Loans

In late March, I called out USEC (NYSE: USU) for running some "fluff" PR proclaiming that customers like Exelon (NYSE: EXC)
were just itching to take planned uranium fuel production off the
enricher's hands. Standing in the way of this rosy future, however, was
an uncertain $2 billion loan application with the Department of Energy.

Last week, an audit by the TARP program's government watchdog suggested
that a wide majority (83%) of banks that have received TARP investments
had, in fact, put some of the funds to work by lending them out. That
may well be true, but recently released second-quarter results show
that the amount of total loans at the largest banks -- all TARP
recipients -- fell during the period:

If you're looking for dividend-paying stocks, you need to know the Dividend Achievers.

If you haven't checked into the world of cellular gadgets since buying that Motorola (NYSE: MOT) RAZR, you've fallen a bit behind.

The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls won a record 72 games during their 82-game season, completely dominating their league. As an investor, I'm searching for companies that own their markets as thoroughly as the Bulls conquered the NBA. In the business world, Disney (NYSE: DIS) subsidiary ESPN might just be a valid parallel to that mighty Michael Jordan-led dynasty.

It's another pyrrhic victory for the music industry.

In a recent research note to clients, Societe Generale investment strategist James Montier identified 42 stocks worldwide that he believes threaten investors with a permanent loss of capital.