M and A

Diamond Foods is buying the Pringles brand of chips from Procter & Gamble for $1.5 billion. The deal is the latest -- and biggest -- of a stack of acquisitions for the maker of Emerald nuts and Pop Secret popcorn, making Diamond to the No. 2 snack company after PepsiCo's Frito-Lay.

Mergers and acquisitions are becoming ever more popular, with activity up 24% in the first two months of this year -- after already growing 23% in 2010. Here's how your portfolio can benefit from this trend.

In the midst of a hostile takeover bid, Kraft (KFT) has set up a series of investor conference calls, which will include its CEO defending its $16.75 billion offer for Cadbury. The fight between the two companies has already gotten ugly. Kraft made the bid last week but Cadbury turned it down, so...