The deal would create an extremely powerful group with both mega-store and warehouse formats that should be the envy of the world.

It's surprising that the private-equity funds seem to think there's upside. It seems quite a full price to pay.

If it's bad for Next, it'll probably be worse of Marks & Spencer.

The area which interests us is the sector that was hit the hardest in 2005, namely the big-ticket household goods retailers. All three have begun to recover and develop promising chart patterns.

When Penn State jumped, that had an impact on the EWL. That's a national-name school leaving the league. It always drew big crowds.

I don't think the quality of wrestling in Pennsylvania has fallen off. In fact, it might have gotten better. But with that comes a recruiting feeding frenzy of college coaches. It's hard to find a sleeper anymore.