Senate Nixes Quick Healthcare Vote; Falling PC Sales Hurt Microsoft’s Bottom Lines; Jobless Claims Rise; Deutsche Raises Apple Outlook on iPhone Sales; Economist: Housing Market Has Hit Bottom; AT&T Profit Falls 15%; McDonald’s Profit Down; 3M Beats Expectations

Is high-tech stalwart Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) bucking the worst downturn since the Great Depression? It sure looks that way. Despite a cautious veneer during Apple’s quarterly conference call Tuesday, company executives ended up painting a picture of a company that continues to elbow aside recessionary pressures…

Shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) opened yesterday (Monday) in a tug-of-war after a revelation that the health issues of Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs are more serious than previously thought and its new iPhone 3GS sold more than one million units in its first three days.

There’s a lot of figures in the news being tossed around about the smartphone market, and while it may be difficult to make sense of it all, one thing is clear: The market is growing at a rapid pace, and will soon take over conventional mobile phones as the device of choice among consumers and corporate users alike.

Rumors of a new forthcoming iPhone could provide AT&T with a positive jolt, given the historic benefits the carrier has enjoyed from Apple’s multi-purpose mobile device.

The text message explosion began between 2005-2007. The number of SMS messages grew from about 10 billion to more than 48 billion per year then. And texting isn’t the only huge mobile trend you’ll have to contend with…

“Nice to meet you… Hang on a sec… Let me text my husband.” My wife and I stand there waiting. The girl busily taps out a text message on her new iPhone. She’s not so quick with the typing, but we know what’s going on… She’s just showing off that she owns a $500 phone – hot stuff in rural Georgia.