Investor's Business Daily articles from January 2006

Investor's Business Daily archives from January 2006

Bush Will Promote Health Care Plans In State Of Union; No Radical Ideas This Year; After Social Security bust, harried president to focus on smaller-scale reforms.(A)
January 31, 2006... Byline: JED GRAHAM Four years ago, President Bush vowed to quell the "axis of evil." Last year, he took on Social Security, the third rail of American politics. But don't look for any dramatic new undertaking in tonight's State of...

Bernanke Faces Tough Choices As He Takes Over As Fed Chief; Don't expect big shift in policy, but how will he perform in a crisis?(A)
January 31, 2006... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE Saying Ben Bernanke has big shoes to fill might be the understatement of the year. After an all-but-certain Senate confirmation, the former Fed governor and White House economist on Wednesday will take over the...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
January 31, 2006... Fed Hike Tues., But Then What? 1The Fed is expected to hike its overnight fed funds rate by a quarter-point for a 14th straight meeting, to 4.5%, as Alan Greenspan leaves as chairman after 18 years. Markets will be keeping a close eye on...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... GILEAD SCIENCES said Q4 net income more than doubled to 54 cents per share, a penny over views. Sales rose 65% to $609 mil. Shares fell 2%. ZORAN, which makes integrated circuits and embedded software used in DVDs, rallied 11% after it...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... TRANSPORTATION J.B. Hunt's profit increases 28% The big U.S. trucking firm rose 6% to 23.95, to a 10-month high, after it said Q4 earnings rose to 41 cents a share, 5 cents over views. J.B. Hunt Transport's revenue rose 11% to $858.4...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... ENERGY ** Smith Int'l bested Q4 views by 2 cents and topped its year-ago profit by 60.7% with 45 cents a share ex items. Sales rose 25% to $1.53 bil. Shares rose 3.5% to 44.23. ** W-H Energy Services jumped 10% to 46.44 after it...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... MEDICAL Schering-Plough swings to profit The drug maker earned 7 cents in Q4, missing views by a penny but topping the year-ago loss of 2 cents. Schering-Plough's sales rose 6% to $2.32 bil, helped by rheumatoid arthritis drug...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... INTERNET/TECH Google to square off against U.S. A federal judge scheduled a Feb. 27 hearing to review the search engine's refusal to turn search records subpoenaed by the Justice Dept. Federal prosecutors said they want the data to...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... Autos stall Chicago factory index The Chicago Fed's Midwest manufacturing index remained flat at 112.4 in Dec. vs. the prior month's upwardly revised reading as weaker auto and steel production offset strength in the resource and...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... FOOD Tyson misses on Q1, warns on '06 The world's No. 1 meat processor fell 7% to 14.27, a 52-week closing low, after it missed Q1 views by a nickel and slashed its Q2 and '06 forecasts. Tyson Foods earned 11 cents on sales of $6.45...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... Stores pull soup from shelves A supermarket chain in eastern Pennsylvania removed soup cans from its shelves after a family reported finding a sewing needle in a sealed can of minestrone. The incident was the fourth report of needles or...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... Russian army roiled by hazing Twelve soldiers were charged over a brutal initiation that left an army conscript mutilated and fighting for his life. President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to cooperate with gov't...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... Pressure affects problem solving Individuals with strong short-term memory, which normally allows them to excel at problem-solving and focus on immediate tasks, are more likely to crack under pressure, a new study concluded. The pressure...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
January 31, 2006... ** Two firms are floating a new idea to boost mobile phone coverage -- high altitude balloons. Extend America and Space Data say the technology would be more practical in sparsely populated areas, like North Dakota. They contend 3 such...

Keep Your Goals Golden.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
January 31, 2006... Byline: Amy Alexander 2 The world takes notice of Olympic athletes when they're standing at the top of the slope or on the edge of the ice. Yet the shining moments that'll take place in Turin, Italy, this February began, for many...

No Barrier Could Ground Her; Aim High: Jacqueline Cochran's determination broke records, stereotypes.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
January 31, 2006... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON As a youngster, Jacqueline Cochran slept on pallets and wore dresses made of flour sacks. Her first pair of shoes didn't come until age 8, when she started working 12-hour days at a cotton mill earning 6 cents an...

VoIP Gear Makers Ringing Up Sales, But At A Slower Pace Than Expected; Evolution Overhyped; Internet telephony's rise slowed by costs as well as fast growth of wireless.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 31, 2006... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE Internet phone service is ringing the Bells -- depressing the stock prices of the traditional phone carriers and taking a toll on their credit ratings. Millions of U.S. users this year will switch to Internet...

Local Bells Seek Help In VoIP Fight; Lobbying Campaigns On Tap.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 31, 2006... Byline: MIKE ANGELL The trend toward providing phone service via the Internet continues to grow, but not as fast as phone gear makers predicted not long ago. Carriers have bought the gear that enables the service, known as voice over...

Almost All Tech Firms Take Pass On Super Bowl Ads; New Game Plans Post-Boom; CareerBuilder, GoDaddy, Sprint, AT&T look to score with ads for big TV event.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 31, 2006... Byline: PETE BARLAS The Super Bowl can be a field of dreams for advertisers, but almost all tech and telecom companies will -- as per their game plans the last five years -- be warming the bench. Only CareerBuilder.com, a leading job...

Short Messaging Makes A Statement; "Cash Cow' For Carriers; Even as glitzy cell phone features spread, sending plain text stays popular.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(COMPUTERS MADE PLAIN)
January 31, 2006... Byline: PAUL KORZENIOWSKI The most successful cellular data service isn't online gaming, ring tones or video clips -- it's something much less flashy: short message service. Wireless phone users send scads of short text messages,...

NEW ISSUE PIPELINE Southern Construction Supplier Hits The Big Time.(NEW ISSUE AMERICA)
January 31, 2006... Byline: Amy Reeves H&E Equipment Services Inc. Baton Rouge, La. (225) 298-5200 he-equipment.com Lead underwriters: Credit Suisse and UBS Investment Bank Offering price: $15-$17 Expected date: week of Jan....

Stock Fund Inflow Shrinks To $10.1 Bil; Market Paused In Dec.; Int'l still beats domestic; full-year intake slowed to $136 bil from $178 bil.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(INVESTMENT TRENDS)
January 31, 2006... Byline: KEN HOOVER Despite a stock market that took a year-end breather, investors continued to shovel money into stock funds, although at a slower pace, in December. And they took money out of bond funds. Net inflow into stock...

PowerShares Takes AIM As ETFs Take Off; Merger Viewed As Catalyst; CEO Bond eyes influx of investors into so-called smart ETFs in new year.(EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS)(Q & A)
January 31, 2006... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN PowerShares blitzed the exchange traded fund market last year. It started by delivering two ETFs in 2003. It added two more the next year. Then last year it launched 32. Most were based on what PowerShares'...

Watch Daily Volume When Shorting ETFs.(EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS)
January 31, 2006... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN One of the advantages of exchange traded funds over mutual funds is the ability to go either short or long. Why short ETFs? Strategists may try to take advantage of an expected drop in the market or an industry...

Hamas' Chutzpah.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 31, 2006... Middle East: Hamas is the duly elected ruling party of the Palestinians. But that shouldn't mean the U.S. has to financially support it. Now that the Palestinians have made their choice in a genuine election, their first, there will be a...

The Money Trail.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 31, 2006... Scandal: Sen. Harry Reid has been found with his hands in the Abramoff cookie jar. But is the problem too many lobbyists buying influence or that there is too much influence to buy? Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean,...

Alan Shrugged.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 31, 2006... The Fed: Today is the first day of the rest of Alan Greenspan's life. Where has the Maestro taken us during his 18 years as Fed chief -- and where are we going now under his successor, Ben Bernanke? Greenspan has been lionized for the...

A Threat To Security.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 31, 2006... Energy: Sens. John Sununu and John McCain are right to question America's reliance on foreign fuel. If barriers to U.S. drilling and nuclear power weren't so bad, we wouldn't see such oil-fueled menaces. This must change. Right now, it's...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE; Building, Energy Lead As NYSE Rises Modestly.(MAKING MONEY)
January 31, 2006... Byline: JUAN CARLOS ARANCIBIA NYSE stocks edged higher Monday, with the S&P 500 and NYSE composite adding 0.1%. Volume declined as building and energy stocks rallied. USG gapped up 15.93, or 20%, to 95.78 on huge volume. The...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
January 31, 2006... Analyzing the price and volume changes in the major market averages each day is essential to successful investing. They reveal major tops and bottoms in the stock market. Most stocks follow the general market's trend. They tend to rise...

Big Brokerages Confirming Market Strength.(IBD BIG CAP 20)(INSIDE BIG CAP 20)
January 31, 2006... Byline: TRANG HO Investment brokers in this week's IBD Big Cap 20 are running with the bulls. The Finance-Investment Brokers industry group -- which ranks 27th out of 197 IBD industry groups in Monday's edition -- tends to confirm...

IBD BIG CAP 20.(IBD BIG CAP 20)
January 31, 2006... 1EOG Resources83.42999391+97+97+122+5724401D Number of funds owning the stock has gone up the last 7 quarters. 2Schlumberger130.7999093+44+78+69+3220193D Oil-field services company easily beat analysts' Q4 expectations. ...

Coach's Comp Sales Continue Hot Streak.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
January 31, 2006... Byline: Juan Carlos Arancibia Coach is trading back above its 50- and 200-day moving averages and near fresh all-time highs. The maker of handbags and accessories last week beat earning estimates and guided fiscal 2006 earnings above...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE; Energy Stocks Help Nasdaq Wring Out A Gain.(B)
January 31, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE The Nasdaq added 0.1% Monday after trading in a narrow range as investors awaited the week's economic reports, a Fed meeting and corporate earnings results. Oil and energy stocks were among the day's top...

Expeditors Int'l Has A Worldwide Presence.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
January 31, 2006... Byline: Christina Wise Expeditors International of Washington fell into its current base in early December. In recent weeks, its volume has been below average as it's formed the right side of that base. It finished Monday near the top of...

IBD'S 20 RULES FOR INVESTMENT SUCCESS.(INVESTOR EDUCATION)
January 31, 2006... These rules are not based on our personal opinion or those of Wall StreetAEs analysts and experts. InvestorAEs Business Daily built detailed models of all the most successful stocks every year from 1880 to 2005. We analyzed all...

Give New Stocks Chance To Prove Themselves.(INVESTOR EDUCATION)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
January 31, 2006... Byline: NANCY GONDO Investors who missed out on Google's much-hyped August 2004 debut are likely peeved that they didn't jump in. After all, shares have only surged higher since. But keep in mind that Google is the rare exception for...

GDP Rose Just 1.1% In Q4 As Shoppers, Businesses Cool Off; Smallest Gain Since Q4 '02; Auto sales plunged while business spending slows, but experts still upbeat.(A)
January 30, 2006... Byline: LAURA MANDARO The economy applied the brakes in the fourth quarter, as a sharp fall in auto production and sales slowed growth to a 1.1% annual rate, the government said Friday. Economists thought gross domestic product...

MARKET TOOL BAR.(A)
January 30, 2006... S&P 500 INDEX 1283.72 +9.89 (+0.8%) Metals, oil, HMOs among best groups DOW JONES IND. 10,907.21 +97.74 (+0.9%) MSFT, CAT profits help lift industrials NYSE VOL. (MIL) 2,108 -31 (-1.4%)...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
January 30, 2006... Soft Q4 GDP Surprises, Confuses 1The economy grew at a 1.1% annual rate vs. 4.1% in Q3 and far below targets. Consumer spending also slowed to a 1.1% pace as post-incentive auto sales dived. That was expected. But capital spending growth...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... INFRASOURCE raised its Q4 EPS forecast to 14-15 cents; views were 10 cents. It forecast revenue of $223 mil, above views. CUMMIN and Tata Motors signed an agreement to begin manufacturing its popular ISB engine in India. CENTERPOINT...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... TRANSPORTATION Old Dominion steers '06 higher The trucking company's Q4 profit rose 39% to 39 cents a share, 2 cents over views, as revenue climbed 27% to $285.2 mil, also beating expectations. Old Dominion Freight, a...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... TECHNOLOGY Gates: Censorship not an issue China's limits on Internet content and abundance of software piracy shouldn't deter technology firms from doing business there, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said at a conference in Davos,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... CONSUMER P&G beats views, shares climb The consumer products giant's Q2 profit was flat at 72 cents a share, including 3 cents in one-time charges, beating views of 69 cents. The purchase of Gillette diluted earnings by 6-7 cents --...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... BUILDING Cemex operating income misses The Mexican cement producer, the world's No. 3 cement maker, said its Q4 earnings rose 22% to $507 mil, falling short of its Dec. forecast of $640 mil. Consolidated net sales nearly doubled to...

Seurat At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
January 30, 2006... Seurat At A Glance Born: 1859 in Paris. Died: 1891 in Paris. Education: Attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris for two years. Achievements: ** Considered one of the greatest painters of the 19th century. **...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... Two new FOMC members named President Bush nominated Kevin Warsh and Randall Kroszner to be Federal Reserve governors, filling empty seats on the Fed's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee. Warsh, 35, is a former Morgan Stanley...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... TOBACCO Cigarette maker to drop sellers Phillip Morris agreed to stop supplying cigarettes to illegal Internet and mail order dealers as part of a pact it reached with attorneys general for 37 states. The No. 1 U.S. tobacco firm, a...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... Income gap widens in most states The incomes of the top 20% of U.S. families grew faster than those in the bottom fifth of families in 38 states, says a new report. The income gap is largest in Ariz., N.Y., Mass., Tenn. and N.J., says the...

TRENDS & INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
January 30, 2006... ** Substituting ethanol for gasoline can sharply reduce oil use, but it provides little reduction in greenhouse gas emissions vs. regular gasoline, says a University of California study being published in the journal Science. Ethanol made...

His Edge Put Him At The Very Front Of The Pack; Goal Oriented: Speed skater Eric Heiden's phenomenal dedication and focus helped him become an Olympic champion.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(BEST OF LEADERS & SUCCESS)
January 30, 2006... Byline: JONAH KERI Eric Heiden was dead tired. He'd stayed up into the wee hours watching the dramatic U.S. victory over the Soviet Union in the hockey showdown the night before in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Now, on the morning of the...

HOW YOU THINK IS EVERYTHING Make No Little Changes.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Cord Cooper 1 Sometimes when things head south, you have to cut your losses and regroup. That was the case with 20th Century Fox and Monsanto. Fox was hanging by a thread when Darryl Zanuck became president in 1962, returning...

He Made A Point Of Painting; The Art Of Success: Seurat's exploration of color theory changed viewers' focus.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
January 30, 2006... Byline: J. BONASIA Georges-Pierre Seurat wanted desperately to become a great painter. But he was frustrated with what he was producing at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He'd become perhaps more technically skilled, but he was no closer...

Big Game Gives TVs A Big Kick; Super Bowl Sparks Sales Drive; Big-screen TV sets popular this time of year, with the Olympics, World Cup next.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 30, 2006... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ People buying big-screen, high-definition TVs for their Super Bowl parties will give HDTV sales their usual post-Christmas boost. A host of other factors, including lower prices and more HD content, are likely...

Plasma Now Panasonic's Major Focus.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 30, 2006... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Panasonic is staking its future on plasma television. Panasonic, part of Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., has invested heavily in new plants to build plasma display panels. This month, it announced...

Sprint Invests Millions In A Possible Key Ally; Planning Data Network; Startup IPWireless has a technology that could deliver mobile TV, more.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)(Q & A)
January 30, 2006... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE When Sprint Nextel upped its investment in IPWireless in January, the move raised some eyebrows in the industry. Sprint Nextel plans to build a new, fast wireless data network within a couple of years. ...

Amber Alert Program Dials Into Popularity Of Mobile Phone Use; Alerts Can Be Text-Messaged; RadioShack, Cingular latest to try to build participation in wireless alerts initiative.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 30, 2006... Byline: MARILYN MUCH Wireless and Internet technologies can do a lot -- including save children. The next time a child is abducted in your area, you can help in the search. How? By agreeing to accept text messages on your cell phone...

INTERNATIONAL SECURITIES EXCHANGE New York, New York; After Weighing Their Options, Other Exchanges Follow Its Lead.(THE NEW AMERICA)
January 30, 2006... Byline: MARILYN ALVA Compared with today, options trading in the late 1990s was a sleepy little industry, with about 1.5 million contracts a day tallied by four floor exchanges. Now the daily number is 6 million contracts a day by...

Pull Virtual Teams Together.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)(REAL SOLUTIONS)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Morey Stettner It's hard enough to foster teamwork when employees work under the same roof. It gets tougher if you manage a far-flung operation. Because virtual teams can't huddle in the hall to strategize or walk around the...

Write Winning Business Pitches.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)(REAL SOLUTIONS)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Morey Stettner To win business, you need star salespeople. But that's not always enough. You also need to write persuasive proposals. Proposals are sales documents designed to convince others to hire you. Many chief...

Hip-Hop Fashions With Korean Flair; Two Asian-American brothers use sensitivity and savvy to energize hip-hop clothing sales.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)
January 30, 2006... Byline: GARY M. STERN What are the odds of two brothers from South Korea starting separate hip-hop clothing businesses in the U.S., one wholesale, the other retail, and succeeding? Not good. Yet David Khym, 41, launched Southpole in...

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)
January 30, 2006... COMPENSATION SEC Wants More Exec Pay Disclosure The Securities and Exchange Commission moved on Jan. 17 to require companies to give far more detail about their executives' pay packages and perks. The SEC's five members...

MED BRIEFS.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
January 30, 2006... FDA Approves Generic Plavix The Food and Drug Administration handed drug maker Apotex a plum, approving its generic version of Plavix. Sanofi-Aventis makes the blockbuster blood thinner, and Bristol-Myers Squibb sells it. Sales hit...

Analyst: Industry, Regulatory Trends Favor Biotechs.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)(Q & A)
January 30, 2006... Byline: PETER BENESH James Reddoch sees good times ahead for the biotech industry. In a report, the senior biotech analyst for Friedman, Billings, Ramsey said the Food and Drug Administration has an "agreeable stance" to new drugs,...

Health, Life Insurers Have Special Reason To Fear A Pandemic; Claim Costs Could Be Huge; Global spread of avian flu would cost many billions, and cutting risk isn't easy.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
January 30, 2006... Byline: GLORIA LAU Consumers concerned about the spread of avian flu tend to focus on anti-virals, vaccines and other potential drugs. But behind every treatment and case are the companies that would have to pay for and administer...

Market-Leading Medical Stocks.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
January 30, 2006... 1Bentley PharmaceuticalsGeneric DrugsBNT20.1-3.379898B88355.630 Makes drug delivery technology and sells generic drugs in Europe. Last week its stock hit a new high after forming a 7-week base. 2China Medical Tech...

It Brings Scans Into Sharp Focus; E-Z-EM Inc.; Lake Success, N.Y. ezem.com.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)(UNDER THE MICROSCOPE)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Peter Benesh E-Z-EM enters 2006 without a familiar face: company founder Howard S. Stern, who died Dec. 28 at 74 after battling brain cancer. Stern launched E-Z-EM in 1961. He served in various capacities over the next four...

How To Rule An IRA From The Grave; Tools For The Affluent; Trusts let you control how heirs use your IRA after you're long gone.(FUNDS & PERSONAL FINANCE)
January 30, 2006... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Suppose you have an IRA worth $750,000. You want your kids to nurse the account after you're gone. That would let it last as long as possible. But you're afraid your children might pillage the account. They...

B2B Internet Holdrs Was Top ETF In Week.(A)
January 30, 2006... 20.993A-40.9IS Msci BrazilEWZ1.140.35-0.35130 15.890B 143.0IS S&P Latin Am 40ILF1.2142.20-0.7948 18.789B-155.7HT Oil ServiceOIH0.3152.892.7046 15.088B 112.0IS Msci South AfricaEZA1.7113.002.297 12.687B-128.8BDR Emrgng Mkts...

B2B Internet Holdrs Was Top ETF In Week.(EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS)
January 30, 2006... Byline: MURRAY COLEMAN The $291.9 billion in assets sitting in exchange traded funds as of November were tiny compared with the $6.8 trillion held in open-end mutual funds. But ETFs are growing faster. While stock and bond fund...

Full O' Bluster.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 30, 2006... Checks & Balances: Senate Democrats threaten to filibuster Samuel Alito to save the Constitution, but that unprecedented abuse of power would be undemocratic and driven by nothing nobler than liberal ideology. The New York Times is...

Tipping Off The Enemy.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 30, 2006... War On Terror: The president correctly says revealing more details about domestic surveillance will only help the enemy. Thanks to a press leak, the enemy already knows too much, including what we're not doing. "It's important for people...

Tunnel Vision.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)
January 30, 2006... National Security: The discovery of two tons of pot in a half-mile tunnel under our border with Mexico raises the question of who else and what else can come in. The location by federal authorities of a 2,400-foot tunnel originating 85...

The War On Wal-Mart.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 30, 2006... The Economy: Of all the world's petty hatreds, none is so small or irrational as the one the American left has for Wal-Mart. It would be funny, really, if it weren't for the fact a lot of struggling poor people suffer because of it. Look...

China's Virtual Helsinki?(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 30, 2006... The Internet: Mighty Google has come under fire for its deal with China. Now a congressman wants hearings on whether the search engine has forsaken human rights. Does Google have a defense? If so, Chris Smith, R-N.J., wants to know it....

The Home Depot's Bernie Marcus On Why He Couldn't Do It Today.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(VERBATIM)
January 30, 2006... Byline: IBD STAFF Most IBD readers know the story of The Home Depot and its founder Bernie Marcus: how he and partner Arthur Blank felt like middle-aged has-beens after they were unexpectedly fired from their jobs running Handy Man Home...

Who's Who In Generic Drugs Stocks ranked by a combined EPS and Relative Strength.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)
January 30, 2006... 1Bentley Pharm.BNT989720.1461.9928346.1306.314.3 Exeter, N.H. Makes generic and branded pharmaceutical products. 2Hi-Tech PharmacalHITK949126.14316.975.928262911.919.3 Amityville, N.Y. Manufactures prescription and...

No-Name Brands Get Noticed; Generic firms should make gains as health costs rise and patents expire.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)(GENERIC DRUGS)
January 30, 2006... Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN Brand-name drug makers have a necessary -- if often testy -- relationship with their generic counterparts. The big pharmaceuticals tout themselves, justifiably, as innovation engines. Without the billions...

A Generic Drug Maker Crosses To Other Side; Par Pharmaceuticals opts to diversify its business by offering branded fare.(INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT)(COMPANY SPOTLIGHT)
January 30, 2006... Byline: KEN SPENCER BROWN As far as Par Pharmaceuticals is concerned, the only problem with being a generic drug producer is that it's so, well, generic. Sure, knockoff drugs are a big moneymaker now. And a number of trends seem to...

Earnings Season Delivers Rotation Among Leaders.(THE IBD 100)(INSIDE THE 100)
January 30, 2006... Byline: MARIE BEERENS Earnings season can shake up many a company's stock. Even the strongest players are not immune to volatility in their shares from the slightest variation vs. expectations in the marketplace. Stock and sector...

Perfume Maker Sniffs Out Deals; Parlux Fragrances Goes Beyond Paris Hilton Brand.(THE IBD 100)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Marie Beerens Parlux Fragrances has given investors nearly a 250% gain since it signed an exclusive agreement to sell Paris Hilton perfume in June 2004. The perfume's success has pushed the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based...

Southern Copper's ROE Glows; Miner Finds Growth Via Buyout Of Mexican Firm.(THE IBD 100)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Trang Ho The rapid industrialization of China and India has generated strong demand for metals for everything from computers to new construction. Southern Copper Corp., formerly known as Southern Peru Copper, feeds the huge...

InfoSonics: Cell Industry's Friend; Firm distributes mobile phones in U.S., Latin Am.(THE IBD 100)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Christina Wise For InfoSonics, distribution is key. The San Diego-based company helps manufacturers get their wireless phone handsets to customers. This includes handling purchasing, marketing, selling, warehousing,...

Shinhan Turning In Stellar EPS; No. 2 Bank May Be Way To Play S. Korean Economy.(THE IBD 100)
January 30, 2006... Byline: Paul Whitfield Shinhan Financial Group is one way investors can play South Korea's sturdy economy, which grew an estimated 3.8% in '05 and is expected to grow 5% this year. Shinhan, the second largest bank in South Korea,...