Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) got a little too excited over its Friday launch of the EVO 4G smartphone. Maybe it was an attempt to steal even more thunder from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which announced its own 4G iPhone on Monday. Sprint originally reported that it had sold three times the number of EVOs on launch day as it had sold Samsung Instinct and Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) Pre phones in the first three days of sales of those two phones combined.

When the chairman/CEO/president of Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) said that his company wasn't buying Palm Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) in order "to be in the smart phone business," did this mean that HP was going to abandon the smartphone market as soon as it completes its acquisition of Palm? Doesn't the company want to fight it out with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) and Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) for handset supremacy or with Google Inc. (NYSE: GOOG) for operating system bragging rights?

Stock IPOs get a lot of hype on Wall Street, and initial public offerings are often surrounded with dreams of once-in-a-lifetime investments that make investors enough money for their retirement in a matter of weeks. Even though IPO participants are always insiders and those close to the company, individual investors often race to get into a new stock as soon as it goes public in the hopes of sharing in the success right out of the gate.

The contagion is spreading from the explosion at the Macondo well operated by BP plc (NYSE:BP) that destroyed a leased semi-submersible owned by Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) and killed 11 workers. Standard and Poor's Rating Services has already lowered ratings on BP and Transocean debt as well as debt on Anadarko Petroleum Co. (NYSE: APC), a minority partner in the well.

The debate over whose fries are better, Burger King (BKC) or McDonald's (MCD), is one of the oldest fast food fights in the industry. But rather than just limit the debate to the drive-thru window, Burger King has upped the ante by changing the battlefield to the supermarket aisles. How? Well, with a new line of frozen foods that include crinkle-cut French fries and healthy apple fries coming soon to your grocer's freezer. There's even a healthy line of Apple Fries, with the fruit skinned and cut to look like French fries and packaged in that familiar Burger King branded paper cup.

Yahoo! (YHOO) is not what it used to be as it has steadily lost ground to Internet search giant Google Inc. (GOOG) year after year. But thanks to a new partnership with Facebook, the Yahoo may be better equipped to slow or even reverse its recent declines.

Chrysler Group LLC, the Fiat-run venture that is the latest reincarnation of this automaker that went bankrupt a year ago, is recalling almost 575,000 vehicles due to brake defects. While the number of Chrysler minivans and Jeeps affected is far less than the 8 million vehicles recalled in a series of black eyes for Toyota (TM), it is larger than the 400,000 Odyssey vans and Element SUVs or so recalled by Honda (HMC).

For the second time in two weeks, a parts supplier is disrupting production at Honda Motor Co. (NYSE: HMC) plants in China. The company last week settled a strike at a transmission plant that had halted Honda's Chinese production. The latest strike is at a plant that makes parts for the car's exhaust system and has not yet had any effect on production. So far, other car makers with operations in China have not been affected. Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), and Toyota Motor Co. (NYSE: TM) all have plants in China.

Investing in stocks is never easy, but picking the right investment strategy after a volatile May seems pretty impossible. But never fear -- if investors do their homework, they will see plenty of investment opportunities in June. Let's do a quick five-minute drill on positives and negatives for the U.S. and global economy, courtesy of our friends at ISI Group in New York.

A Russian-traded company named RUSIA Petroleum, which is majority-owned by TNK-BP, has filed for bankruptcy. TNK-BP is a joint venture between a Russian company and BP plc (NYSE: BP). TNK-BP had earlier filed an early repayment notice on RUSIA Petroleum to collect part of the loans issued to finance development of the Kovykta natural gas condensate field. Because RUSIA Petroleum cannot repay the loans, TNK-BP says it is "obligated to file a bankruptcy procedure with the court."

Talk about the fruit of your labors. Consider a company that provides products to eight out of every ten American households. A company with an exceptional supply chain and industry-leading market share in three of its core products. No, it's not Apple. But close, in a strange way. It's Del Monte Foods (DLM), a company that sells premium brand fruits and vegetables as well as pet food and treats under the brands Kibbles 'n Bits and Milk-bone.

It was a rough market in May, with many stocks taking a plunge along with the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about -10% and the S and P 500 index shed about 11% in May. But not all stocks were battered – and as a group, airline stocks stand out as one of the few sectors that did well in May, with regional carriers like Alaska Air Group (ALK) and JetBlue Airways (JBLU) both posting double-digit gains on the month, and with major carriers U.S. Airways (LCC) and Delta Airlines (DAL) doing even better.

Kellogg Co. (K) has had a difficult go of things in the wake of the recession, lagging rival packaged foods companies in the industries as it struggled to connect with consumers. Things may be getting worse as Kellogg is under fire from the Federal Trade Commission for misleading consumers about the health benefits for Rice Krispies and Frosted Mini-Wheats cereals.