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Hey, a convention of beer distributors is in Chicago this week. That ought to be a good time, right?

Not this year. The beer industry is reeling as sales continue to slump, and none of the usual gimmicks and promotions are persuading people to drink more. Beer executives are groaning under the pressure.

"They're the worst trends we've ever seen," Benj Steinman, the president of Beer Marketer's Insights, told Advertising Age. Overall, beer shipments have dropped 2.1% in the first eight months of this year -- and that's on top of a miserable decline in 2009. 

How much will families spend on gifts this holiday? That's a key question for retailers heading into the critical fourth quarter.

The news isn't good. The wealthiest people in the country -- those with a net worth of $800,000 or more -- say they won't spend as much on gifts this year, according to the American Affluence Research Center.

The survey found that this group expects to spend about $2,370, on average, down from $2,399 last year (that's the total spent by all adults in the household). Only 3% said they plan to spend more, while 28% intend to spend less, The Wall Street Journal reported. And 12% said they won't buy gifts at all. 

By Scott Moritz, TheStreet

 

Bullish but not banking on the Verizon (VZ) iPhone, JPMorgan jacked up Apple's (AAPL) price target to $400 Thursday.

 

The research note comes after yet another report that Apple is ending its iPhone exclusivity with AT&T (T) and preparing to launch sales of the iconic device at No. 1 mobile shop Verizon early next year.

 

In a note titled "Plenty of Growth Left," JPMorgan analyst Mark Moskowitz said the Verizon iPhone will boost Apple's earnings 11% annually, or $2 a share. But Moskowitz does not base his financial projections or his $400 price target on the possibility of the iPhone going to Verizon. Instead, Moskowitz is more jazzed about the current strength of iPhone and iPad sales this year.

 

By Louis Navellier, InvestorPlace.com

Penny stock investing doesn’t have to be a crap shoot on long-shot stocks. Done well, penny stocks can be a great way to diversify your portfolio and really amp up your investment profits. While penny stock investing can be risky, it can also be very rewarding.

I recommend finding bargain penny stocks traded on major exchanges, for no less than $1 a share and with a proven track record. These penny stock investments should show significant earnings growth and strong buying pressure behind shares, increasing the likelihood that these stocks will be on the way up in the very near future.

 

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

 

How much would Apple (AAPL) have gone up Wednesday if it weren't for Equinix (EQIX), which plummeted 33% after the company lowered its revenue outlook and took the rest of cloud-computing tech -- Citrix (CTXS)/Red Hat (RHT), Rackspace (RAX), F5 Networks (FFIV) and VMWare (VMW) -- down with it?

 

How much do they not matter for Apple?

 

Tuesday night I was out with one of the best hedge fund managers in America, and he wanted to take issue with my endless support for Apple. He couldn't believe, given the service of AT&T (T), that I could ever in good conscience recommend the stock.

 

I said to watch what happens when Verizon (VZ) gets the iPhone. He said he would believe it when he sees it.

 

As bad news goes, this isn't a big dose, but it should be a reminder to investors looking for extra yield in today's ultra-low-yield environment that higher yields always come with higher risk.

Oneok Partners (OKS) is one of my favorites for getting a good deal more yield with only slightly more risk. The master limited partnership pays a yield of 5.96% versus the 2.34% yield on the 10-year Treasury.

But "only slightly more" risk doesn't mean no risk.

 

Rewind a few months, to when Wall Street was deep in despair as concerns over Europe and the viability of the euro shook the markets. Add in concerns over financial regulatory reform, the government's case against Goldman Sachs (GS), the BP (BP) oil spill and the May 6 "flash crash." Investors had a lot to worry about.

 

But all that's changed now. Europe has bounced back, as I anticipated in this column, with the iShares Germany (EWG) up 28% from its May low. And the economy, thanks to the increase in business spending that I predicted back in August, is showing new signs of life.

 

All sunshine and lollipops, right? Well, not quite. While fundamentals determine the long-term trajectory of the market -- and still look good, as I discussed recently -- short-term movements are still driven by technical factors. And right now, they suggest caution is warranted.

 

The shopping mall may no longer be hangout central for the bored American teen -- and that could affect sales at Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), American Eagle (AEO) and other retailers.

Shopping centers across the country are considering ways to ban the teen mall rat, ABC News reports. Dozens of malls now have a "parental escort policy" on weekend nights, requiring people younger than 18 to have a parent or guardian nearby.

The policy is intended to remove the potential for trouble (shoplifting and fighting) that can erupt when kids get together without supervision. But does this also remove the potential for teen sales? 

Grocery stores have been fighting a tough war on prices, desperate to lure discount-hungry customers. But now it looks like that battle may be ending.

The price war was great for shoppers, many of whom cut their spending dramatically as the recession lingered. But was it good for grocery stores and food producers? Not so much.

Sales and promotions were everywhere, and as a result no company came out a winner, Reuters reported. In fact, the discounts were so deep that even the bump in sales couldn't restore the bottom line. 

By Eric Jackson, TheStreet

 

Tesla Motors (TSLA) went public last June in one of the few IPOs of the year.

 

It had the support of high-profile underwriters Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), JP Morgan (JPM), and Deutsche Bank (DB), as well as many well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalists.

 

It priced at $17, the top end of its range, and soared 41% on its first day of trading. It's still trading more than 24% above its IPO price three months later.

 

By Jake Lynch, TheStreet

 

Cracker Barrel (CBRL) is succeeding in the dog-eat-dog restaurant industry with old-fashioned American charm. The eatery has outperformed the closely watched Knapp-Track Index of comparable-store traffic for 16 consecutive quarters.

 

Analysts are bullish on Cracker Barrel, which is less sensitive to changes in the economy than its casual-dining competitors because of its lower-priced dishes. The southern chain serves comfort food, with a menu that includes Country Meat 'n' Biscuits and Apple Streusel French Toast. Breakfast is served all day, with separate lunch and dinner menus.

 

A retail store is attached to each restaurant, selling collectibles, old-fashioned toys and penny candy. This restaurant-retail concept is rarely used in the restaurant industry but seems to be succeeding. Cracker Barrel posted a comparable-restaurant sales gain of 2% and a comparable-retail-sales increase of 2.6% in the latest reporting period.

 

By Scott Moritz, TheStreet

 

Google (GOOG) has finally enlisted eBay's (EBAY)PayPal service and is preparing to launch the payment system on its Android OS later this month.

 

The two Internet giants have been moving closer to an agreement in recent weeks. Now sources familiar with the situation say the deal is all but sealed, with an announcement coming as early as Oct. 26 during the PayPal developers' conference in San Francisco.

 

The move would help smooth a bumpy checkout system on Android Market, and it would also bring Google closer to the type of seamless payment process that Apple (AAPL) manages at its iTunes and App Store.

 

It's time forMcDonald's (MCD)customers to roll the dice and and play Monopoly again. And if they're lucky, they could collect more than $200 when they pass Go. The top prize is a cool $1 million.

The bigger prizes, including lots of cash and a muscle car, may seem extravagant, but the bottom line is that McDonald's always gets more than it gives with its yearly promotion. And cash-strapped consumers could be more likely than ever to join in the game. After all, unlike with a lottery ticket, you can eat your losing purchase.

Here's what you can win and how to play:

 

By Dan Freed, TheStreet

 

The stock market is rallying, but insiders aren't buying it.

 

Insider selling activity of late has been a flood, while insider buying is practically nonexistent, Bloomberg data show.

 

The companies that saw the biggest selling by insiders in the past week through Oct. 1 were Oracle (ORCL), Google (GOOG), Phillip Morris (PM), Nike (NKE) and CarMax (KMX). Oracle insiders alone sold $135 million worth in stock during the week.

 

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

 

It happened again Tuesday and last week, too: A couple of people on television saying I am a trader and they are investors, that I flit and they stay the course, that I go in and out, heedless of the future and the problems in store for our economy and our market from QE2 and the need to stimulate the economy in an unaffordable way.

 

I scorn these people. First, I have a portfolio -- you can look at it, it's Action Alerts PLUS -- where I try to pick stocks that can go up over time. More important, though, is that I am beginning to have contempt for the "pure" investors.