With the S&P 500 index now re-visiting levels not seen since 2004, it is no surprise that several great companies with long histories of earnings and dividend growth are getting down to some notable lows.

The transcript of the May 16, 2008 Ruane, Cunniff & Goldfarb Investor Day at the St. Regis Hotel, New York City. The transcript includes a lot of interesting questions about individual stocks.

Welcome to the September 2, 2008 edition of the Investing Carnival supported by the members of The Dividend and Value Investing Network - The Div-Net. This is the tenth edition of the Festival.

Walgreen Co is the largest U.S. retail drug chain in terms of revenues. It sells prescription and non-prescription drugs, beauty care, personal care, household items, candy, photofinishing, greeting cards, seasonal items and convenience foods. Linked here is a detailed stock analysis and commentary.

Like many other value investors, Bill Nygren’s performance has been hurt by owning financials and not owning energy. His Oakmark Fund fell 4%, and Oakmark Select Fund lost 7% during the second quarter. He has made YUM! Brands the largest position, and bought Bank of America and Walgreen.

Today, Walgreen (WAG) announced an 18.4% increase in the company's quarterly dividend. The new quarterly dividend equals 11.25 cents per share versus 9.5 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Notes by Michael Onghai of the May 16, 2008 Sequoia Fund Annual Investor Day.

A list of 5 interesting super-investor buys in the fourth quarter. Includes picks from Eddie Lampert, Mohnish Pabrai, Joel Greenblatt, and Warren Buffett.

I was looking at the front page of Value Investing News last night (October 17, 2007), and the New 52-Week Lows list jumped out at me. This list is packed with top quality companies, many of which have sustainable competitive advantages.