Here they are...the most widely-read stories on TheStreet.com now:

Stocks Steady Ahead of Fed
Robert Holmes
Stocks sat still early Tuesday as a mammoth deal in the oil and gas
sector was drowned out by caution ahead of the Federal Open Market
Committee's meeting.


Google Earns Its Rock-Star Glitter
James J. Cramer
Google fascinates and repels people. It repels because skeptics can't
figure out how a company that makes nothing has a $120 billion
valuation; it fascinates because no matter how high the stock goes, it
seems to stay cheap at least when compared to so many other stocks. As
I look at it, I keep thinking that in Google you have the fastest
growing and most lucrative company on earth, one that is a cannibal to
all media, that offers viewers and advertisers the single greatest
experience in the world: the ability to have all information at your
fingertips at a cost of having to look at an ad for something that you
actually might need.


Fed Preview: Contrarian Play
Nick Godt
The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to deliver its
13th consecutive rate hike Tuesday, which happens to be Dec. 13.
Bucking superstition, Wall Street is nonetheless feeling lucky that
the central bank may signal that the end of its tightening cycle is
approaching. Any such signal (real or imagined) likely would spur a
repeat of the market action on Nov. 22, when stocks, gold and
Treasuries rallied while the dollar fell in reaction to the release of
the minutes of FOMC's Nov. 1 meeting.


Spreading Your Bets on Chipmakers
Gregg Greenberg
Last week's mixed performance in the semiconductor sector demonstrated
the difficulties faced by investors putting all their chips on a
single company's shares. That's why sector-focused exchange-traded
funds may be the better option for chip-happy investors.


H-P's Turnaround Ringing True
Kevin Kelleher
It took nearly five years for Hewlett-Packard to go from aging but
respected tech giant to over-the-hill and irrelevant dinosaur. The
silver lining to such a fate is that the company's turnaround might
turn out to be just as long-lasting. H-P's stock has emerged as one of
the most unlikely stars of the tech sector for 2005, rising 34% in the
past six months. Not every company with $87 billion in revenue sees
that kind of a gain. And that performance isn't far behind Google,
everyone's favorite runaway stock, which is up 39%; and it's even
better than the 31% rally seen in Motorola, which is being hailed as
the turnaround of the year.

Daily Investing Tip
'Mad Money' Recap: Laser Revision
Take profits in former king Syneron Medical and ride the newest,
hottest laser company, best-of-breed Cynosure. Cynosure began trading
Friday, and its stock was up from its offering price. But it wasn't up
too much. That's a bullish sign, and I believe Cynosure's stock will
have five more days of goodness. I like Cynosure's cosmetic lasers
because they are more cost effective than those of its competitors.
Cynosure's lasers are modular, meaning one laser can be used for
different applications by fitting it with a different module.
Cynosure, like all laser companies, is speculative, though. However,
the company has good revenue growth. -- James Cramer, TheStreet.com



Jeff Cooper
S&P a Bundle of Nerves
The index is tightly wound between 1262.85 and its 20-day moving
average on the downside.

James J. Cramer
Expect a Wave of Oil Mergers
The need to show growth in 2008-2012 will cause deals now.