GM Puts Pressureon Stocks
Robert Holmes

Stocks were under pressure Thursday as yesterday's late downdraft was worsened by word of a Securities and Exchange Commission probe of General Motors.


Microsoft: Wait Til Next Quarter
Ronna Abramson

For more than a year now, Microsoft has suffered some painful insults for a tech company. The world's largest software maker has been called an unwieldy, mature giant and -- gasp! -- the new IBM. In a nutshell, it is said, Microsoft is a tech behemoth falling behind smaller, more nimble rivals in emerging markets. And Microsoft's stock, stuck under $30 for more than three years, has reflected that view. The shares have been so stagnant that they're starting to attract a value crowd.


Inside a Hedge Fund Meltdown
Jon D. Markman

The stunning crash of the futures brokerage Refco this month has cast an unflattering spotlight on the important but little understood world of high-stakes commodities trading. It is a world where hundreds of billions of borrowed dollars change hands around the clock to speculate on the direction of currencies, hedge the price of corn and cattle, and bet on the volatility of the U.S. stock market. And it is a world where the fortunes of veteran pros and precocious amateurs alike can be won or lost faster than you can say "eurobond."


Buying Ahead of Builders' Soft Landing
Robert Marcin

I must be crazy! I started buying homebuilders last week when the sector was getting pummeled on a miss by American Standard and some cautious comments by NVR. I still expect a tempering in the housing market in both units and prices, but don't be a momentum moron and sell or short the sector down here!


Smartphone Review: Small but Playful
Scott Moritz

The LG VX9800 phone from Verizon Wireless is probably a little like meeting Tom Cruise in person. It's smaller than you expected and far more dogmatic about personal choices than you'd hope. Standing 4 1/2 inches on end and 2 inches wide, the VX9800 is surprisingly compact. It looks like a thick candy-bar phone until you flip it open to find a keyboard, a color screen and a pair of speakers. It is one of the first multimedia phones designed to work on Verizon Wireless' new third-generation, or 3G, network.

Daily Investing Tip
'Mad Money' Recap: The Main Event II

Google and Yahoo! notwithstanding, the hottest part of the Internet is the Internet behind the Internet, which is e-commerce. The best way to play e-commerce is through the online bill-payment companies. Their business is white hot. The two companies that dominate online bill payments are Online Resources and CheckFree. However, Online Resources is too speculative for me. I would buy CheckFree, which just reported a great quarter. -- James Cramer, TheStreet.com



Jeff Cooper
Three-Day Chart Makes Bull Case

The S&P scored a third consecutive higher high Wednesday, pointing toward a key test.

John Reese
Western Digital Storing Up Strength

This stock has sector strength and the approval of two guru strategies behind it.