Amsterdam, January 11 -- Dutch brewing company Heineken International, agreed to buy beer division of Fomento Economic Mexicano (Femsa), Mexico’s second- biggest brewer for $7.7 billion.

Dubai, December 14 -- Thanks to Abu Dhabi, Dubai World (DBWLD.UL), the state-owned holding company at the center of a $26 billion debt storm, has some breathing space.

Dubai, December 1 -- Extravagant property projects and consequent inability to repay debts brings Dubai on brink of a financial crisis.

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community , mobile software specialist Smith Micro Software (Nasdaq: SMSI) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

Military trucker Oshkosh (NYSE: OSK) continued to stay one step ahead of the competition this week. While rival Pentagon contractors like General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) were still busy reporting "third" quarter earnings, Oshkosh up and closed out its fiscal year with a four-quarter flush -- the whole proverbial shootin' match. So how'd it do?

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, regional shopping mall REIT Macerich (NYSE: MAC) has received the dreaded one-star ranking.

I assume that you, like everyone and his Aunt Audrey, would love to find the next Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) -- to dig out the market's most precious small companies. Back in October 1977, Wal-Mart traded at a split- and dividend-adjusted price of $0.05 per share. Today, it trades for around $50. In a little more than 30 years, Wal-Mart has turned a $5,000 investment into $5 million.