With $51 billion to spare, where will Apple plant its seeds?

Speculation is percolating about when Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will do something with the $51 billion in spare cash it has sitting around gathering dust thanks to the ultra-success of iPad, iPod and iPhone. Among the potential targets: Netflix (movies), Electronic Arts (games) and Facebook (social networking). There's also outside talk that even Sony could be in play.

Of all the possibilities, the one that Kaufman Bros analyst Shaw Wu likes best is Facebook which, he told the New York Times, "would be a game-changer." Proving that it's best to be careful with whom you break bread, a lot of this speculation is based on a dinner that Facebook's co-founder had at Apple CEO Steve Jobs' home.

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