Pepsi

More and more consumers are sidestepping the soda aisles at the supermarket, choosing instead to conveniently make carbonated beverages at home. If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, here are five reasons that may change sooner than you think.

Pepsi is hoping to win back soda drinkers with a compromise. Some people don't like the calories in regular soda, but loathe the taste of zero-calorie diet drinks. So the nation's No. 2 cola company is rolling out "Pepsi Next," a cola that has about half the calories of regular Pepsi at 60 calories per can.

There's a lot of overlap among the holdings of Morningstar's 26 highly rated funds, and these 10 stocks top the list. So if you want to follow the pros, consider these -- all of them mega-cap stocks and ultra-conservative buys.

Between 2002 and 2011, companies spent a whopping $2.5 billion on Super Bowl advertising; this year, a 30-second commercial cost an average of $3.5 million. But what do you get for all that cash. In the case of these eight major advertisers, not as much as they'd hoped.

Coca-Cola has never shied away from trying new variations of its classic beverage. The company also is known for adding flavorful twists like lime and lemon to its drinks. But last week, both Coke and archrival Pepsi revealed that a more disturbing addition had made its way into their drinks: fungicide.

Penn State's profile is growing more radioactive, but the university will still have a soda to call its own. Pepsi on Wednesday said it will remain a sponsor of the school and its football team.

There's an unusual cola war brewing in the home-based pop market between SodaStream and Primo Water. But why make your own soda? Is it easier? Cheaper? Healthier? You're probably going to like all three answers.

For most of the past decade, buying Oreos or Trident gum for your kids meant sending money to the Marlboro Man. Those brands have gone their separate ways, but there are still many odd matches in the wild world of conglomerates, where companies own siblings that don't really look like one another.

Rafi Mohammed, author of The Art of Pricing, says Coca-Cola is selling itself short. Some of its beverages, such as Coke Zero, could be priced higher, potentially raising the company's margin and profit. But in the Cola Wars, could higher prices cause a customer retreat?

Coca-Cola reported strong second quarter results, with growth coming from emerging markets like China and Russia. Coke is the leader in the Chinese market, and with it projected to keep growing at a rapid rate, the nation is a key part of the company's plan to double its 2009 revenues by 2020.