Busy week. Here are the top headlines in business.

10) Art of Record: Auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's took in a record $1billion in proceeds from two weeks of art auctions. Christie's auction on Thursday set new records for nineteen artists and capped a new record for Andy Warhol's work whose 1972 portrait of China's Chairman Mao sold for $17.4 million. Two other portraits of classic Warhol subjects --Marilyn Monroe and Jackie Kennedy -- sold for a combined $30 million. Read the story.

9) Oil Down: Oil prices fell 4% to their lowest point in over a year. The predicted mild winter has led traders to sell off oil. Thursday's Energy Department report also showed that the U.S.'s inventory of natural gas had grown again (pushing prices down). The oil producer's cartel, Opec, is expected to further cut output but it won't have much effect as the slowing U.S. economy has weakened demand. Oil fell as low as $2.50 -- dropping to $56.26 a barrel.

8) Delta Takeover: US Airways Group, Inc. (NYSE:LCC) launched an $8 billion hostile takeover bid for bankrupt Delta Air Lines, Inc. US Airways' plan includes cutting the combined airlines' capacity by 10% -- this could cause prices to rise nationally. The acquisition faces major challenges because Delta's chief executive, Gerald Grinstein, is against the merger and wants Delta to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a "stand-alone carrier." If the merger goes through, an airline consolidation trend could be sparked. Read the story.

7) The Italian Touch: Italian locals "Cash in" on the Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes wedding. The marriage, expected to take place in the town of Bracciano, 25 miles outside of Rome, at the 15th century Castello Odescalchi, has sparked widespread entrepreneurialism. A private terrace overlooking the route into the castle and the parking lot was offered to a TV news channel for $120,000 while the town's City Hall is renting windows of a nearby building that view the castle entrance for $1,300. Holmes and Cruise have been engaged since June 2005 and have a 7-month-old daughter Suri. Read the story.

6) High Mark: The S&P 500 closed at a 6-year high and the Dow hit a record 12,325.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 index hit a six-year high spurred on by a surge in merger & acquisition activity and upside profits at major retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target exceeded forecasts and the Fed suggested that interest rates will stay unchanged. The S&P 500 hit a trading high of 1,394.49, the first time it has surpassed 1,394 since November 2000. Stocks are up for the seventh week out of the past eight. However, the Nasdaq index remains more than 50 percent below the record it reached in 2000.

5) Money Maker: Halliburton Co.'s subsidiary KBR -- the center of controversy for its role in reconstructing Iraq -- sees its IPO shares soar. KBR's shares rose to $20.80 from the initial listing price of $17 on the NYSE. KBR is the subject of a U.S. probe for alleged bribery in the 1990s. It has also been accused of overcharging the U.S. government in Iraq and failing to provide adequate information. Rental car company, Hertz, also went public this week but the shares rose less 1% on its first day of trading. Read the story.

4) Dell Down: Shares in computer giant Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) fell more than 4% after delaying the publication of its latest quarterly earnings results. Dell said that 3rd quarter earnings -- which had been scheduled for Thursday -- -would be published later in the month. The delay was blamed on the "level of complexity" in the preparation of its preliminary results. Dell said the delay of its earnings release was unrelated to a current probe being carried out by the SEC. Meanwhile, Dell's rival, Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), reported a quadrupling of net profit. Read the story.

3) The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. (NYSE: RDA) is sold for $1.6 billion. Published in 21 languages, Reader's Digest has a circulation of 18 million and an estimated 80 million readers. However, it is seen as a publication for older readers -- not the 18 to 49 year-olds sought by advertisers. Reader's Digest also does direct marketing and book sales which have been battling against online retailers such as Amazon.com. Ripplewood Holdings is leading the investment group which offered $17 a share -- a relatively small premium for such a famous brand name. Read the story.

2) Conservative Buy: Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (NYSE:CCU) is acquired for $18.7 billion. Clear Channel, which owns and operates more than 1,200 radio stations, agreed to be bought by Bain Capital and Thomas H Lee Partners for $37.60 a share. Clear Channel also owns Premiere Radio Networks -- which syndicates radio shows such as Rush Limbaugh and Ryan Seacrest to more than 5,000 stations across the U.S. Clear Channel was a small San Antonio-based 36-station radio chain until deregulation in 1996 spurred a massive spending spree. Read the story.

1) Friedman Passes: Nobel prize-winning U.S. economist Milton Friedman died. Mr. Friedman, 94, coined the phrase "There's no such thing as a free lunch." He was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics in 1976. His ideas gained popularity in the 1980s when they influenced the policies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Mr. Friedman believed that the supply of money was the key factor in determining economic growth and the rate of inflation. Read the story.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com

If you look at the basic information on Great Northern Iron Ore Properties (NYSE: GNI), it looks like a no-brainer. This Minnesota-based company leases its lands to mining companies and makes its money off royalties from these companies' extractions. Net profit margins are over 80% and it's currently trading very close to the low end of its 52-week range. Plus, there's a huge dividend of $11.20 per share, for a yield of more than 10%.

So where's the rub? Well, GNI is a trust that was created in 1906 and was scheduled to expire 20 years after the death of the last living person named in the original trust. This last survivor passed away in 1995, meaning the trust will expire in 2015, or about eight years from now.

What does this mean for investors? Shareholders of record at the time of expiration will be paid a fee for each share, probably about $10 apiece. Given that the stock is now trading over $100, you can see where it might be easy to get burned.

I don't expect this stock to have much growth potential from here -- who is going to be willing to pay a huge amount for a stock that's due to expire? On the other hand, I can imagine some speculative action on this company as the expiration date nears -- with the dividend there should be interest in the company, and it's possible the stock will slip to a point where it's undervalued. So it's all about a judgment call on this stock -- where can you buy it and not worry about losing too much value while still collecting the dividend?

Type of stock: A mining trust company with great margins and a great dividend – but a real risk for a serious drop in stock price at some point down the road.

Price target: At the very low end of its 52-week range, I don't think this is going to lose a huge amount of value if you buy now around $100. With another eight years before it expires, you'll have some time to hope for a rebound if the stock price drops, and you'll be getting a 10% return from the dividend.

You can never go wrong with the King, and I'm still betting big on this one. Back in April, I picked CKX Inc. (NASDAQ: CKXE) as a double-your-money pick, opining that it might almost quadruple from around $14 to $50 by the end of 2007. If you followed my advice, you might be pretty disappointed so far. The stock continues to trade at around $14. If it's any consolation, I put quite a bit of my own money into CKX -- and I still hold the stock today.

I still believe this one is going to improve. Media and entertainment businesses are always risky, but I believe in CEO Bob Sillerman, who has already revolutionized the radio and the concert businesses. I think he has the right idea to build the company around a few phenomenally recognizable brands, (heard of American Idol? Heard of Elvis Presley?) and to leverage those brands through his other holdings. Anyone who follows the film industry knows the 80/20 model prevails there -- that is, 20% of movies make a lot of money and pay for the 80% that don't. The same thing is happening in the book industry. It's the nature of media today, and I think Sillerman understands this dynamic as well as anyone. He also understands that "content is king" -- it's what his company name stands for -- and that in a rapidly-shifting world of delivery options (Netflix? Movies on demand? iTunes on your cell phone?), if you control the content, you'll make money no matter how it's delivered. And in the meantime, Sillerman keeps hustling -- he's still working to come up with a new reality show, expand the "American Idol" franchise, and cross-promote his vast holdings.

For now, revenues for the first three quarters of 2006 are 50% higher than the whole of 2005, and his operating income keeps growing as well. I may have been wrong about how quickly this would grow, but I still think it's going to be a winner.

Type of stock: A media conglomerate based on a few large brands -- including the legendary Elvis Presley -- run by legendary media mogul Bob Sillerman.

Price target: I still think this one is going to make you big returns on your money. At $14 now, the stock can still hit $50 by the end of 2007. I am betting on Elvis and I am betting on the track record of one of the best entrepreneurs and operators in the country.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com.

If you're a company looking to recycle your bio-solids or other organic products, or if you're a city that needs its waste water treated, Synagro Technologies, Inc.(NASDAQ: SYGR) may be the company for you. This Houston-based company is one of the largest companies in its industry, if not the largest. It has water treatment operations in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Beyond water treatment, it shows companies how to reuse materials through composting, incineration, and pelletization, and it also offers clean-out services for facilities and it helps companies comply with regulatory issues.

If you look at the stock price you might wonder why I'm recommending this pick. It hasn't moved much above $5.50 for a few years. For the most part it has ranged from about $3.50 to $5 which isn't surprising given that its revenues have been increasing at just a few percentage points each year. Meanwhile, the insiders have all been selling of late.

But if you look at the dividend and at the general stability of the stock price, I think this is a nice steady pick that isn't likely to drop too much and will also deliver a dividend yield of more than 9%.

I also think you might end up seeing the stock price climb if you hold onto it long enough. Interest in maximizing efficiency and using waste is only going to grow in coming years, and Synagro should benefit from being one of the largest companies in the business. While its revenues aren't shooting up, its operating income has been growing. This year's results don't look quite as good, but again, have a little faith and some foresight. If you remove a one-time real estate gain from last year, 2006 has actually been an improvement on 2005 -- and this in an industry that is still struggling with its margins.

Type of stock: An eco-friendly company with a strong dividend yield to keep you happy until the company really gets going.

Price target: I think this is a safe bet at its current price of $4.40. If you buy now, you can enjoy the dividend with little risk, and maybe even see some unanticipated upside as the green revolution continues.

Hilary Kramer is a financial editor and money coach for AOL and an authority on investing. Visit her at www.hilarykramer.com.