If you've checked the balance on your 401(k) lately, you're likely breathing a mini sign of relief as the Dow's bounce back above 10,000 helps replenish some losses suffered during the recession.

But as stocks remain volatile and the recession hampers retirement planning for millions, we sought advice from Christine Marcks, CEO of Prudential Retirement, the retirement arm of financial services giant Prudential Financial.

In our conversation, Marcks outlines a game plan for laid off workers and describes new tools available for today's pre-retirees. Despite what some published reports say, the 401(k) is still very relevant, Marcks adds.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) announces that it will buy the remaining stake that it does not already own in railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI). The deal is valued at approximately $44 billion, including $10 billion of outstanding BNSF debt, making it the largest acquisition in Berkshire Hathaway's history.

"Our country's future prosperity depends on its having an efficient and well-maintained rail system," Buffett said in a press release. "Conversely, America must grow and prosper for railroads to do well. Berkshire's $34 billion investment in BNSF is a huge bet on that company, CEO Matt Rose and his team, and the railroad industry."

America's voyeuristic love affair with the rich and famous: what they're wearing, what they're driving and where they play, certainly isn't a new phenomenon. And the obsession is hardly limited to Hollywood -- just look at the First Family.

Since the early days of the campaign trail, the media has reported on plenty of intimate details about President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia, that have fed the public's seemingly insatiable desire to learn more about the family. Not only have the Obama family's favorite things translated into media buzz, but for some companies they've translated into big, yet short-lived, bottom-line profits.

There's no denying the online craze for social media and communications. First there was MySpace, then Facebook, then Twitter among the many social-networking platforms. Recently, language software learning company Rosetta Stone (RST) quietly rolled out TOTALe (pronounced toe-tally) -- its latest offering with a social twist.

As CEO Tom Adams previewed to me in June, the new tool adds two new features absent from the basic kit: Rosetta Studio and Rosetta World, which use VoIP technologies that allow users to practice the language of their choice with native speakers and Rosetta Stone conversation coaches. Users can also play games to enhance the learning experience in one of 24 languages.

Striking a pose for Ladies' Home Journal in November 1968 catapulted Naomi Sims, a pioneering African American model, to stardom and helped lay the groundwork for a fashion empire that lives on today. Sims, who will forever hold a spot in fashion history, died Saturday from cancer. She was 61 years old.

Often referred to as the first black supermodel, Sims' breakthrough in the white-dominated fashion industry came during the Civil Rights era. Sims overcame great odds, spending her early years growing up in the segregated South and then in a series of foster homes after her mother became ill.

Sometimes it can be so hard to say goodbye. But the recession put a chokehold on some of our favorite brands, leaving them with no financial option except to disappear.

Here's a snapshot of brands across all industries -- automotive, publishing, tech -- forced to fold recently, or at least announce their exits from the U.S. market.

It's been called one of the hottest IPOs of the year and revolves around language: 31 of them to be exact. From English to Spanish to Irish Gaelic to Arabic, language learning software company Rosetta Stone (RST) has you covered. And in a global economy, the company may just have a hit on its hands.

In a recent analysis of the company's April IPO, Bullmark.com analyst Bill Martin said, "The desire, not to mention need, to learn other languages in a global economy means the company is looking at a potentially huge market." But Martin noted that the fact that "the company principally targets consumers represents the greatest risk to its business given consumer caution at present."

Tom Adams, Rosetta Stone's multi-lingual chief executive met with DailyFinance to discuss the company's recent IPO, the toughest language he's ever learned, and an upcoming offering that will allow for peer-to-peer learning and interaction with a language coach.

A day after filing for bankruptcy protection, General Motors has announced a preliminary deal to sell its Hummer brand that is expected to save more than 3,000 U.S. jobs.

After several hours of mystery concerning who might buy the iconic brand, GM confirmed late Tuesday that it is in advanced talks to sell it to China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company. Terms of the deal are still being negotiated, but GM expects to close the sale by year's end.

"I'm confident that Hummer will thrive globally under its new ownership," said Troy Clarke, President of GM North America. "And for GM, this sale continues to accelerate the reinvention of GM into a leaner, more focused, and more cost-competitive automaker."

It was about four years ago that I took a midday stroll to hip-hop mogul Jay Z's 40/40 club in Manhattan for a press conference. There it was announced that a then-relatively unknown beauty and skin-care line, Carol's Daughter, was teaming up with a few bigshots, including Jada Pinkett Smith and husband Will.

Among the samples distributed to attendees, I discovered the Brooklyn-based company's Jamaican Punch body scrub, an aromatic and moisturizing sea salt scrub that pleases the senses. According to the product label, it contains a blend of oils, Brazilian orange, Fiji apple, exotic ylang-ylang, spicy canella bark, nutmeg and tropical sugar cane. Can't you just smell it already?

But those Carol's Daughter products once had a promotion far more valuable than a Manhattan press conference: an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. On Thursday night, CNBC aired a special, The Oprah Effect, illustrating just how influential the media mogul can be on product sales.

Believe it or not, the down economy has been a boon for some businesses and professionals, even as others lose everything. Every time a business crashes, someone is there to help clean it up. And the fear that a recession produces can offer rich profits for those standing by, waiting to take advantage of the situation.

Some of the top beneficiaries of the recession include:

• Foreclosure 'Trash Out' Companies

• Liquidators

• Bankruptcy Lawyers

• Repo Men