As if Americans need any other proof that their wealth is on the decline, the richest man in the world is no longer a Yankee. That's right: According to Forbes' most recent list of the world's billionaires, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet play second and third fiddle (respectively) to Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim Helu. The margin Carlos Slim beat out gates by? A mere $500 million.

It was one of the few big breakout IPOs of 2009, and the euphoria surrounding advanced battery maker A123 Systems (AONE) resonated throughout Wall Street. But now that the IPO party has long since settled, the company is starting to face the reality that its quarterly numbers are what really matter. Well, on Tuesday A123 reported those numbers for the fourth quarter, and the results were mixed bag.

It's no secret that Barclays (BCS) and its London parent made out like bandits when the bank purchased the U.S. operations of then-imploding Lehman Brothers. Now, there are reports that the bank is shopping for a U.S. retail banking operation with a market cap in the $10 billion-$30 billion range.

Today's release of OPEC's monthly market report for February highlights something that has been true for a long time now. The price OPEC receives for a barrel of oil jumped about $5/barrel since February 1 to close at $77.38/barrel yesterday.

On March 10, 2000, the tech-heavy NASDAQ composite topped out at an intraday high of 5,132. Today, we're at less than half of that with an open this morning of 2,340. But what about the survivors of the crash -- Amazon.com (AMZN), Priceline.com (PCLN), eBay (EBAY) and others? Let's take a look!

Dividends are an often overlooked but crucial part of a successful retirement strategy. These quarterly offerings can provide a regular "paycheck" for retirees -- especially when the company is a high-yielding blue chip with a track record of boosting its dividend year after year.

Supermarkets like Kroger (KR) and Safeway (SWY) may not be so super. Margins in the supermarket business have always been very thin. And it's not getting any better.

Retailer Target (TGT) is taking coupons into the 20th century with a new technology that will allow shoppers to present digital discounts at checkout. Apple (AAPL) and Research in Motion (RIMM) devices will provide the coupons, among others.

Shares of Patriot Coal (PCX) hit a new 52-week high last week on rumors of a buyout from Massey Energy Company (MEE). Massey was mum on the subject, and a Patriot spokesperson would only say that the company didn't comment on rumors. Patriot Coal was spun-off from Peabody Energy (BTU) in 2007.

Happy birthday, bull market! Though there is still some uncertainty on Wall Street right now, you have to admit it's nothing compared to March 9, 2009. Stocks like BAC, JPM, AXP, CAT and AA have soared since then.

McDonald's (MCD) has reported that same store sales in February jumped 4.8%. US sales rose 0.6%, European sales increased 5.4%, and Asia/Pacific, Middle East and African sales climbed 10.5%. That pretty much clears up where the sales are.

The most often-cited definition of chutzpah is the story of the man who kills both his parents and then begs for mercy because he is an orphan. Jeff Skilling, former CEO of former Enron (no ticker, alas) has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court that calls into question the fairness of the trial that resulted in Skilling getting sent to the slammer for more than 20 years.

The White House is ratcheting up the rhetoric on health care reform. And insurers Aetna (AET), Cigna (CI), Humana (HUM), Wellpoint (WLP) and Unitedhealth Group (UNH) are listening closely to see how their industries will be affected if legislation finds its way to Barack Obama's desk and gets signed into law.

When a leader actually leads, he or she should be rewarded. An example of real leadership might be Tony Hayward, CEO of BP plc (BP). While BP had a fairly tough 2009, posting lower numbers than the previous year, its payouts to shareholders actually rose.

Sony (SNE) is a giant in the video game industry. To this day, the PlayStation 2 remains the best-selling console in history. Microsoft (MSFT) has sold half of that with both its Xbox and Xbox 360 combined. Video game industry titan Nintendo (NTDOY) has six of the ten best-selling devices, but still has not toppled SNE from the #1 spot. But given the events of the past several years, it's hard to call Sony a great video game company anymore.

The recent launch of an investigation into Google's (GOOG) business practices in Europe and the company's threat to pull out of the Chinese search market due to government spying on users have contributed to the continuing drama of Google's position vis a vis Microsoft (MSFT).

For every $1,000 invested in Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) in 1964, an investor would now have a tidy $8 million in value, if that investor had held the stock for the full 45-year period. The annualized return on book value is 20.3%, and the annualized return at the market price would be 22%.