You ready for a good ol’ 1960s rock n’ roll flashback, courtesy of four lads from Liverpool?

Verizon Lays Off 8,000 as Profit Sinks 21%; Bulls Run in Monday Markets; SEC Seeks to Limit “Naked Shorting;” New Single-Family Home Sales Rise in June; Oil Rises 1.4%; Deutsche Bank: Windows 7 Could Trigger New Enterprise Tech Investments; Video Game Industry Takes Hit From Recession

Retail investors had a rough go of things in the first half, but since the March lows of all the markets, the Standard & Poor’s Retail Index is showing progress toward its 52-week high of 427.13.

The probably bankruptcy of CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) could have major implications on the retail and manufacturing sectors this week, as many related companies are reliant on the financing giant.

Every once in a while, we stumble upon a chart or table that says it all…

Remember when we were in a “State of Shock” after hearing the news of Michael Jackson’s death?

On Feb. 4, I recommended buying Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) stock as a long-term play with very important short-term catalysts that were about to unfold.  The basis of the long term recommendation was the fact that I found in Amazon that elusive quality that I was taught to seek in business school a few decades ago: Strong, sustainable competitive advantages.

On May 15, 2009, the Internet changed forever. Did you miss it?

At this point, it is good to look for the defensive plays that have been neglected in this upturn and for safe havens for investors taking profits from the recent run.  After looking long and hard, I came to General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS).