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GE & THE ECONOMY: General Electric, CNBC's parent company, releases its annual report Wednesday morning. For a conglomerate with its size and breadth, there's a lot to glean from its comments on various aspects of the economy. As we tread the line between recession and slowdown, Melissa Lee dives into GE's report.
| HOW TO PLAY MUNIS: Munis, munis, munis. Icons like Bill Gross keep talking about the so-called historical opportunities in muni bonds. Interested, but not sure how to get in the game? Hampton Pearson tells you how to buy into muni bonds.
| TOLL BROS MEETING/PAY WHEN PERFORMANCE IS POOR: Toll Brothers' compensation committee wants to change its executive bonus plan so its CEO and Chairman are assured bonuses even when the stock is tanking. Two proxy advisors, Glass Lewis and Proxy Governance say investors should vote against it, and the Laborer's International Union of North America, which represents pension holdings for a group of roughly 100 unions, agree. The stock is down 51% over the last two years. Last year, the compensation committee of the luxury homebuilder reworked the compensation plan so it works in all kinds of economic environments. The event also marks a kickoff to the proxy season where executive pay is once again a primary focus. Mary Thompson reports live from Horsham, PA.
| TAXING THE YANKS: Guy Johnson will be live at Westminster, where Alistair Darling, the underfire UK Chancellor, will unveil his first budget... and one of his many controversial proposals will be the so-called "non-dom tax" that will charge foreigners £30,000 to live in the UK. When added to changes to capital gains tax and the Northern Rock nationalization, the initiative is being viewed as a massive blow to the reputation of the City of London as a place to do business.
| TESTING FOR SUPERBUG: Stringent (and costly) testing for the drug-resistant MRSA infection doesn't stop it from spreading in hospitals, according to a new study. Mike looks at the company that makes the fastest, simplest, cheapest MRSA test out there. Until very recently, the company's stock had been on a tear. Mike visits a VA hospital that uses the test.
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