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By Anthony John Agnello, InvestorPlace.com

It's official. Well, nearly official. After more than a year of rumors, Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Verizon Wireless (VZ) are all but certain to announce an iPhone exclusive to Verizon's service tomorrow. And according to leaks, the Verizon iPhone's rumored launch will be in February.

The new iPhone will be very similar in design to the AT&T (T) model, the iPhone 4, which has proved massively popular since its June 2010 release. The only major difference is that the smart phone has been tweaked to meet the standard of Verizon's 3G network.

But although AT&T and Verizon iPhones are nearly identical, there are three distinct reasons VZ will win the iPhone carrier wars after the phone's inevitable release:

Duke Energy's(DUK) merger with Progress Energy (PGN) doesn't usher in a new wave of utility deals as much as it verifies that the takeover wave, which has included FirstEnergy (FE), Nicor (GAS) and Northeast Utilities (NU) deals, continues unabated.

We have long been a nation with too many utilities and too many banks, a legacy of legislation in the 1930s that railed against consolidation in both industries.

But just as we saw the crisis in banking leading to the collapse of such cares -- giving us Bank of America(BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC) and JPMorgan (JPM), which will create gigantic earnings power because of that consolidation -- we are seeing the merging of utilities to deal with flailing state governments and the high cost of people who can't be justified in an era of high-tech power generation.

By Don Dion, TheStreet

Here are five ETFs to watch this week.

1. Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO)

Food prices have surged in recent months, returning to record levels last seen in 2008. This rally has helped power agriculture-related equities such as those underlying MOO to strong gains.

Last week, industry leaders Mosaic (MOS) and Monsanto (MON) reported strong earnings, sending the fund higher toward levels last seen before the economic meltdown.

Improving economic conditions in the developed world and rampant economic growth across emerging economies look likely to prolong this current food rally. MOO is a fund to keep on the radar.

By Jeff Reeves, Editor of InvestorPlace.com

It's officially now a private party at the Playboy Mansion -- at least when it comes to investors.

Playboy Enterprises (PLA) has agreed to a $207 million buyout by a group led by founder Hugh Hefner. That means Playboy will no longer be a publicly traded stock and will no longer have to air as much of its dirty laundry for the rest of the world to see.

If Hefner's move had failed the bunny brand, it could have fallen into the hands of a Playboy rival, the company that owns and operates Penthouse magazine.

Here are the details:

The market is off and running in 2011. Traders came back to a market that had enjoyed its best December in two decades uncertain whether to sell stocks short or push the market higher.

Aside from the largest names in the market stocks struggled during the first week of trading. Momentum names gave back gains and the inflation trade took a breather on the strength of the dollar gaining during the first week of the New Year.

The S&P 500 managed to gain 1%, but other indexes were negative.

Look for a reversal in week two. Momentum names and inflation plays will be where the action is next week.

My recommendation would be to jump all over the IShares Russell 2000 (IWM) ETF this week.

By Don Dion, TheStreet

Warren Buffett's recent investment in the wind energy industry has taken center stage and stolen headlines. Using ETFs, investors can follow Buffett's lead and gain exposure to companies which work to harness and profit from the power of wind.

Energy is not a new venture for Buffett. On the contrary, through a number of his investments and subsidiaries, Warren Buffett has expanded his investment reach into various corners of the energy industry. Boasting exposure to companies including Exxon Mobil (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, the famous investor has for years held direct and indirect exposure to various traditional fuel sources, including oil and coal.

The alternative energy industry is not excluded from Buffett's portfolio, either. Well known components of the Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) portfolio, including General Electric (GE) and BYD have been major players in the growth of clean tech and energy industries such as wind, solar, and battery power in recent years

By James Dlugosch, Stockpickr

These companies have some of the most recognizable brands in the market, allowing them to generate big profits. The two go hand in hand, but does that mean stocks of companies with big brands are moneymakers for investors?

Making money for a company and making money for an investor are two different things. If the stock of a company with a well-known brand has already been fully priced, buying that investment today may not be such a smart thing.

Then again, if the stock of a big-brand company lags the market and is not priced at fair value, investors may want to consider that stock for their portfolio. Let’s take a look at some of these names to see if their stocks are as big as their brands

Share prices were dropping hard Friday, and the evidence suggests this is just the beginning. The catalysts were a disappointing December jobs report, ongoing woes in the eurozone and a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court against Wells Fargo (WFC) and US Bancorp (USB) concerning treatment of mortgage securitization by the banks.

This has revived concerns that banks will face increased losses from mortgage "put backs" from investors. It also called into question the banks' ability to foreclose on mortgages that have been securitized.

As a result, small-cap stocks are struggling, the dollar is moving higher and commodity prices are sliding. What's worse, there is evidence that this is just that start of a protracted decline as we enter a period of seasonal weakness. If true, it would mean the bull market faces a few weeks of losses before the long-term uptrend can resume.

Investors are always looking for a dominant business with a large moat at a low price, even if they never expect to find one. Fool analyst Dan Dzombak believes he has.

Rex Moore, Motley Fool Top Stocks editor

I'm excited to recommend and open a position in Brink's (BCO).

The business
You've probably seen Brink's armored cars driving around your neighborhood at some point, but you probably didn't realize that Brink's trucks are seen globally. Only 30% of Brink's business comes from North America. The rest comes from around the world.

By TheStreet Staff, TheStreet

Here's this week's roundup of the dumbest actions in business.

5. Goldman joins Facebook investors

What do you get when you combine a company your financial adviser wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, a Russian "oligarch" and mind-blowing fees? You have an investment opportunity.

That, at least, is what Goldman Sachs (GS) is telling well-heeled clients about plans to invest in the social-networking site Facebook.

China is extremely important to the global economy.  China to some degree helped to pull the global economy out of recession with its enormous stimulus.  However, I expect China’s economy to get worse at some point in the not too distant future

The Chinese economy grew at a very fast rate for long period of time.  The Chinese government is extremely concerned that if the growth rate of its economy slows down it is going to have high unemployment.  Ironically, though, this country that is supposed to be communist has less socialism than we have in the United States. 

You want to know which banks to buy?

How about Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), PNC (PNC), JPMorgan (JPM) and Huntington Bancshares (HBAN)? How about U.S. Bancorp (USB)?

You know what these stocks have in common? Their prices are ridiculously low, kept down by rumor, innuendo, disbelieving analysts and lies.

To paraphrase Nassim Taleb, "Giving interviews is the art of repeating oneself without anyone noticing." With the new book out, I have the pleasure and the opportunity to perfect that art. My latest interview, with my friend Bob Huebscher of Adviser Perspectives, is below; and here are links to my interviews with John Mihalijevic of Manual of Ideas (John is co-organizer of ValueEx; see below), Elliot Turner of Wall Street Cheat Sheet, and an audio interview with Jim Puplava of Financal Sense.  I tried very hard to offer new perspectives in each interview, even when we discussed the same subjects.  I tried.