Apple (AAPL) recently announced that it sold 1 million iPads within the first 28 days after the April 3, 2010 launch of the device in the US. In comparison, it took 74 days for Apple to sell 1 million iPhones in 2007 and Amazon (AMZN) sold only about 1 million Kindle e-reader devices in total throughout all of 2009.

When Beazer Homes (BZH) reported earnings this morning, the dramatic rise of homebuilders' share prices came to a screeching halt. Beazer earnings and related BZH stock news is weighing on the entire homebuilding industry today. Beazer is down about 15%, Pulte Group (PHM) is down nearly 5%, Lennar Corp. (LEN) is down about the same amount, and Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) is down more than 5%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is also down about 4%.

When Beazer Homes (BZH) reported earnings this morning, the dramatic rise of homebuilders' share prices came to a screeching halt. Beazer earnings and related BZH stock news is weighing on the entire homebuilding industry today. Beazer is down about 15%, Pulte Group (PHM) is down nearly 5%, Lennar Corp. (LEN) is down about the same amount, and Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) is down more than 5%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is also down about 4%.

Telecom stocks as a group slightly outperformed the market in April. Diversified telecommunications blue chips like AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ) didn't have much to write home about -- T stock dropped -1.2% on the month after one-time charges held back ATT earnings, and VZ stock dropped -4% after a 7-5% earnings slump. But several pure wireless telecom stocks such as Sprint (S), Leap Wireless (LEAP) and Metro PCS (PCS) performed very well.

Burger King Holdings (BKC) typically has to fight off chief fast food rival McDonald's (MCD) when it comes to prices and promotions. But recently MCD stock has taken a back seat to inner struggles at BKC as Burger King franchisees fight corporate BK execs over a $1 double cheeseburger promotion. The disagreement got legal late last year via a lawsuit on behalf of Burger King franchisees that went all the way to a federal court in Miami.

Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE:DUK) reported higher-than-expected EPS and revenues for the first quarter of 2010. On the other coast, Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) had a clear miss on EPS although revenues were higher than expected.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is the world's largest oil company that is not state run. Over the past decade, XOM stock has seen share price appreciation and consistent dividend payouts that has made it an attractive holding for investors seeking a crude oil stock with solid returns. But recently, there have been some leaks in this energy stock's platform. In fact, if you own Exxon Mobil stock, it may be time to consider rotating out of your position despite creeping crude oil prices.

Blockbuster (BBI) could benefit from the news that Movie Gallery will close all of its 2,415 U.S. stores and liquidate its inventory. Though Movie Gallery already declared bankruptcy, the movie rental chain had hoped to stay alive after some restructuring. Movie Gallery also operated locations under the Hollywood Video and Game Crazy brands, and all will be closed at an undetermined date. Netflix (NFLX) may also benefit.

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) reported today that sales for April 2010 rose nearly 25% from April 2009, to 167,542 vehicles. Ford's results were better than analysts' expectations.The industry is still seeing sales gains as a result of buyer incentives. According to Edmunds.com, Ford's combined incentives totaled $3,374 in April, Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM) spent $2,498 per vehicle on incentives, and Honda Motor Co. (NYSE:HMC) spent $1,787 per vehicle.

Privately-held commodity trading company Glenocore International AG and Xstrata plc, a publicly-traded mining company on the London and Swiss exchanges, are discussing a merger that would create a mining and trading group valued at about $85.4 million. In another big mining transaction, NorskHydro ASA (NYSE:NHY) has agreed to buy several aluminum and bauxite assets from Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) for $4.9 billion.

Akamai, the leading web content delivery company, grew revenues by almost 9% in 2009 despite the economic recession and expects to grow its revenues by mid double digits in 2010.

According to news reports, Australia is considering the possible introduction of a 40% resources tax on companies. As the world's biggest exporter of iron ore, alumina and coal and one of the key gold miners in the world, the move could seriously curtail the mining business there – and hurt major mining stocks like BHP Billiton (BHP), Rio Tinto (RTP) and Vale SA (VALE) as well as Australia gold miners AngloGold Ashanti (AU), Barrick Gold (ABX) and Newmont Mining (NEM).

Last Thursday, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) announced a partnership with software studio Bungie. Formerly owned by Microsoft (MSFT), Bungie produced the wildly successful Halo series for the Xbox. Now with the Activision publishing deal, Bungie can roll out Halo-like games on other playforms like the Sony (SNE) Playstation and the Nintendo (NTDOY) Wii.

Burger King Holdings (BKC) stock has not had a very inspiring run over the last 18 months or so. While the broader stock market has come roaring back from the March 2009 lows, BKC stock is essentially flat as Burger King has struggled to connect with consumers.

High yield dividend stocks were hard to come by in the recession, as some big blue chips slashed their payouts. But now, dividend growth appears to be back. According to Standard and Poor's, only 48 companies in the S&P 500 decreased their dividend payments during the first quarter of 2010, a vast improvement over the record 367 companies that slashed dividends during the same period in 2009 -- adding $6.4 billion in total dividends.

Crude oil is trading above $85/b today, the dollar is strengthening against the euro, and gold futures are above $1,180/oz. That all three things are happening at the same time is a bit unusual, but then these are unusual times. Both the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSE:GLD) and the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) are at new highs for 2010 and at their highest point since gold topped $1,200/oz back in December 2009. The climb back to the peak has been more or less steady, and if news from Europe doesn't get better over the weekend, $1,200/oz is not out of the question for next week.