Speculation has it that Cupertino-based tech cult Apple is thinking about buying British chipmaker ARM.

Apple recently announced its first quarter earnings and, judging by the numbers, the outfit could have enough cash to make a move. Converting ARM to the Apple religion could give the Jobs mob an edge over the competition in the mobile market, but we're a bit skeptical about the rumoured bid. ARM would cost Apple around $8 billion and it is unlikely that the investment would start paying dividends anytime soon.

A rumour that Apple is seeking to get in bed with AMD sprung up a few days ago as well. It also lacks credibility, but it seems that the allure of mentioning Apple's name in such scenarios is just too tempting for some FUDmongerers. Incidentally, ARM's shares jumped over 3 percent after the rumour made its way around the web.

AMD's shares did not fair as well, mainly thanks to analysts who believe that AMD is not managing to steal back enough market share from Intel. We're talking about the same analysts who said AMD would go under after its acquisition of ATI in 2006, that it would never recover from the K10 debacle and that its Globalfoundries spin-off would come to nothing. Looking at AMD's share price over the past 2 to 3 years, it seems it's best to do the exact opposite of what analysts are saying.

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