Journal Reports

Shaping the New Agenda

First, we invited key advisers from the two presidential campaigns to debate four hot topics. Then, we asked readers to weigh in. Inside you'll find those discussions -- and an invitation to join the debates yourself. Plus, for some perspective on the policy arguments, we went back to the 2000 presidential debates to sample what the principals then were saying about some of the same issues.

• Read the debates: Health care | Economics | Energy | Trade
• Political Perceptions | Washington Wire
• McCain vs. Obama: Battle Lines Over Policy
• The 2008 Money Race
• Complete Coverage: Campaign 2008

Small Business: Create a Web Site

Here's a guide for business owners looking to make the leap online. We lay out all the steps you need to take to build your site, and present some expert opinion about getting it noticed and keeping track of customers -- all with no technical background required. (Video

| Podcast)

Investing in Funds: A Monthly Analysis

As large numbers of workers are starting to retire with 401(k) or 401(k)-like plans to support them, what happened to West Virginia school employees is a window into exactly how things can go badly off track. (Video

| Quiz | Podcast)

Economic Development

Take a look at seven places that took different approaches to economic development -- and came out ahead, beginning with Kalamazoo, Mich., where education was the tool to lure both business and people back to the city. (Video | Podcast | Quiz | Omaha Map | Business Climates)

Your Money Matters

If your job or life circumstances leave you no alternative other than to sell your house in this market -- the worst since Herbert Hoover -- then be prepared to go well beyond the usual feints and gimmicks if you want to get potential buyers to the closing table. (Video

| Podcast | Forum)

Business Insight

Powerful catalysts for organic growth often exist deep within an organization, hidden and untapped, and often in the form of midlevel managers who possess the vision, leadership and entrepreneurial talents that together make up what we refer to as a growth leader. (Video

| Podcast)

Quarterly Markets Review

The Dow industrials ended the quarter down 7.4% and close to bear-market territory. GM was the worst-performing component in the quarter, dropping about 40%. The problems that have plagued the market in the last half of the second quarter are likely to persist to the end of 2008.

• Who's No. 1? | Winners & Losers | Biggest Mergers

Energy

Interest in nuclear power is heating up, as the hunt intensifies for "green" alternatives to fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. Proponents insist that nuclear is a necessary alternative in an energy-constrained world, while opponents are convinced that the costs are way too high to justify the safety hazards. The debate rages on. (Video

| Podcast)

Product Design

It's one thing to have a broad idea of what you want a product to be, but it's something else to figure out how it will all be put together and what it's going to look like. And behind every product, there's a story about why it looks the way it does. (Video

| Podcast)

Encore

If you were unlucky enough to retire at the start of a bear market or recession -- say, early 2000 or late 2007 -- you could find yourself struggling financially for years to come. Find out how people approaching retirement, and those already retired, are safeguarding their savings from tough economic times. (Video

| Podcast | Quiz)

All Things Digital

The sixth edition of The Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference was packed with speakers pursuing new technologies, new business models and controversial deals.

• Video | Podcast | Forum | Quiz

Best on the Street

Call it the year of the newcomer. More than half of the winners in the 16th annual Best on the Street analysts survey are appearing in the rankings for the first time. In a turbulent year for the stock market, these top analysts navigated the markets to find stocks that outperformed, even for part of the year, and others that were best to avoid.

• Video: Analysts' challenges | Podcast: Making the Good Calls

• Top 5 Stock Pickers | Ranking Research Houses

Boards Flex Their Pay Muscles

Directors are increasingly cutting back the pay-setting power of CEOs. And board compensation committees are retaining their own lawyers, holding frequent executive sessions and evaluating management more rigorously.
(Sortable pay chart | Video | Podcast)

Beijing Olympics 2008

It seems as if there's just one big show left on earth that's still really big. It opens this August in Beijing. But Beijing's Games aren't your routine rich-country Olympics. It's China's chance to tell the world (and itself): "We've arrived." (Video

| Podcast)

Golf

Golfers are constantly on the lookout for anything that can help them improve their game, even if ever so slightly. But training with a bad gadget, or the wrong one, can be worse than no practice at all. Here are some new and innovative gadgets that will allow a golfer to get better. If only a little. (Video

| Podcast)

Environment

The push to curb global-warming emissions is starting to redraw the industrial landscape, and in doing so it has already begun to create new winners and losers. (Video

| Podcast)

Shareholder Scoreboard

Investing in 2007 is a tale in two parts: the success stories that prevailed in the first six months, and the growing list of sectors that suffered in the second. The 13th annual Shareholder Scoreboard reviews the performance of 1,000 companies in 75 industries over the past year and decade. (Video | Podcast)

Corporate Governance

People who have spent time in corporate boardrooms say honest communication is often lacking between CEOs and their fellow directors. And in some cases, this lack of honesty makes the headlines. In order to properly oversee these companies, boards need to believe that the CEO -- who's often their main source of information -- is giving them an accurate picture. (Podcast)

Philanthropy

It's time to make sure our gifts to charity are being used as intelligently as possible. Instead of showering hard-earned dollars on charities and hoping for the best, we need to demand clear, detailed information on the results of their efforts. We ask the government and public corporations to be transparent and accountable. Charities should meet the same standard. (Video | Podcast)

The 50 Women to Watch 2007

A new generation of women leaders who grew up watching pioneering women break into the executive suite has moved into the corner offices of some of the world's largest companies. While the number of women in top executive jobs has barely increased, the pipeline is filled with female talent at a growing number of big corporations.

• Chart: See a sortable list and profiles of the top 50 women

• Panel: Women executives discuss challenges | Video

• Podcasts: Grooming future executives | Manager's Diary

Business Schools: Recruiters' Top Picks

With demand growing for M.B.A. grads, it's a seller's market. To improve their odds, recruiters are visiting business schools earlier and more often and raising starting salaries. Dartmouth's Tuck ranked first in this year's Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive ranking of national business schools, while Brigham Young's Mariott was No. 1 in the regional ranking. (Video | Podcast)

• See Complete rankings (.pdf). Plus, see School snapshots | Compare top schools | Search the data

Past Journal Reports

See an archive of past reports published in the Online Journal.

Journal Reports - WSJ.com