In case you had any doubts, it’s official. Diageo (DEO), the world’s largest spirits maker, will not be buying Beam, Inc. (BEAM) for its bourbon portfolio. CEO Ivan Menezes said this week that Diageo would be expanding its existing portfolio of whiskeys and launching new ones, and adding for emphasis that “we don’t need to” buy Beam. I told you...Read More

Just weeks after former CEO Thorsten Heins was given the boot, BlackBerry (BBRY) is kicking its chief operating and marketing officers to the curb as well. Roger Martin — a board member since 2007 — also is leaving BBRY, apparently of his own accord. So, is the housecleaning a positive for the company and battered BlackBerry stock? Not...Read More

I’m not sure if this news is welcome or distressing to Bitcoin’s hardcore libertarian ideologues, but the U.S. Justice Department and the SEC are about to give the virtual currency their blessing as offering a “legitimate” financial service, according to representatives from both agencies. That news is driving Bitcoin up to fresh all-time highs north...Read More

Earlier this year, I asked if e-cigarettes would relight Big Tobacco’s prospects. My answer was an unequivocal “no.” Rather than being a durable growth business for Altria (MO), Reynolds American (RAI) or Lorillard (LO), e-cigarettes seem to be yet another way to help people stop smoking—a trendier version of a nicotine patch or Nicorette gum,...Read More

We all knew that the Fed’s quantitative easing programs wouldn’t last forever, yet when the Fed first started to discuss the possibility of tapering in May, it took the market by surprise. As a result, income investments had a less-than-spectacular summer. The price of the 10-year Treasury note slid by more than 12%, and the...Read More