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Wake up Howard Stern, the world has changed.

 

Dreams of being the media king that is paid gobs of cash from overzealous media companies are a thing of the past.

 

Today, I would suggest taking what you can get.

• Can Sirius Stand without Stern?

Should you decide to leave Sirius XM (SIRI), don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

 

Shares of Intel (INTC) have been hammered on news showing that PC sales to consumers have been soft in the current back-to-school quarter.

The shares changed hands just below $19 late Friday, about 7% above their 52-week low.

I think that sell-off ignores the company's strengths in other markets, such as servers, which show no signs of slowing growth, and it ignores the huge replacement cycle coming for PCs as businesses and consumers all make the purchases they put off during the recession.

 

It was expected to happen sooner or later, and in August, it did: Notebook sales in the U.S. went into negative territory.

Sales had been growing at a brisk 30% pace in 2009 but started to tank almost exactly when Apple (AAPL) announced it would come out with a tablet computer: the iPad.

• Find a hot exchange-traded fund

This year, growth slowed to 11% in April, then 5% in June, then 2% in July and finally down to negative 4% in August. It's safe to say that the iPad is at least partly to blame.

 

To most investors, the name Thyra Zerhusen probably doesn’t ring any bells.

 

It should. While she doesn’t get nearly the attention that some other star fund managers get, Zerhusen has quietly compiled an impeccable track record while heading the Aston/Optimum Mid-Cap Equity fund since 1994.

The fund has averaged returns of 8.37% over the past 10 years and 11.14% over the past 15 years, figures that blow away the broader market and put the fund in the top 5% and 2% of its class over those respective periods, according to Morningstar.

 

By Don Dion, TheStreet

 

The back-and-forth market conditions of 2010 have weighed on the sentiment of many investors and market commentators, causing them to question the strength of the U.S. and global economic recovery.

 

Despite doubts emanating from many corners of both Wall Street and Main Street, there are still a number of reputable individuals from the business world who do not seem to share these concerns.

 

This week, Warren Buffett took to the stage at the Montana Economic Development Summit to express his views regarding the future of the U.S. economy.

 

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

 

I had a difficult e-mail conversation last night about Texas Instruments (TXN).

 

First, we know we got good news: a dividend boost and a buyback. Second, the buyback is about a quarter of the company, a lot of stock. Third, the company's making a statement -- "Things are better than you think" -- and the stock was up more than a buck in the aftermarket.

 

But, the e-mailer pointed out, so what? Texas Instruments has made both of these moves multiple times, and it has meant nothing. In fact, less than nothing, as the stock has repeatedly slunk back to where it was before the news. Except this time the business isn't as good as some of the other times.

 

Conclusion from him: Sell the stock; it shouldn't be up.

 

Maybe you're wondering why shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) were up 3.4% on Sept. 13.

The whole banking sector was up that day, of course, because the announced Basel III new banking regulations aren't as strict as some investors had worried they would be. That's a big deal for stressed European banks and smaller U.S. banks that might have been in real trouble if regulators had forced them to raise capital overnight. (For more on the good news for banks from Basel III, see my post).

The ADRs (American Depositary Receipts) of Credit Agricole (CRARY), for example, soared 6.8% on Sept. 13. The French bank could have been hit really hard by a tighter deadline and higher capital ratios in the regulations. And Regions Financial (RF), a still-struggling U.S. regional bank, popped 5.7% on the day.

 

One of my favorite indicators of the health of the stock market compares the performance of the smallest, riskiest equities to the largest, most well known issues. And right now, with the small stocks in the Russell 2000 ($RUT) badly lagging the mega-cap stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU), this is yet another sign that the rebound rally out of the August lows is nearing its end. (For more, see my last blog post here.)

 

Frequently, at turning points, you'll see small cap stocks lead the way. Although there is no way to test the idea, my hunch is that savvy Wall Street pros are moving in and out of smaller, fast moving stocks ahead of major market moves while at the same time holding in stasis more closely followed indices like the Dow. Then, once they are ready, they withdraw support for the mega-cap stocks, and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down.

 

Thursday's trading action suggests that's exactly what's happening now. The Russell 2000 lost 0.7% while the Dow gained 0.2%. Here's what you need to know.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether quote stuffing is legal, The Wall Street Journal reported.

This happens when someone places huge orders to buy and sell stocks and then cancels the orders immediately. Believe it or not, that split-second trade could cause stock prices to swing.

Quote stuffing is the latest round of funny business that can happen as high-speed trading takes in the stock market. This ultra-fast trading now accounts for two-thirds of market volume, the Journal reports. 

Bad news for restaurant stocks: Visits to U.S. restaurants has now dropped for eight consecutive quarters.

Market research company NPD found that restaurant visits were down by 1% in the spring quarter. But there is a bright side: A year earlier, traffic was down 3%. So at least the losses seem to be slowing.

Fine dining restaurants, including those at upscale hotels, continued to be hammered after seeing devastating losses last year. Traffic was down 3% in that category, which isn't all that surprising considering the drop in business travel as well as the new era of penny-pinching in America. 

It had a clever name and sold a believable idea, but in the end, Cash for Clunkers may have been a dud.

Remember that program? Get a nice chunk of cash -- as much as $4,500 in some cases -- for trading in an old car with poor gas mileage for a fuel-efficient model. It ended up costing the government nearly $3 billion.

• Bing:More on the auto industry bailout

Did it deliver on its promises of rallying the economy? Did it help car dealerships just as sales were plunging? A new paper by two economists suggests that Cash for Clunkers didn't help as much as the government hoped.

 

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

 

Don't tell Bucyrus International (BUCY) that things are slowing. Don't bother to inform Tim Sullivan, the always-solid chief executive officer, that he should worry about the Baltic Freight Index or the Chinese export numbers or the multiple hikes in interest rates to slow the Indian economy.

 

He has bigger things to worry about, like fulfilling orders around the globe for the 66% of his business that is coal-mining equipment.

 

Bucyrus sells to the big miners, such as Xstrata, Vale (VALE) and BHP Billiton (BHP), and you can't get coal out of the ground without machines from either Bucyrus or Joy Global (JOYG). You can't transfer to the stuff to where it has to go without Caterpillar (CAT) or Bucyrus trucks, the latter a new part of the product line purchased, in a steal, from Terex (TEX).

Bucyrus is making the picks and shovels of the coal rush, something that is happening around the world even as this country tries desperately to wean its utilities off coal to cheaper, cleaner natural gas.

 

It's a first step, but only a first step.

On Sept. 10, Nokia (NOK) named Stephen Elop to replace Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo as president and chief executive.

In Kallasvuo's four years at the top of the company, Nokia lost market share to Apple's (AAPL) iPhone and other smart phones, as the company seemed unable to bring a competitive smart phone to the consumer market.

He pushed the company to develop services, such as music downloads and GPS navigation, but couldn't gain much traction against Apple and Google (GOOG) in the services segment.

 

For the past five months, the stock market has gone nowhere fast. In fact, if you look at the NYSE Composite Index (NYA.X), shares are trading at the same levels that were first reached way back in October. That's right. Equities have been stuck in one giant trading range for a year.

 

No wonder that for many investors this doesn't feel like a bull market. Nor does it feel like an economic recovery. It just feels like we're all stuck in purgatory -- a churning, slow-growth environment somewhere between recession and full-throttle rebound.

 

So with stocks nudging up to significant overhead resistance levels -- which foiled previous rally attempts in June and August -- the question is: Can stocks move out of the summer doldrums and push to new highs?

 

In a move that doubles as a healthful menu addition and a gain for thrifty consumers, Wendy's (WEN) is adding half-size versions of its new premium salads, luring customers looking to spend less in a tough economy.

 

By the end of the month, the new half salads will be available in  premium select versions such as Apple Pecan Chicken and BLT Cobb, priced at $3.99. For $1 more, customers can choose two additional items, including a baked potato, a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, chicken wraps or drinks. All normally cost between $1 and $1.49.