A Wall Street Journal report shows top companies are paying their top leaders almost 1% less in 2009 than the previous year. Leading the drop was Dish Network (DISH), where founder and CEO Charles Ergen suffered the harshest drop in pay across the entire WSJ survey -- a drop of 92.5% to $623,100 a year in total compensation.

After the markets closed yesterday, bookseller Borders Group, Inc. (BGP) announced its fourth quarter 2009 and full year earnings. The company reported EPS of $0.91 for the quarter on revenue of $946.5 million. Earnings were double the same period a year ago, while revenues were 13% lower. Same-store sales were off 14% at Borders stores and 8.5% at the group's Waldenbooks stores.

There was a time when Research In Motion (RIMM) owned the smart phone space. Its ubiquitous BlackBerry unit ruled the roost, and no other handset maker could even come close to it in terms of sales and customer loyalty. But that was then, and this is now -- with the Apple (AAPL) iPhone the gold standard and Google (GOOG) the new up-and-comer with its Android OS. That doesn't look too good for RIM, and headwinds it faces going forward could stymie the stock's progress, and that's bad news for shareholders.

Aerospace and defense stock Honeywell (HON) raised its guidance late Tuesday, driving shares up today even while the broader market has rolled back. The dividend stock now expects first-quarter profit to range from 45 to 49 cents per share, up from prior guidance for 40 to 45 cents. For the full year, HON expects profits to reach the top end of its prior $2.20 to $2.40 forecast.

While Greece is stealing the spotlight as sovereign debt woes threaten to cripple the nation's public sector, Ireland's balance sheet has quietly been getting worse – and now its debt problems are so bad it could have the dubious honor of beating Greece to bankruptcy.

Drug store chain Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) reported fourth quarter and full 2010 fiscal year earnings today, and the numbers were softer than expected. The company's EPS lost -$0.24, compared with consensus estimates of -$0.20. Revenue came in at $6.46 billion, barely lower than estimates of $6.47 billion.

Big news of the past week from a corporate perspective was the terrific earnings report produced by Best Buy (BBY). As owners of the great SPDR Retail (XRT) fund, this is important because Best Buy is a major component and a bellwether for the rest of the industry.

Two REITs worth note right now are Maguire Properties (MPG) and Glimcher Realty (GRT). During my nightly analysis of the markets, I often focus closely on stocks making new highs and new lows. The reason: Stocks that are reaching extremes are often emblematic of changes that are taking place well below the surface of the broad market, and I highlight them to bring these issues to subscribers' attention.

The March report from Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) shows that private employers in the U.S. cut 23,000 jobs in the month of March. In February, ADP reported 24,000 job losses. In December 2009, private employers eliminated 84,000 jobs. So things are getting worse more slowly, or improving somewhate, depending on your point of view.

Among the first steps that Sandy Weill took as he began building Citigroup, Inc. (C) was the purchase of insurance company Primerica. Tonight, the financial services giant will price an 18-million share spin-off of Primerica, expected to be in the range of $12-$14/share. The spin-off is expected to generate about $250 million for Citi, with another 2.7 million shares available if demand is strong.

If you've spent your life as an investor looking for a company that's worth its salt, then you need to take a look at Compass Minerals (CMP), the nation's largest miner of sodium chloride and one of the best stocks to buy for the past five years.

News on the economy continues to support the bulls' case. Here are some data points assembled by analysts at ISI Group this week:

Google (GOOG) and its Android operating system are now the next big thing for smart phones, taking the spotlight from Apple Inc. (AAPL) and its iconic iPhone. And with these two smart phones as the leaders, future demand for Research in Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry devices is drying up.

The S&P Case Shiller index of housing prices rose 0.3% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, which does not include data on foreclosures, the index fell 0.4%. The decline in the unadjusted price is double analysts' expectations of a 0.2% decline.

Defying all logic, shares in some home builders jumped in 2009. The government incentives to home buyers and the low mortgage interest rates certainly contributed most to that rise. The SPDR Homebuilders ETF (XHB) gained 27.7% in 2009. But KB Home (KBH) reported a loss in the first quarter of 2010 nearly equal to its loss in the first quarter of 2009. Lennar Homes (LEN) reduced its year-over-year losses in the quarter by nearly 90%, putting a little glow back in the industry. Another builder with headaches is Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL).

Shares in Apple Inc. (AAPL) hit a new 52-week high this morning on a report from the Wall Street Journal that the company will introduce a CDMA-compatible version of the iPhone in late summer 2010. If the report pans out, the big winner will be Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications (VZ) and Vodafone. The big loser will be AT&T (T).

First, India goes wild over Domino's Pizza (DPZ). Now, Yum! Brands (YUM) is seeing runaway success in the region with its Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut chains. It seems like fast food companies from McDonald's (MCD) to Burger King (BKC) to Wendy's/Arby's (WEN) are eating up emerging markets.

Dividends, especially reliable dividends, are crucial to many investors. And five dividend stocks that are the most likely to maintain or boost payouts in 2010 are Altria (MO), AT&T (T), CenturyTel (CTL), Merck (MRK) and Verizon (VZ).