The successes of the CIA and other intelligence agencies, the old saying goes, are never known and the failures are never forgotten. The takedown of Osama bin Laden by Navy SEALs, who were guided onto their target by the work of hundreds of intelligence officers around the world, is a welcome exception to this rule. [...]

For the first time since 1961, the City University of New York (CUNY) has rejected a candidate for an honorary degree. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner’s nomination was tabled at a meeting of the board of trustees at member college John Jay on Monday, when board member Jeffrey Wiesenfeld objected. ”If his libelous statements against Israel were made by anyone outside the [...]

Who else is hiding in plain site in Pakistan? Anwar Awlaki? Pakistan warns U.S. of "disastrous consequences" for any more bin Laden-style raids The Pakistani government should be apologizing. It should be groveling. It should be undertaking a massive internal reform to sweep out the jihad sympathizers. It should be opening its doors to American [...]

The "destructive effect of focusing on invisible monsters": Fears and Failure, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times: From G.D.P. to private-sector payrolls, from business surveys to new claims for unemployment insurance, key economic indicators suggest that the recovery may be sputtering. And it wasn’t much of a recovery to start with. Employment … has grown [...]

                 Something important happened yesterday, whilst UK politicians were preoccupied with arguments over marginal changes to Council budgets. Commodity prices experienced sharp falls. Silver is down by around one third in a few days, and oil fell 10% in a day. Metals and agricultural commodities have also weakened.               These price falls will take [...]

               Last night’s elections reminded us just how overgoverned the UK has become, with elections to so many layers of government  and with so many posts on offer. The results were much as expected. The pundits had expected the SNP to do well at Labour’s expense in Scotland and for the Lib Dems to [...]

Specialty chemicals are hot. Innophos Holdings Inc. (IPHS) continued with its streak of double digit sales growth as sales jumped 17% in Q1 after climbing 31% in the fourth quarter. This Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) has the magic combination of strong earnings growth and low valuation, as it sports a PEG of just 0.8. [...]

Transcend Services (TRCR) just topped analyst expectations yesterday and shares are on the rise. Even though estimates haven’t started coming in yet, the stocks still has great growth rates and valuations. And, it should only get better for this Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy). Company Description Transcend Services provides clinical documentation services for healthcare organizations, [...]

Big 5 Sporting Goods (BGFV) earnings of $0.13 per share for the first quarter 2011 missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.19, and also fell short of its own guidance range of $0.15 to $0.22 per share. The company posted a 43.5% decline in the earnings due to lower same-store sales and higher operating expenses. [...]

We are upgrading our recommendation on Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR) to Outperform based on substantially better-than-expected first quarter results with the rebound of Market Making and continuous growth in Electronic Brokerage. The initiation of a quarterly dividend was also an impressive move. Results benefited mainly from improved top line, which was partially offset by higher-than-expected [...]