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

Stocks Pull Back Ahead of Bernanke
Robert Holmes

Anxiety over the Senate confirmation hearing of Fed nominee Ben
Bernanke and a key reading on inflation left stocks slightly lower
ahead of the bell Tuesday.


Flu Frenzy Frames Biotechs' Futures
Althea Chang

With the avian flu hysteria spreading exponentially faster than the
disease itself, investors have been stocking up on Gilead Sciences,
the maker of the influenza drug Tamiflu -- the product that appears to
offer the best hope against the virus. Since the start of the year,
Gilead's shares are up 49% compared with the 23% increase of the Amex
Biotech Index and the almost 2% rise of the S&P 500. The company's
market capitalization above $24 billion makes it one of the world's
biggest biotechs.


Going Long Shareholder Activism
Matthew Goldstein

Savvy investors are throwing away the playbook when it comes to
Sovereign Bancorp's $3.6 billion acquisition of Independence Community
Bank. Typically, when sophisticated traders want to bet on a takeover,
they do so by exploiting the market's aversion to risk -- in the case
of mergers, the risk that a deal won't be consummated. A merger
arbitrager makes his living buying the shares of takeover targets at
prices slightly below the acquiring company's bid, hoping to make up
the spread when the transaction goes through.


Winter's Chill May Warm Energy Stocks
Christopher Edmonds

With oil trading below $60 per barrel and natural gas working its way
toward $10 per million BTUs, there is a lot of talk in the energy
world about the prospects for energy equities. The stocks have traded
lower as commodities have lost ground. However, with winter
approaching, there's a good chance energy demand will inch higher and,
if history holds, patience may well be a virtue for energy investors.


Microsoft Steps Up Its Search
Ronna Abramson

In its latest volley against Google, Microsoft will roll out a new
free version of its Windows desktop search tool for corporate users.
Microsoft will announce the new search tool Tuesday at an annual
European IT conference being held this year in Barcelona. The
enterprise product builds on a free consumer desktop search tool first
unveiled by Microsoft in December. This new enterprise version of
Windows desktop search goes farther by enabling IT departments to
install, manage and customize the desktop search tool for a company's
entire workforce.

Daily Investing Tip
'Mad Money' Recap: Easy Street

Stocks have beaten all other asset classes over any 20- year time
period, but you have to learn how to stay in the game. First, don't be
intimidated. It takes some work. It's not easy. But you can do it. To
get started, you'll need a brokerage account. Choose one with low
commissions. Next, start looking for at least five stocks to own.
Start by identifying five sectors that seem promising, and then choose
one stock from each sector. You can get ideas by reading the newspaper
and staying abreast of current events. Once you've chosen a sector,
start looking for individual stocks by noting the stocks' price to
earnings (P/E) ratios relative to their peers. The P/E ratio is the
true price of a stock. -- James Cramer, TheStreet.com



Jeff Cooper
Anatomy of a Bottom
Cooper goes to the Square of Nine chart to show how the market
bottomed on Oct. 13.

James J. Cramer
Georgia Peach Sours Bears' Prospects
A source of easy money has changed their game. Now watch for a buy point.