Cold snaps nearly always drive up fuel prices in the short term, but if the global economy is truly coming back, prices may not fall as fast and as far.

For the month of December, Best Buy (BBY) reported revenues of $8.5 billion, up 13% from December 2008, but going forward, how strongly can it compete against rivals Amazon (AMZN) and Wal-Mart (WMT)?

UPS raised its fourth-quarter EPS forecast on Friday and announced plans to cut 1,800 jobs later this year.

Unless OPEC can abide by individual quota agreements, big oil companies such as XOM, CVX and COP have nothing to fear from the cartel.

Discount broker Charles Schwab announced that it will lower its online equity trade commissions starting January 19.

Auto companies recently reported auto sales figures for December and full-year 2009, and while the numbers for many auto companies are better, the outlook is not so bright for GM and Chrysler.

Meredith Whitney lowered earnings estimates for Goldman Sachs Group (GS) on Tuesday perhaps proving that interpreting analyst "downgrades" ahead of earnings reports might be more art than science.

While today's ADP employment report shows that job cuts are moderating, any one of a number of factors could send the employment down the ladder again

If the biodiesel tax credit is not extended, the biodiesel industry is unlikely to survive.

Research shows that among Americans who still have jobs, less than half are satisfied with those jobs.

The merger between Kraft (KFT) and Cadbury (CBY) keeps getting more complicated, including a potential wrench thrown in by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), but the real issue for investors is whether Kraft's move adds more risk than upside.

Mesa Air Group (MESA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today further highlighting the dismal outlook for regional air carriers.

Time Warner Cable has agreed to pay News Corp. a subscriber fee in exchange for the right to carry Fox network programming, but the war between content providers and media delivery services has just begun.

Kraft Foods (KFT) is expected to raise its bid for Cadbury (CBY), but some of the smaller food and candy companies might become more viable as buyout candidates as a result.

Put these five investing strategies to work within the first few weeks of the New Year for a payoff that will keep on giving for months and years to come.