 3G model that combines the professional features of Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry with an Apple-like (AAPL) touchscreen and a number of selling points the new Apple 3G iPhone lacks. HTC also has some partnerships with Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT). Barron’s says, If strong sales of its phones help High Tech generate double-digit earnings gains in the next couple of years, and possibly merit a higher price/earnings multiple, its stock (ticker: 2498.Taiwan) could resume the run it enjoyed before getting steamrolled by the debut of Apple’s 3G iPhone. Based on his expectation of 25% earnings and revenue growth, one hedge-fund manager who owns the company’s shares sees them rising from last week’s 705 Taiwanese dollars (US$23) to as high as NT$1200, a 70%-plus gain, in 12 months. HTC’s price-earnings ratio of 12.4, based on 2008 estimates, sure looks cheap next to AAPL’s 34 and RIMM’s 38. Although Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have more conservative projections for the stock, namely, a rise of about 30% to 35%, both have HTC on their Buy lists. The new Diamond rivals the looks and, in many respects, tops the performance of the 3G iPhone. Barron’s says, the “rub” is price. As, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs says the iPhone will begin selling in July at $199 for an eight-gigabyte model, a lower-than-expected price that some think will undercut HTC’s margins. HTC set a high bar by including leading-edge technological specifications, such as super-fast chips, a 3D interface and a high-resolution touchscreen on their smartphone, says Goldman’s Cheng, who has put HTC on his firm’s Asia Conviction Buy list. The Diamond boasts certain video niceties that the iPhone doesn’t have. The Diamond also is constructed with a computer chipset supplied by Qualcomm (QCOM), the leader in 3G wireless processors, that many think is superior to the Infineon Technologies (IFX) product Apple opted to use. Goldman’s Cheng looks for HTC earnings to rise 18% next year and 22% in 2010, driven by wide adoption of Diamond handsets by multiple carriers around the world. His price target for the shares is NT$910, or about 30% above last week’s levels

Advice to Intel: Get out of Flash - Barron’s

Technology Trader columnist Eric Savitz revisits his thesis on Intel (INTC) and NAND flash-memory chip pricing, which continues is steel price declines.