Now, as Italian investors ponder the deals, they are smarting from what they see.

If recent investors in American Dental Laser Inc. ponder that question, they need look no farther than the mirror.

Then, the dollar sagged again, as investors pondered the impact costlier oil could have on the fragile United States economy.

Market gauges fell as investors pondered what seems little better than an even chance that the Federal Reserve will cut short-term interest rates again next week.

Most other markets, including Hong Kong, were unsettled as investors pondered how to avoid getting caught in the backwash of the collapse.

As investors ponder this proxy battle, they can be cheered by yesterday's rise in tobacco stocks.

Those are the questions that many investors are pondering even as Tuesday's tumult looks more and more like a one-day wonder.

As investors ponder their hand, Mr. Lebedev is weighed down by more immediate worries.

AS 2006 recedes and investors ponder another round of amazing events in the business world, one theme keeps recurring.

With the future less certain, Mr. Cheney suggested that investors ponder how it may shape up.