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The nation's oldest major soft-drink brand is now a stand-alone company that includes 7UP and Snapple. But there are good reasons it won't be the next Coca-Cola or Pepsi. 

Practical presents may not have your recipient jumping for joy, but they will reveal their worth (and your foresight) in time.

Lehman Bros. denies it's in deep trouble, but stocks overall finish lower as investors show little confidence in financials. Fed boss Bernanke signals rate cuts are done for now. Auto sales are weak. Carl Icahn vows to oust Yahoo's Jerry Yang.

An old but often-overlooked strategy can dramatically cut what retirees spend on food, shelter and transportation. (And there could be social benefits in the bargain.)

Bigger is no longer better for the nation's automakers. As higher gas prices cause consumers to shun SUVs and trucks, Detroit is having to shift gears -- fast.  

The editors of Fortune Small Business chose some of our favorite indulgences from indie artisans and craftsmen - but we want to hear your recommendations. What luxuries do you splurge on?

I decided that I wanted to run my own business when I graduated from high school, more than 30 years ago. I was looking for an industry with lots of market potential, and when I saw that worm farmers in my area were shipping product to bait shops and garden centers across the nation, I started looking at worm farming.

Should a buyer pay more for a building if selling it would mark the end of the owner's business?

Add "lobsterman" to the long list of American jobs in trouble. Fuel and bait costs are soaring, the annual catch is dwindling, and market prices for lobster are flat. Last year's Maine lobster harvest looks to have been the smallest in five years. Faced with shaky fundamentals, a pair of Portland seafood purveyors are trying to counter the industry's decline with the most reliable tactic for escaping grim industry economics: savvy marketing.

The day the IRS notified him that his business had been selected for a random audit, John Brimelow, owner of Atlanta PR and video-production company Atamira Communications, recalls thinking that "it's like you've won a very scary lottery."