I recently returned home from serving in Afghanistan, and lost a lot of time in transition. However, now that I’m home I can re-focus my energy into The Monthly Investor.

Steady updates are coming soon. Also, we’re looking for people to volunteer to write for us. If you’re interested, then create an account on the website and contact me by emailing aaron <at> themonthlyinvestor <dot> com.

And don’t forget, our News Feeds section is updated automatically every hour with the latest business and financial news headlines from around the internet. Make sure you take a look!

Rest assured, however, that once I return home for good, the newsletter will be back in full swing.

In the mean time, don’t forget to have a look at our News Feeds section. It’s updated automatically every hour with news stories from around the internet.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated after giving a speech at a rally with thousands of supporters present. Not only did this add a bit of instability to the world’s markets (particularly the Asian markets), it helped to drive oil prices closer to $100 a barrel.

Berkshire Hathaway’s (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) Warren Buffett pulled his trigger and bought two companies, and is rumored to be building a third.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is planning on renting movies produced by 20th Century Fox through its’ iTunes media store early next year. Apple’s stock broke the $200/share mark, before retreating slightly.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) is going to sell MP3’s from Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) through its digital music store without copy protection.

Reports said that a suicide bomber opened fire on Bhutto at close range before detonating himself, killing at least 20 people.

Bhutto was leaving a rally where she had just finished delivering a speech to thousands of supporters.

Sources: MarketWatch Story 1, Story 2

When a company like Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, NYSE: BRK.B) is sitting on $47 Billion in cash, and has a guy like Warren Buffett at the helm, good things are bound to happen.

The company has agreed to pay $4.5 Billion for a 60% stake of Marmon Holdings, a conglomerate owned by the Pritzker family.

The remaining 40% will be acquired over the next five to six years at a price based on future earnings of the company.

Sources: The New York Times

The website was re-designed from the ground up to provide a more rich experience to our users. A brand new design was also implemented, which gives the website the feel of a "newspaper". Articles are arranged in a sensible and intuitive manner.

We’ve also built-in a "News Feeds" section, which is automatically updated every hour, pulling in articles from around the internet and arranging them in an easy to keep up with way. Be sure to check it out!

I hope you enjoy the new site. Let me know in our Feedback area.

- Aaron Graves

The deal will allow Campbell to focus on “simple meals,” including the soups that Campbell’s is most famous for.

Sources: SeekingAlpha