Out of town? Missed a day of reading? Always stuck in too many meetings? Don't worry: With this column, we introduce The Best of Real Money, a weekly column highlighting our editors' selection of the best columns that ran on Real Money during the previous week. If you have a favorite selection you think we've missed, or have a suggestion for how this can be improved (a monthly version?), then share your thoughts in an e-mail.

It has been a busy week for RealMoney.com. From last Saturday through Friday afternoon, RealMoney writers produced more than 100 columns.

Sometimes, it seems as if Jim Cramer writes 100 by himself in a day. He doesn't, really. At least not too often. Occasionally he is shackled, led away from his computer and forced to sleep, just like the rest of us.

But because there's so much out there, this column will highlight a few of my favorites that some of you might have missed. Agree? Disagree? Have your own nominees for the Best of Real Money? Drop me a line at marty.klinkenberg@thestreet.com.

This site is the financial news business, so we usually pay scant attention to politics, unless there's a clear connection between what's going on politically and how that affects your wallet.

Having said that, from the standpoint of enjoyable reading and timeliness, my favorite submission last week was Daniel Gross' piece on Nov. 1 detailing his Dow of Elections Theory.

In his remarkably researched The Ballot Dance, Gross revealed that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been a darn good measuring stick when it comes to predicting presidential elections. In fact, its performance in election years, during the period from July 31 to Oct. 31, has foretold the winner in the last seven campaigns and nine of the last 12. The theory points to an Al Gore victory, because the Dow is up over that period. If the theory doesn't come through this year, it will be the first time since 1968 that it has missed.

Now I have to admit that I'm not much of a fan of scented candles. In fact, I'm a nightmare for a company like Yankee Candle (YCC:NYSE - news - boards). I wouldn't know a holly berry from Halle Berry, so when I visit Yankee Candle or a similar store I sniff, but rarely buy.

And judging from Senior Columnist Herb Greenberg's piece on the firm on Nov. 1, I am not alone. According to Herb, short-sellers are betting that Yankee Candle's stock is heading south. It reported lower-than-expected earnings in the third quarter despite offering quarter-end discounts to boost the bottom line.

Have a hankering for scented candles?

No, I think aromatherapy is a bunch of hooey. Yes, I buy them all of the time. No, I just go into stores and smell them.

See Results

Cramer's offerings were terrific all week. But on Halloween, he handed stock pickers a real treat, taking a look at 30 widely held Dow stocks and how they're faring on an earnings basis.

His favorites included American Express (AXP:NYSE - news - boards), Philip Morris (MO:NYSE - news - boards) and Merck (MRK:NYSE - news - boards). And even if things go better with Coke (KO:NYSE - news - boards), JJC said he prefers Pepsi (PEP:NYSE - news - boards).

His stinkers? Well, what he said about Eastman Kodak (EK:NYSE - news - boards) didn't paint a pretty picture. And AT&T (T:NYSE - news - boards)? Don't even ask.

On a more serious note, David Gitlitz, a guest columnist, suggested that Alan Greenspan is rethinking the Fed's approach in recognition to the realities of the New Economy. After analyzing recent comments by Greenspan, Gitlitz bets that the Fed will begin an easing process early next year.

Peter Eavis took a good, hard look at Oracle (ORCL:Nasdaq - news - boards) and didn't necessarily like what he saw. Among other things, the Oracle brass is getting sensitive when it comes to providing information about its applications software. That's a never a good sign.

Lastly, Adam Lashinsky on Friday brought us up to date on Cisco Systems (CSCO:Nasdaq - news - boards). Dire predictions were made about the tech giant's future six months ago and, while its stock price has slipped some, it has not suffered as badly as Dell (DELL:Nasdaq - news - boards), Microsoft (MSFT:Nasdaq - news - boards) and Intel (INTC:Nasdaq - news - boards), among others.

Cisco, meanwhile, reports its quarterly earnings Monday night in what Lashinsky says will be the most important announcement of the rest of the year for tech stock investors.

So there you have it for this week -- the Best of RealMoney.

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