A lot of people are assuming after Intel's disappointment that Texas Instruments will also disappoint.

These days people are so mean that they even try to get rid of their shadows sometimes.

To mistake Midland for the volk heartland is the West Texas equivalent of assuming that Greenwich, Connecticut, is Levittown.

The technology stocks, especially the semiconductor sector, are starting to come back into favor. This looks like a change in leadership from other areas like the energy sector. People are looking to put money back into the market, especially into sectors that have been laggards.

We are seeing interest in the March and April 15 calls. They (investors) are betting that the earnings will be a surprise to the upside.

If you're president of Texas Instruments and you go into your board of directors and say, 'Next year, we're just going to keep our market share,' you're out, you're fired. Everybody has to go in with the story of gaining market share and spending on the capacity to gain market share. Of course, it all just doesn't add up.