I'm always looking for a catalyst that is going to take Disney (NYSE: DIS) to the next level. The stock hasn't been a great performer over time. Just today, the Mouse issued a press release detailing its latest merchandising plans.

Merchandising falls under the consumer products division. Now, one would expect that this segment would always be rocking considering the brand equity inherent in all of Disney's intellectual properties. Well, let's remind ourselves of how the segment did during the last earnings report. In the second quarter, operating income for consumer products dipped 24%. For the six-month period, operating income was down by 13%. Double-digit declines: nobody likes them. Management commentary about the division specifically stated that lower royalty revenue from merchandise helped to drive the performance. As can be seen, Disney needs some good ideas and strategies to return this segment to growth.

Gotta love it when the worlds of sports and politics combine ... I mean at least our founding fathers had enough sense to try and separate church and state, right? Perhaps this news isn't that big of a deal, but I thought it funny that we now have the Chicago White Sox releasing a special Barack Obama hat.

That's right, the Chicago White Sox are fashioning a new hat based on their top fan in chief, President Obama. The Sox (not to be confused with the Sawx, don't bother me Boston fans) are going to release two special edition hats with Obama tributes on the back and the side of the cap.

This post is part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst in Money 2008 feature.

As we undertake a hasty exit from the tumult of 2008 and plunge headlong into the mysteries of 2009, we might find it interesting to consider some business entities that could benefit from a little "freshening up." Four familiar names; Kmart, Playboy, Starbucks, and Wall Street, are each in need of a timely makeover, to varying degrees. But if you could chose just one of these big name operations to fix up for 2009, which one would it be, and how would you fix it?

First let's consider Kmart, the adopted son of Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD). What are the changes that Kmart might need to remain competitive going into 2009? Should the company try playing the boutique angle, which failed to work for Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT)? Should the company tighten up and consolidate, while pursuing a deeper product value play, or should it attempt to spread out its market coverage and work over its wholesale vendors, while engaging Wal-Mart in a game of cut-throat retail price points? If you were CEO of Kmart, what would you change?

RadioShack (NYSE: RSH), a company with a presence of through approximately 6,000 stores, closed at $21.45. RSH is expected to report EPS on 10/29. Sprint (NYSE: S) announced it expects a net loss of 337,000 post paid subscribers and lower annual revenue expectations. BMO Capital Markets say's "this is bad news for RSH as we estimate revenues related to S make up over half of wireless sales and over 15% of total revenues." RSH is expected to report EPS on 10/29. RSH November option implied volatility of 59 is above its 26-week average of 41 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risks.

Costco (NASDAQ: COST) is expected to announce 4Q EPS of 83 cents on 10/10. Wachovia (NYSE: WB) said on 10/8 "COST's outlook for margin should be one of the key issues in focus on Wednesday's call." WB has an Outperform rating on COST. COST October option implied volatility of 33 is above its 26-week average of 24 according to Track Data, suggesting larger fluctuations.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) vs. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT). As Georges Yared wrote in our Battle of the Brands special, Wal-Mart is the behemoth, and Target is a rising titan that could pose a substantial threat to its dominance. I've always thought of Wal-Mart as being the better logistics company, and Target is better at retailing and merchandising. Target's runaway success in fashion, and Wal-Mart's dismal failure provide evidence of this.

In March, I wrote about Target's hottest couture showing up on eBay, often at several times its retail price. Well Wal-Mart's latest foray into fashion won't be showing up on eBay, but you might be able to find it at your local dollar store sometime soon, as several hundred of the stores that stocked its Mark Eisen line have pulled it due to lack of consumer interest. Part of the problem was a lack of promotion, and most Wal-Mart shoppers don't know who Mark Eisen is. As portfolio manager Patricia Edwards told the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "Wal-Mart is so good at providing things based on price that I'm not certain they've yet grasped how to promote items that aren't solely based on price."

One of the problems I think Wal-Mart's having is that, without brand recognition, the products just aren't that great, or even that cheap. I don't buy clothing at Wal-Mart, but not because I'm a snob. You can usually get nicer stuff for less money at TJMaxx or Filene's Basement if you're willing to look around a little.

Target was able to come up with looks that were stylish and weren't available elsewhere. Wal-Mart's trying to compete on price in the fashion industry, and I think it's probably destined to fail.

Yesterday I visited a near by Gap store in 'up-scale' Santa Monica. When I walked in I was immediately disappointed by how down scale the store was. It was clean and bright and the sales people were helpful but there was little of interest to purchase and few customers too.

Actually, I was out for a lunch walk and the Gap store was on the way so I decided to see if they might have a nice simple shirt. As an architect and designer (dad was a tailor) I was wondering about their window displays before I entered. The Santa Monica store has seven large windows, each with mannequins wearing a reddish-mauve t-shirt with black jeans. The motif repeated in each window as if that was the only thing the Gap sold, or as if repeating the same thing over and over created something 'chic' or artistic -- I don't think so. It looked poor on product and ideas!

Since the crumpled, wrinkled, used, worn-out look is obviously in vogue you can be sure there was nothing for me. I can do that to my clothes by myself without anyone's help and without paying extra. Even notwithstanding my own personal taste, there were really very few products for sale, or variations on the theme even if one were looking for this type of wardrobe. I will not waste your time by enumerating the number of things that were not available that should have been, or could have been. I will simply point out that my impression was that this was a nice place with nice people and NO IDEAS and NO MERCHANDISE to choose from!

The women's section had more selection and the kids and baby offerings were only a little better.