Editor's Note: See Ron Coby's first "letter" to Ben Bernanke here.  And his "thank you note" to Ben here. This is for illustrative purposes only and isn't an offer to buy or

For the loneliest number, one sure has a lot of company. A one point gain took the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to within one percent of its retracement level while one dollar will suffice a

Editor's Note: This article was written by Richard Suttmeier, chief market strategist at ValuEngine.com, which is a fundamentally-based quant research firm in Princeton, New Jersey, that covers more

For the tobacco industry, there’s a lot of money to be made by getting people hooked on cigarettes and keeping them as customers for life. But smoking cessation products are increasingly sendin

No one goes into Walmart (WMT) and asks to pay extra sales tax. Thus sales taxes are reasonable barometers for retail sales. This week we look at how taxes are doing in a period of economic recovery.

Editor's Note: The following was posted in real time on our premium Buzz & Banter (click for a free trial). It's being shared here for the benefit of the Minyanville community.Lost in the shuffle

Yesterday, biz TV went ga-ga over Toll Brothers (TOL) order numbers and the “unbelievable” 6.9% cancellation rate. Similarly, on Tuesday Beazer Homes (BZH) reported a shockingly bullish p

Preparing itself for the moment when its DVD inventory is obsolete, Best Buy (BBY) has delved into the world of digital downloads. The retailer has teamed up with software company Sonic Solutions (SN

Risky assets remained in favor during the past week, generally helped along by fairly robust economic data and better-than-expected corporate earnings reports. A number of bourses, crude oil, inflati

Editor's Note: This article was written by James Quinn, a senior director of strategic planning for a major university. James has held high-level financial positions with a re