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Stocks futures edged higher early Friday as investors await the government's August employment report, which is expected to show the economy lost jobs for a third straight month.

A few weeks ago, Hedgeye, the investment research firm where I'm a managing director, hosted a conference call for our subscribers that posed the question, "Should U.S. Government Debt Be Rated Junk Status?" Given that debt issued by the U.S. government continues to trade at almost all-time lows in yield, this is a contrarian call to say the least.

Question: I have a budget of $10,000 for a stock simulation I'm doing for a business and personal-finance class. What stocks should I invest in to make the most money in four months? -- Matt

When Americans debate the impact of fuel emissions on the environment, they usually talk about cars and trucks. But what about smaller vehicles like motorcycles, scooters, lawnmowers and ATVs?

1. Loyalty is overrated

The iPod helped Apple rise from the dead in the last decade. But the iPod Classic, the device that jump-started that resurrection, didn't get so much as a mention from Steve Jobs at Apple's iPod event on Wednesday.

After ending August in a slump, oil prices surged into September, rallying nearly 3% Wednesday, and continuing to move higher Thursday following news of an oil platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

There goes Dan Loeb again, sounding off to great effect. He used to confine himself to criticizing overreaching and overcompensated CEOs, targets we could pretty much all agree on. But the prickly hedge fund manager decided to join the chorus of aggrieved financiers in his latest missive, setting his sights on today's bogeyman of choice: oppressive government.

Jim Maguire describes himself as being ahead of his time, and he's hardly bragging. In 2002, Maguire -- who managed software projects for large companies -- was consulting in Germany when he discovered "the next big thing."

Shares of Mariner Energy tumbled Thursday after an explosion in one of the company's production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

The rumors persisted of Lehman Brothers' being taken over again, and it was against such a background that Dick devised his pièce de résistance.

As General Motors gets ready to take its show on the road in support of its initial public offering after Election Day, one of its biggest question marks is the future of Opel and its European division.

The economic outlook doesn't have to be entirely rosy for investors to shy away from the safety of Treasurys. Sometimes, all it takes is a little news that isn't completely terrible.

American workers are taking yet another blow to their wallets this year -- a whopping 14% jump in costs to insure their families.

Shopping for back-to-school "basics" used to mean T-shirts, jeans, socks and some notebooks. This year, parents added a few other things with one item that really stands out: tattoos.

Burger King said Thursday that it has agreed to be acquired by investment firm 3G Capital in a deal valued at $4 billion.

The capital city Pennsylvania is broke and will be skipping this month's multi-million dollar bond payment.

The 3PAR bidding war finally came to its conclusion Thursday after Dell conceded victory to Hewlett-Packard.

Stocks pushed higher at the end of a listless session Thursday, extending gains from the previous day, as investors prepare for a critical report on the U.S. job market on Friday.

Ferrari is recalling its new 458 Italia model after several vehicles were reported to have burst into flames.