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Will shrimp's eyes help create a better DVD? The answer is yes. Researchers at the University of Bristol, England, who are studying the shrimp's eye have found a way to create a better DVD.

How is this possible? Scientists discovered that the Mantis shrimp, found off the coast of Australia, can see in 12 primary colors, four times that of humans. The shrimp's eye can detect different kinds of light polarization which is the direction of oscillation in light waves.

The CIA is everywhere in the media. Now, according to Wired, here's the newest wrinkle. In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA, is putting cash into Visible Technologies to spy on social networks.

Who is being spied upon? Visible Technologies is souring "open source intelligence," information that is publicly available to survey the content on such sites as TV shows, newspaper articles, blog posts, online videos and radio reports generated every day.

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

If you want to make sense of all the video on the Internet so you can view just the good stuff, then Veoh Networks may be worth a visit. I interviewed Veoh Networks' CEO, Steve Mitgang, who told me an interesting tale about Veoh's history: "The founder of Veoh [Dmitry Shapiro] was an expert in security for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks. Video was active around enterprises as employees were watching more videos on YouTube."

There are times when I have been behind the times but not like the investment gurus that laughed at Peter Schiff over the past few years as he called it like he saw it, and he happened to be spot on with his facts and his conclusions. For those that follow the blabbing of Arthur Laffer -- he in particular never looked more laughable than he does in this compilation video of his business show appearances, that has been floating around the web for a while.

Over the past few weeks you probably saw signs in retail stores touting "big sales" with discounts of 50% to 70& off. It seems that Wall Street has caught on to main street's way of doing business - discounts, discounts, discounts!

The Renaissance Technologies LLC, a large hedge fund, has waived all of its management fees for 2009. Originally it charged a 1% fixed management fee, but with the new policy it will take a $30 million dollar haircut. However, the other larger Simon's Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund will not cut its management fee in 2009. Other funds are using similar practices. The Citadel Investment Group LLC gave back about $300 million dollars in fees it collected in 2008.

Renaissance, like many other hedge funds, suffered losses in 2008 ranging from 12% to 16% but managed to beat the S & P losses by 4-6%.

Mutual funds and hedge funds are using these unorthodox practices to try and keep their customers and prevent further redemptions by their existing clients. Just like you shop at retail stores for discounts, it might be a good idea to shop around for any deals that your mutual fund or hedge fund are offering but only from top rated funds. It would not be good business sense to take a discount from a fund that has a bad track record just for the sake of getting a discount. Just keep this simple rule in mind: 'in the end you are responsible for your investment decisions" so this year take the time to do your own research rather than relying solely on third party advice.Get as much information as possible but keep in mind that you must decide what is best for you in your circumstances.

Would you invest in a mutual fund or a hedge fund this year?

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks sat down back in September to explain everything that is wrong with the $700 billion bailout of financial institutions that made horrendous decisions with capital -- and now want to have the crap lifted off their books and onto ours.

Here's what I like about this: It's intelliget and based on a solid understanding of the issues, but it's also a populist rant, and not the kind of thing that you'll hear from the stuffed shirts. It's hard to argue with the logic though.

Another quarter of rising foreclosures has been observed.

Continental Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: CAL) is making cuts due to rising fuel costs:

As I wrote in this article, there's no way you should be buying Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock right now. Yes, it could break out to new highs, but until it actually does, it's just a triple-top chart pattern and considering we're talking about a measly 7% gain from here to the break-out level, just wait until it breaches $203 and does so convincingly. After all, if it's meant to fulfill the $300 prophecy as foretold by the oracles (aka market cheerleaders), you'll still have plenty of room to profit, just without all the risk. Yup, even with fundamentally sound companies, it's crucial that you consider technical analysis to your investments, as Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) shareholders learned the hard way after its perfect triple-top back above $700 (a top I called to short based on -- what else? -- technical analysis!).

Even though those are the stocks about which I get most email, they aren't the ones I want to write about today -- because the stocks I like are the ones I talk about in my new internet TV show LiveStock:



(Contact me with any stock market questions you'd like answered on live broadcasts every Friday from 1-2PM which you can view HERE) have been influenced by some kind of temporary catalyst, whether it's an analyst or newsletter recommendation, message board hype, or stock promoter spam. After that's gone, all you have left are struggling small-cap companies looking to raise capital. It's ugly.

A new bit of research is out that shows CEOs are feeling the effects of the economy, much like everyone else...

Tax rebates are starting to arrive, and many retailers are looking for ways to get your money from you with enticing deals.

When your business is struggling with the competition and your stock price down, it's time to focus on the fundamentals that got you the leg up when you first started. At least that's what Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) seems to be thinking these days. Click below for video.

Interested in maybe hearing your voice on the BloggingStockCast? Leave a comment for the show by calling 567-226-4583 and leaving a message!

(I apologize for the temporarily wrong number on the video, the phone number handling the video there died! I'll get it right with tomorrow's BloggingStockCast -Tobias)

So you've been on the job for three years but the boss won't cut you a raise. Is that your problem, friend? Perhaps the solution to your problem rests in your own hands. If you can prove you're deserving of a raise in salary and you take the appropriate steps to get one, an increase in taxable income just might be in your future. Take a look at the following informative video to gain some insight on effective paycheck building strategy. If you employ the tactics discussed in this video, and you still can't get a raise, it might be time to seek a new employer. I believe that you have every right to expect appropriate compensation for exemplary job performance, even if that means getting it from a new company.

Here's a happy little video message for the leadership at the now defunct Bear Stearns. I thought of this as soon as I read the recent blog post by Michael Rainey regarding the Bear Stearns blame shifting game that's now going on. C'mon you guys, sit up and take your medicine like good kids do. You screwed up. Just admit it will ya?

This is my shortest post ever but I had to share with our readers a marvelous little bit of musical humor. Click on this to see the best Tech-stock bubble video on YouTube, performed by the Richter Scales (to the tune of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire") -- very clever. Hope you enjoy it. I am sure it will make the rounds for a long time to come.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I do not own shares of GOOG, but I do get silly once in a while.