IBM

What's the secret to good worker attendance, retention, productivity, and the ability to attract top-notch recruits? Employee benefits. Which companies thrive and grow their businesses faster than their peers? Same answer: Those that offer better benefits to their workers.

IBM is following up its smarter-than-humans, Jeopardy!-playing supercomputer Watson with a new generation of computer chips designed to mimic brain functions. How worried should we humans be that IBM's artificial intelligence efforts will result in the ultimate job killer?

You won't find too many fans of HP stock right now, after last week's announcement about the death of the TouchPad. But PC makers are going through a rough patch in general, as consumers turn to tablets and businesses embrace the cloud. Here's why HP is still a decent bet -- and in better shape than a certain competitor.

On Wednesday, in a shift that symbolizes a sea change in American business, Apple's market capitalization surpassed that of ExxonMobil, making the tech firm the world's most valuable company. Here's why it happened, and what the underlying changes mean for investors.

While the overall stock market has plunged, IBM has remained flat. What's its secret to stability? We take a look under the hood to figure out what makes it a safe-haven stock -- and what elements investors should look for as they seek out others.

Ten investors survey the rubble from this week's shakeup and see opportunities everywhere. It's time to quiet those nerves and deploy your dollars to take advantage of fire-sale prices. Here's a rundown of investment ideas -- stocks, mutual funds, ETFs, and otherwise.

Google, Apple, IBM and eBay are all hiring. Good news for the flagging U.S. jobs market, right? Not exactly: Many of the positions being created are for openings overseas. And that's not likely to change, because companies have learned to do more with less since the Great Recession.