October 9, 2012—Smart Balance (SMBL) is one of those companies I've followed for a long time because of its ties to my alma mater, Brandeis. As I footnoted in this 2010 post, Smart Balance was actually invented by Brandeis scientists, something that ...

September 28, 2012—It's been over 3 weeks since we've last posted, but we don't want you to think we've been snoozing. There's lots of work to do on the back-end (as anyone who has ever seen their bank go through a merger ...

August 31, 2012—There's something impressive about a top executive who stays at the helm for 57 years. Charles Loudermilk Sr., the founder of rent-to-own chain Aaron's Inc. (AAN) accomplished that, serving as chief executive from 1955 to 2008 and as executive chairman since then.

August 27, 2012—All those ambitious junior executives of America who aspire to become chairman or CEO should really set their sights a little higher -- to retired executive and honored senior adviser, also known as "consultant." Granted, being chief something-or-other pays better, but ...

August 24, 2012—A few weeks ago, Symantec Corporation's (SYMC) board decided that enough was enough. After years of disappointing results under different leaders, the board fired then-chief executive Enrique Salem and tapped its Chairman, Stephen M. Bennett, to become the new ...

August 23, 2012—Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a measure intended to try to slow demand for materials mined under often-brutal conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and nearby countries. Essentially, it says companies have to tell investors ...

August 21, 2012—On July 2, Brightpoint (CELL) announced it would be bought by Ingram Micro (IM). As far as we can tell, the acquisition makes sense on its face: Brightpoint provides procurement, logistics and other services to the wireless industry, and Ingram ...

August 17, 2012—Yesterday's announcement that the chief executive of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (BRCD), Michael Klayko, plans to step down resulted in the company's stock price ticking upwards about 6%, after the news rekindled some oft-bandied speculation that the company ...

August 15, 2012—FedEx Corporation (FDX) made headlines earlier this week after it announced plans to offer voluntary buyouts to an unknown number of employees — one step in a bigger plan to restructure the company's U. S. operations. But the same ...

August 10, 2012—It turns out there's a lot of money to be made in business cards and marketing brochures -- and some good eating, too. We know this because Vistaprint (VPRT) told investors yesterday, via this 8-K, that executive Katryn Blake ...