TGIF

"... said Scott Di Valerio, corporate vice president and corporate controller at Microsoft. 'Given our optimism about the future with our strong product pipeline and the growth opportunities from our investments in innovative products and services, we expect increased revenue growth in fiscal 2006.' And that's how Friday began, with tech stocks showing signs of life. April has seen three double digit down days on the Dow, and the hope is that markets will settle down and get back to business. The last half of 2005 is what I am eyeing as I watch for technology to finally take off again. The markets have greeted Microsoft's news without much fanfare, as things look flat this morning. On a local note, Belk's (a privately owned retailer) has agreed to purchase McRae's from Sak's. Should be interesting to see how this plays out in the Southeast.