Free Republic

The markets have had a much-welcomed rally over the last two weeks. From the minute the Obama Administration took control of the reins of the executive branch, the equity markets have been in a free fall. The consensus seems to be forming that this is what Wall Street calls a ‘dead cat bounce.’ But is it? Can the market form a bottom that provides for a sustainable recovery in the face of still risk-averse credit markets? In truth, there is a lot more reason for optimism today than at any time within the past 18 months. The bottom is not...

Kraft Foods Inc. on Wednesday reported that its third-quarter profit more than doubled because of a one-time gain from the $2.6 billion sale of its Post cereals business. Including the proceeds from the Post sale, the maker of Oscar Mayer luncheon meat and Ritz crackers said it earned $1.4 billion, or 93 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That compares to profit of $596 million, or 38 cents per share, a year ago. The Post cereals sale added 57 cents to per-share profit, which was lower by 7 cents due to asset impairment and exit costs....

Astronomers knew there was something odd going on when they looked for Uranus' newly discovered outer rings. For starters, they could only find one. After months of analysis, they figured out why: Unlike its red partner, the missing ring is so blue, it fell outside the telescope's range. "It's funny that this research got started by something we didn't see," said Imke de Pater, with the University of California at Berkeley and lead author of a paper describing the discovery in this week's journal Science. The initial discovery of a pair of outer rings circling Uranus was made by astronomers...