Equities ended mixed in unusually tight trading. Buffett was a buffer against broader declines with his big railroad bet but a downgrade of the semiconductor sector left Intel (INTC) (-2.68%) et al railing against the unfairness of it all. See also Inventory in Semiconductors Looking Lean. Hardware stores fared far better than software stocks; Stanley Works (SWK) (+10.06%) and Black & Decker (BDK) (+30.97%) moved up on their merger while Microsoft (MSFT) shed 1.26% possibly on Seinfeld’s sell out. Gold gapped up to another new nominal high and Madoff's ex-accountant found fuzzy math doesn’t pay Friehling filing a guilty plea for fraud. As ...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Rockwell Collins Corp. saw increased stability for business-jet demand during its fiscal fourth quarter, setting the stage for growth in aftermarket services and new aircraft orders by mid-2010, said Chairman and Chief Executive Clay Jones.

Aviation-equipment maker Rockwell Collins sees fiscal fourth-quarter profit fall 26% due to lower demand for commercial aircraft.

Am I the only guy in the entire civilized world that didn’t watch the game last night? And it was all anyone was talking about on my commute and here on the desk. Don’t get me wrong I love sports -- and baseball (which I played) in particular. But at the end of the day it’s just a bunch of guys hitting a ball with a stick. (I can feel my email inbox filling up as I write.)Asian stocks got a real smackdown overnight. The Hang Seng and the Nikkei were off 2.28% and 1.83% respectively. European stocks were ...

General Dynamics’ third-quarter profit declines 10% amid a sharp drop in demand for business jets, but military business more than compensates. As a result, the defense contractor revises higher its projected profit range for 2009.