Take Two Interactive (TTWO) shareholders had cause to celebrate yesterday as the game publisher announced that its latest product, video game western Red Dead Redemption, old over 5 million units less than a month after its release. The game, developed by controversial and popular studio Rockstar Games, has been so successful that Take-Two has raised its forecast for fiscal year 2010, expecting a loss of only 10 to 30 cents where previous forecasts were predicting a loss of up to 60 cents a share. Take-Two shares went up more than 2% following the announcement on Tuesday.

WAG shares are down this morning as investors respond to the latest developments in the skirmish between drug store stocks Walgreen Co. (WAG) and CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS).

Another Goldman CDO, called Hudson Mezzanine, is now being looked into, according to the Financial Times.

Healthcare investment is front and center now that reforms have been passed by the U.S. Congress. The healthcare bill puts the issue of health and wellness at the front of American minds as well this year. The truth is, though, even if the bill hadn't passed our aging demographics and rising obesity rates would have made health care a growth industry.

There have been a lot of investors perking up to Starbucks (SBUX) lately – and with good reason. The Seattle-based coffee shop has posted +12% profits since January 1 in a down year so far for the rest of Wall Street. In the long term things look even better for Starbucks stock, with shares up more than +70% over the last 12 months – trouncing the +15% gains in the major indexes!

The bull market isn't gone, it's just been taking a bit of a coffee break. One of the best stocks to buy in the last year has been Starbucks (SBUX), a coffee icon around the world and savior to caffiene junkies everywhere. SBUX stock is up 12% year-to-date as of today's closing bell and has significantly outperformed other restaurant and foodservice stocks in recent months. What's more, in the last year shares are up over +70% -- blowing away the +15% tallied by the Dow. SBUX stock is still going strong and there are plenty of reasons to buy.

Peru has surprisingly become one of the jewels of South America, stabilizing after years of armed conflict, corruption, economic ruin and disarray. And at the center of the miracle is the financial services giant Credicorp (BAP), which has helped to finance gold and copper miners and guided the government back to stability. Businesses expanding their factories, students needing college loans and homeowners needing to finance cars and homes all turn to BAP, which does a third of the entire country's banking business. Shares have started the month with a 3% gain.

Whole Foods (WFMI) is in a class of its own, despite the fact that retail sales at grocery store stocks have not been inspiring in the last year or so as the recession weighed on consumer spending. Companies like Supervalu (SVU), Kroger (KR) and others slashed prices and squeezed margins to court shoppers – and even Walmart (WMT) had to institute a massive "rollback" to prove it was really the best bargain out there. Walmart slashed prices on over 10,000 items covering mostly food and general merchandise.

BRIC investments and Brazil funds have huge potential right now, and Brazil is my favorite natural resource market. Unlike BRIC market Russia, It has no Putin effect and a very conservative central bank, which in today's world of printing money is beginning to sound like an oxymoron. The key to investing in Brazil is understanding that the headline index is dominated by a couple of big companies -- Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) and Vale (NYSE: VALE).

Investors know that investing in the stock market has plenty of ups and downs, and that no investment strategy will insulate you from the unexpected. The stock market can be a fickle place, where what's in one month is out the next. Investors have learned to take a short-term approach to things in the wake of the financial crisis, prepared to get defensive quickly if the market has one of its "retest" fits where it doesn't seem like any investment is going to see appreciation for a while.

Penny stocks offer big profit potential for your investment money. Though normally I don't recommend many financial stocks because banks lack the sales and earnings I demand, there are many penny stocks to buy now in the financial sector that have big growth potential for investors.

The euro fell against the U.S. dollar yesterday, pushing it back down close to a four-year low against the greenback. Sovereign debt woes were the old news behind past trends, and Thursday's declines were driven by upbeat U.S. economic reports and optimism over tomorrow's unemployment data contrasted with some lackluster euro zone data.

When you look at the broader stock market, the little guys often get lost in the shuffle. That's because a small start-up or a penny stock can see massive income based on small innovations or an exponential increase in market share due to even minor demographic shifts or industry trends. The reality is that entrenched blue chips just don't move as fast. That can be a good thing in troubled times because it reduces risk, but it can also frustrate investors who watch speedy little companies lap them several times over.