Investor's Business Daily articles from January 2006

Investor's Business Daily archives from January 2006

MARKET TOOL BAR.(A)
January 3, 2006... S&P 500 INDEX 1248.29 -6.13 (-0.5%) Energy stocks among day's biggest gainers DOW JONES IND. 10,717.50 -67.32 (-0.6%) Blue chip index ends year with a 0.6% loss NYSE VOL.(MIL) 1,110 +69...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 3, 2006... RETAIL Sam's Club to insure businesses The warehouse retailer will next week start selling a health insurance program for small businesses. ExtendChoice is a defined contribution program under which employers can give workers tax-free...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 3, 2006... INTERNET/TECH Google sued over Internet calls RTI Technology, which holds 2 patents for the process by which many Internet phone calls are made, sued Google over its Web-based phone calling system. RTI usually takes a one-time fee of...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 3, 2006... TRANSPORTATION Court OKs GM's Christian rule A federal appeals court upheld a ruling that General Motors did not discriminate against a Christian employees group that tried to form through GM's diversity program, which allow Hispanics,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 3, 2006... ENERGY McDermott ends year on a high The oil services firm jumped 5.5% to 44.61 on positive news. Hibernia Southcoast Capital raised its price target by $6 to $56 to account for a recent Energy Department contract and news that a...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
January 3, 2006... Church offers abuse settlement The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston offered to settle another round of sexual abuse claims for $7.5 mil, averaging $75,000 for about 100 plaintiffs, said the victims' lawyers. The settlement requires...

EXECUTIVE BRIEFING.(MANAGING FOR SUCCESS)
January 3, 2006... HIRING Job Seekers Lack Confidence In '06 Most job hunters are lukewarm about their chances in the first three months of 2006. On a scale of 1 to 10, the majority of callers rated their confidence level at five, according to...

Top-Rated Stocks Shone With Sound Trading Rules.(THE IBD 100)(INSIDE THE 100)
January 3, 2006... Byline: MARIE BEERENS IBD 100 stocks easily beat the broad market last year. These top-rated companies combined for nearly an 18% gain, six times more than the S&P 500's 3%. But capturing that outperformance in your own portfolio...

Hibbett Plays To Its Strengths; Sporting Goods Retailer Targets Smaller Markets.(THE IBD 100)(INSIDE THE 100)
January 3, 2006... Byline: Marie Beerens Residents of large cities such as Los Angeles or New York may have never shopped at a Hibbett Sporting Goods store. There's a good reason for that: The Birmingham, Ala.-based retailer targets markets with...

Bonds Put It Well In The Black Fund Manager BlackRock Enjoying Boom In Assets.(THE IBD 100)(INSIDE THE 100)
January 3, 2006... Byline: David Saito-Chung The year 2005 has been a banner one for investment managers -- especially the megasized ones. BlackRock can attest. The firm, founded in 1998, reported $428 billion in total assets under management as of...

Knight Transport Keeps Rolling; Trucking Firm's Efficiency Translates Into Profit Win.(THE IBD 100)(INSIDE THE 100)
January 3, 2006... Byline: Christina Wise Sixteen years ago, in Plain City, Utah, Randy, Keith, Gary and Kevin Knight decided to start a trucking business. The four -- each a cousin to or a brother of the other -- were all veterans of the trucking...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
January 3, 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...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE; NYSE Stocks End Lower On Last-Minute Sell-Off.(MAKING MONEY)
January 3, 2006... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Friday to close the year up 3%. The small-cap S&P 600 dropped 0.7% but finished up 7% in 2005. NYSE volume grew but was still below average. Quanex fell 0.96 to 49.97 on heavy trading....

TIM Participacoes May Be Forming Base.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
January 3, 2006... Byline: Christina Wise TIM Participacoes had a nice run up the chart this fall after clearing a long base in September. It's pulled back in recent weeks and seems to be forming a flat base. The Brazil-based company provides mobile...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE; Nasdaq Falls; Some Cosmetic Laser Firms Drop.(B)
January 3, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE AND INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Yield curve concerns again weighed on Nasdaq stocks Friday. The composite shed 0.6%, but finished the year up 1.4%. Friday's volume was higher. Cosmetic laser manufacturers...

Chipmaker Marvell Returns To 10-Wk Line.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
January 3, 2006... Byline: Paul Whitfield Chipmaker Marvell Technology Group has returned to its 10-week line after breaking out in early November and gaining 26%. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based firm completed the acquisition of QLogic's hard-disk drive...

Top Medical Stocks Of 2005.(HEALTH & MEDICINE)
January 3, 2006... 1Intuitive Surgical IncSystems/EquipISRG117.271937799A2722453.172 Makes medical robots guided by surgeons via a 3-D camera. Its 2005 earnings soared an estimated 160% to $1.69 a share. 2Hologic IncSystems/EquipHOLX37.921767598B3775..22...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)
January 3, 2006... ENERGY McDermott ends year on a high The oil services firm jumped 5.5% to 44.61 on positive news. Hibernia Southcoast Capital raised its price target by $6 to $56 to account for a recent Energy Department contract and news that a...

Hibbett Plays To Its StrengthsSporting Goods Retailer Targets Smaller Markets.(B)
January 3, 2006... Byline: Marie Beerens Residents of large cities such as Los Angeles or New York may have never shopped at a Hibbett Sporting Goods store. There's a good reason for that: The Birmingham, Ala.-based retailer targets markets with...

Knight Transport Keeps Rolling Trucking Firm's Efficiency Translates Into Profit Win.(B)
January 3, 2006... Byline: Christina Wise Sixteen years ago, in Plain City, Utah, Randy, Keith, Gary and Kevin Knight decided to start a trucking business. The four -- each a cousin to or a brother of the other -- were all veterans of the trucking...

NYSE Stocks End Lower On Last-Minute Sell-Off.(B)
January 3, 2006... Byline: DAVID SAITO-CHUNG The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Friday to close the year up 3%. The small-cap S&P 600 dropped 0.7% but finished up 7% in 2005. NYSE volume grew but was still below average. Quanex fell 0.96 to 49.97 on heavy trading....

Nasdaq Falls; Some Cosmetic Laser Firms Drop.(B)
January 3, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE AND INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Yield curve concerns again weighed on Nasdaq stocks Friday. The composite shed 0.6%, but finished the year up 1.4%. Friday's volume was higher. Cosmetic laser manufacturers...

Fed Hints End Nigh For Rate Increases; Factory Index Falls; Stocks, Bonds Rally Hard; Few extra rate hikes likely as inflation worries ease: Dec. 13 FOMC minutes.(A)
January 4, 2006... Byline: KIRK SHINKLE After 18 months of rising interest rates, the Federal Reserve is offering clear signs that the end is near. Minutes from the Federal Open Markets Committee's Dec. 13 meeting, where policymakers upped the fed funds...

Russia-Ukraine Natgas Feud Highlights Europe's Dependence On Moscow Fuel; Pipelines Restored, For Now; Europe gets 25% of gas from Russia, which uses energy for political ends.(A)
January 4, 2006... Byline: IBD STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS Russia's natural gas deliveries to European customers returned to normal Tuesday after key European partners complained that Moscow was using energy as a political tool. State-controlled Gazprom cut...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
January 4, 2006... Stocks Wax As Fed Hikes Wane 1The Nasdaq jumped 1.7%, its best gain since mid-Oct., after Fed minutes suggested interest rate hikes are near an end. The S&P 500 rose 1.6%, the small-cap 600 1.5%. Energy, gold, housing and chip stocks did...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... PSYCHIATRIC SOLUTIONS upped its '06 earnings forecast to $2.20-$2.25 a share, topping views of $2.16. It also paid $18 mil for an Indiana hospital. Shares rose 2%. NEWELL RUBBERMAID closed the sale of its Newell Cookware Europe unit to Arc...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... MEDIA Viacom leaps after CBS spinoff The parent of Paramount Pictures studio, MTV and, soon, DreamWorks SKG, shot up 4% to 41.54 on the strong NYSE debut of its just-spunoff CBS, which rose 3% to 26.20. The network joined Viacom in...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... INTERNET/TECH Google up on $600 target price The search engine jumped 5% to 435.23 after Piper Jaffray raised its '06 target price from $445 to $600 a share. The investment bank made Google its top pick in the large cap category,...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... TRANSPORTATION GM health care savings doubted The automaker fell 2.5% to 18.90 after Bank of America said GM vastly overestimated potential savings from its recent health care pact. The company will save $7 bil before taxes from the...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... MARKETS Chicago Merc sees record trades The No. 1 futures exchange said average daily trading volume rose 32% in December compared with last year to 3.8 mil contracts. For the year, volume at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange rose 35.4%...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... Construction spending hits high Expenditures rose 0.2% in Nov. vs. Oct., under views but still a record at $1.15 tril. Residential spending fell 0.1%, the 1st drop since June, dragged down by a 5.8% fall in public spending. Nonresidential...

TRENDS/INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... Tiny biosensor may catch cancer The EU has given $14 mil to international researchers developing a tiny biosensor designed to provide early detection of cancer. The researchers manufactured silicon-based sensors less than one-tenth of a...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... Hopes fading for trapped miners Rescue crews in West Virginia scrapped their cautious approach to free 13 trapped coal miners after efforts to contact the men went unanswered and air samples showed air in the shaft was highly contaminated....

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
January 4, 2006... German rescue efforts continue Emergency workers were searching for a woman and 3 children missing after the roof of an ice rink collapsed in the Alpine village of Bad Reichenhall, killing at least 11 people. Rescue efforts were temporarily...

Decisions That Transform.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
January 4, 2006... Byline: Cord Cooper 3 What we call luck is simply making the right choices at the right time. Leaders who consistently make strong decisions transform their companies, divisions or departments. To hone your decision-making skills:...

Entrepreneur William P. Lear; Inventive Mind: His creativity changed communication, transportation.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
January 4, 2006... Byline: KEN HOOVER Bill Lear was 24 years old, and practically broke when he moved to Chicago in 1926. No matter to him. He was determined to make a success of himself in the two fields he loved: radio and aviation. For a time, he...

Entertaining Focus For Tech Trade Show; Content Delivery Showcased; Big Consumer Electronics Show will be setting stage for huge advances in tech.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 4, 2006... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ TV shows on mobile phones, high-definition video discs, next-generation wireless laptops and a new wave of living room computers will be among the wares vying for attention this week at the Consumer Electronics Show...

AMD Delivers A Counterpunch To Intel's Media Platform Viiv.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 4, 2006... Byline: JAMES DETAR The top two computer chipmakers are taking their fight right into your living room. The punching will begin this week at the big, annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. There, No. 1 chipmaker Intel will...

NEW AMERICA LEADERS Year's Top Performers Are A Diverse Group.(THE NEW AMERICA)
January 4, 2006... Byline: MARILYN MUCH In 2005, investors paid a hefty premium for innovation. All you have to do is look at the top five New America leaders of the year. Though they come from diverse fields, they include some of the nation's most...

Danoff's Focus At Fidelity Has Paid Off; Contrafund Tops Bogey; Manager added to stake in Google even as its stock keeps on climbing.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(MUTUAL FUND PROFILE)
January 4, 2006... Byline: KEN HOOVER Will Danoff has amassed an impressive record as manager of Fidelity Contrafund, one of the nation's largest funds with $58.5 billion in assets. He's been able to beat the market most years since taking the helm of...

Unreliable Partners.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 4, 2006... Energy: In the midst of a brutal cold wave, Europe has strong reasons to be worried about Russia's brief shutdown of gas supplies over the weekend. So, for that matter, does the U.S., though oceans and continents away. It's a little...

Upper Echelon.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 4, 2006... National Security: Charles Schumer thinks that whoever disclosed that we were eavesdropping on al-Qaida is a whistle-blower who deserves praise. And maybe he'd like to see Benedict Arnold's face on Mount Rushmore. Time was in American...

More Clinton Sleaze?(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 4, 2006... The Presidency: Are Americans ready for another Clinton scandal? Ready or not, if Senate Democrats get their way, the nation can keep its blinders. If GOP Sen. Charles Grassley prevails, the truth will glare through. Only half a decade out...

Bork To The Future.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 4, 2006... Supreme Court: With his confirmation hearing set for Monday, liberals are out to slime Samuel Alito, digging up ancient memos to prove he is out of the mainstream. The memos and his record prove just the opposite. The latest "gotcha" in...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE; NYSE Stocks Post Big Gains On Heavy Trade.(MAKING MONEY)
January 4, 2006... Byline: MARIE BEERENS NYSE stocks started off 2006 on a strong note, with the composite rallying 2%. The S&P 500 gained 1.6%, while the midcap S&P 400 and small-cap S&P 600 rose 1.5%. Volume rose sharply, too. Watsco gapped up 3.43 to...

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
January 4, 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...

Triple-Digit EPS Gains Give Lift To Salesforce.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
January 4, 2006... Byline: Paul Whitfield Salesforce.com has bounced off its 10-week moving average after breaking out in November and running up 40%. The San Francisco-based company provides on-demand software that is provided via the Internet. ...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE; Top-Rated Stocks Surge As Nasdaq Rallies 1.7%.(B)
January 4, 2006... Byline: TRANG HO AND CHRISTINA WISE The Nasdaq rang in the new year with a big rally Tuesday. The composite surged 1.7% in heavy volume. Neoware(seventh on the IBD 100 list) gapped up 2.33, closing at 25.63. Trade was more than three...

Take Profit Or Sell? Stock Action, Market Condition Are Big Factors.(B)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
January 4, 2006... Byline: JUAN CARLOS ARANCIBIA When your gains start to slip away, investors have a natural instinct to sell and cash in even a small profit. But often the right decision is to hold on and ride through the stock's correction. All big...

Ameritrade And Citrix Trade Near Buy Points.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
January 4, 2006... Byline: Trang Ho Citrix Systems is pennies away from clearing a 52-week high after the stock successfully tested its 10-week moving average. The company makes "on demand" software that can be accessed from multiple locations via the...

Alito's Mind Sharp, But Views "Radical,' Liberal Groups Say; ABA: "Well-Qualified' Choice; Leftist activists fear he'll shift high court to right; hearings begin Monday.(A)
January 5, 2006... Byline: SEAN HIGGINS The battle over Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito heated up Wednesday as the nation's top legal group gave him a strong endorsement while leading left-wing groups rallied in opposition. The dueling announcements...

U.S. Falling Behind China, India For New Engineering Graduates; Top students shy away from the hard sciences; tech firms fear impact.(A)
January 5, 2006... Byline: LAURA MANDARO Gennie Chen is the kind of student that science educators crow about and tech firms cultivate. She's also the type they're afraid of losing. The 21-year-old UC Berkeley senior studied advanced placement math from...

IBD'S TOP 10.(A)
January 5, 2006... Indexes Extend Tuesday's Gains 1The Nasdaq led with a 0.9% increase, helped by a jump in Google and other Internet stocks. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to a 4 1/2-year closing high. The small-cap S&P 600 rose 0.6%. Steel, transportation, truck...

AFTER THE CLOSE.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... SEMPRA ENERGY and its two Calif. utilities, Southern Gas and San Diego Gas & Electric, will pay $350 mil to settle several class action lawsuits tied to the Calif. energy crisis of '00-'01. It denied any wrongdoing. The firm also lifted its '05...

BUSINESS BRIEFS/IN BRIEF.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... MARKETS ETFs post biggest monthly inflow Exchange-traded funds saw their largest monthly inflow in Nov. since their '93 launch, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. ETFs resemble mutual funds, but trade on an...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... INTERNET/TECH Another uplifting day for Google The Internet search giant climbed 2.5% to 445.24 after Bear Stearns raised it to outperform and upped its '06 price target to $550 from $360. The brokerage cited long-term fundamentals and...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... AGRICULTURE Monsanto beats, affirms outlook The agriculture chemicals firm's earnings rose 69% to 22 cents a share, beating views by 3 cents. Revenue rose 32% to $1.41 bil, boosted by its acquisition of the Seminis vegetable and fruit...

BUSINESS BRIEFS.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... MEDICAL Well-regarded Aetna CEO retires The leading U.S. health insurer named President Ronald Williams to succeed John Rowe as CEO next month. Rowe, a physician who became CEO of Aetna in Dec. '00, is credited with turning the once...

Monroe At A Glance.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
January 5, 2006... Monroe At A Glance Born: 1758 in Westmoreland County, Va. Died: 1831 in New York City. Education: Attended William & Mary College. Achievements: ** Served as an officer in the Continental Army, and then held a variety of...

THE ECONOMY.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... Aircraft boost Nov. factory orders Factory orders rose 2.5% in the month on a 134.3% surge in new orders for nondefense aircraft and parts. That offset weakness in auto, defense and machinery orders. Ex transportation, orders were flat....

TRENDS/INNOVATIONS.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... Discovery may aid malaria drugs Scientists in India and France have painstakingly mapped the structure of a key protein that helps the one-celled malaria parasite infect human cells after it is transferred through mosquito bites. They...

NATION.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... Abramoff pleads guilty -- again Once-powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty in a Florida court to conspiracy and wire fraud stemming from his 2000 purchase of a fleet of casino ships. The plea came a day after he entered guilty...

WORLD.(TO THE POINT)
January 5, 2006... Militants behead Afghan educator Taliban terrorists forced the high school headmaster's wife and eight children to watch the beheading, gov't officials said. Four men stabbed Malim Abdul Habib eight times before decapitating him at his...

How Skiing Mogul Everett Kircher Built An Empire; Let It Snow: His tenacity, innovation and drive to create a man-made wonder helped plow new inroads to the resort world.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(BEST OF LEADERS & SUCCESS)
January 5, 2006... Byline: MARILYN ALVA Skiing in the 1940s wasn't widespread in the U.S., and Michigan was anything but a ski mecca. The best Michigan had to offer was a 250-foot vertical course on a hill in Gaylord. But young Everett Kircher of...

NEVER STOP LEARNING Discover Your Dream Job.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)(IBD'S 10 SECRETS TO SUCCESS)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Adelia Cellini Linecker 4 Nearly a thousand global executives surveyed would likely choose a different field if they could restart their careers, a recent survey found. But where can one start? Some 1,700 executives were...

He Focused On The Big Picture; Consensus Builder: President James Monroe's vision helped expand our nation.(LEADERS & SUCCESS)
January 5, 2006... Byline: CURT SCHLEIER James Monroe surrounded himself with good people -- and he listened to them. Monroe, the fifth U.S. president, was the last of the leaders who saw the country through the War of Independence to achieve the highest...

Verizon/MCI May Seek Addition By Subtraction; Rural Spinoff Possible; Move would help carrier speed up and pay for its big fiber-optic buildout.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 5, 2006... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE Verizon Communications' New Year's resolution likely will be to slim down -- after it bulks up through the MCI acquisition, that is. The nation's No. 2 phone company behind AT&T is expected to close its $8...

Telecom's Active '05 Set Stage For More; Consolidation Resumes; BellSouth appears to be the carrier getting most focus as potential target.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 5, 2006... Byline: REINHARDT KRAUSE Expect no letup this year in the takeover activity that has reshaped the telecom market, analysts say. One big question in 2006 is whether telecom firms that have aggressively expanded through acquisitions --...

An Upgrade Trend Increases U.S. Sales Of Electronic Wares; 2005 Factory Sales Soar 11%; Instead of a $50 portable CD player, people buying $250 digital music players.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 5, 2006... Byline: PATRICK SEITZ Flat-panel TV sets and portable MP3 music players helped drive U.S. factory sales of consumer electronics to a record $125.9 billion last year, an 11% increase over 2004. Sales are expected to rise 7.5% this year...

Fat Wallets Brighten Venture Capital Field's 2006 Outlook.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)
January 5, 2006... Byline: BRIAN DEAGON The venture capital industry enters 2006 with a wallet packed with cash, of which a good chunk is expected to go to startups in the fields of mobile computing, wireless communications and the Internet. "It's going...

WEBMD HEALTH CORP. New York, New York; Operator Of Medical Web Site Enjoys Healthy Return On Investments.(THE NEW AMERICA)
January 5, 2006... Byline: ALAN R. ELLIOTT The odd ironies of aging. Grandparents, parents and siblings die. The causes of their deaths reveal clues to genetic weaknesses in family members who survive. Modern medical science says those clues, used...

Artisan Fund Wins With GARP Tactics; It Seeks Hidden Gems; Small-cap portfolio aims for fast-growing stocks at a discount valuation.(MUTUAL FUNDS)(MUTUAL FUND PROFILE)
January 5, 2006... Byline: PAUL KATZEFF Artisan Small Cap Fund likes gems. Managers of the $1.01 billion portfolio define those as small-cap stocks with solid and improving fundamentals. Their yearly earnings growth is above 15%. They have experienced,...

Abramoff's Folly.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 5, 2006... Scandal: By most accounts, Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's plea bargain will widen into the most sordid tale of political misbehavior in decades. A few sobering thoughts are in order. To start, Abramoff was up to bad business, so...

Putin's Pipe Dream.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 5, 2006... Geopolitics: The temporary cutoff of gas to Ukraine by Putin's Russia is just the latest proof that the days of the czars and Russia's imperial ambitions may not be over. There's still a bear in the woods. Earlier this year, former KGB...

Hard Times.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 5, 2006... Media: The New York Times is under fire from the left and right over the handling of its wiretapping story. But that's just the latest in a pattern of embarrassing mistakes and misdeeds by the "paper of record." It's been all the blues...

For Schroeder, Life After Politics Is A Gas.(ISSUES & INSIGHTS)(EDITORIALS)(Editorial)
January 5, 2006... Politics: Imagine if George Bush went to work at Halliburton -- or Exxon Mobil or Chevron -- the day after he left the White House in 2009. What outrage and condemnation that would create among the world's press? But let former German...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE; Dow, S&P 500 Rise Modestly In Lower Trade.(MAKING MONEY)
January 5, 2006... Byline: NANCY GONDO NYSE stocks extended their New Year's gains Wednesday, lifting the Dow 0.3%, the S&P 500 0.4% and the small-cap S&P 600 0.6%. Volume edged slightly lower. Steel-Specialty Alloys were among the day's biggest gainers....

Analyze, Profit From IBD's Market Charts.(GENERAL MARKET & SECTORS)
January 5, 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...

Wesco Bounces Off 10-Week Moving Avg.(B)(NYSE STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Paul Whitfield Pittsburgh-based Wesco International has bounced off its 10-week moving average after finding support there the past three weeks. The electrical parts and equipment distributor increased sales with two...

THE REAL MOST ACTIVE; Nasdaq Jumps 0.9% As Volume Remains Strong.(B)
January 5, 2006... Byline: TRANG HO The Nasdaq continued on its New Year's rally with a 0.9% gain Wednesday. Volume was above average for the second straight day. Per-Se Technologies gapped up 1.12 to 24.48, trading 4 1/2 times average volume. ...

Beware Of Churning Patterns; They Can Burn Your Stock Picks.(B)(INVESTOR'S CORNER)
January 5, 2006... Byline: CHRISTINA WISE A stock that's poised to break down will often flash signs telling you where it's headed. One of these sell signals is known as churning. It occurs when a stock heads sideways for several days as volume...

Starbucks, Microsemi Near New Buy Points.(B)(NASDAQ STOCKS IN THE NEWS)
January 5, 2006... Byline: Trang Ho Starbucks rose back above its 10-week moving average. The stock is emerging from a yearlong base and is nearing a new buy point of 32.56. The world's leading coffee retailer has been building up its music business,...

IBD'S 20 RULES FOR INVESTMENT SUCCESS.(THE SMART INVESTOR)
January 5, 2006... A vital point is these rules are not based on our personal opinion, our beliefs or those of Wall Street's analysts and experts. Investor's Business Daily built models of the most successful stocks and investors of the last half-century. We...

Gauge Fund Buying, Selling With IBD Charts.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(INVESTORS.COM CORNER)
January 5, 2006... Byline: KEN SHREVE It's one thing to be able to identify companies with solid fundamentals. But what if you're the only one who knows it? What if others see flaws you don't? It's vital that you know whether your prospect has support...