Shares of Heartland Oil & Gas exploded in value this morning after the company released some promising news regarding its latest project. The price of company stock hit $0.021 (up from $0.015) on more than 75 million shares traded, marking its highest point since the second week of May.

The release pertained to successful pressure tests conducted on the company’s four-mile methane pipeline in Southeast Kansas, expected to double Heartland’s production in the region upon completion.

“We put the necessary pressure into the pipeline and found no leaks along its entire length,” said Augie Soto, COO of Aztec Well Services, Heartland’s contractor on the project, “The four road crossings and 2 creek crossings were our greatest concern and they held without any problems. The 8 inch main is tied into the 12 inch main and the pipeline is secure all the way to the sales meter. We will begin installation

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ESPRE Solutions, Inc. is billed as a video media solutions company, and has been making significant headway in that arena over the last few months. The company’s revolutionary video compression codec, LSVX™, was recently enlisted by Baidu.com, China’s largest search engine.

Shares of ESPRE experienced an impressive surge in price today (June 16th), as a result of this morning’s news that the company has received official approval for listing on the OTC: Bulletin Board. “This acceptance on the OTC:BB marks the successful completion of a concerted effort to achieve the sounder listing and trading platform for our shares that our shareholders have been seeking,” remarked Peter Lanace, ESPRE’s CEO.

The company became fully reporting in January of this year, with the hope that a Bulletin Board listing would come to fruition. Now a reality, the added transparency afforded by the switch will likely increase investor confidence, resulting in a greater innate

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Financial Field Day today. Wachovia Corporation's (NYSE:WB) Ken Thompson is out and Kerry is next to go at WaMu. When your company stock falls 57% in one year, its over. More from Forbes.com: The board of the Charlotte-based bank said it asked Thompson to leave a few days ago, and acted Sunday to replace him on an interim basis with Chairman Lanty Smith. Smith replaced Thompson as chairman last month in a move the bank said "strengthens independent leadership" at the company. But several analysts on Monday questioned if Thompson's ouster means more problems at Wachovia, a bank that has weathered a series of setbacks, including mounting losses and federal investigations, in recent months. They also speculated that Wachovia could be a takeover candidate, though the bank said Monday that it plans to remain independent. "Golden West doesn't help," said Nancy Bush, an independent analyst with NAB ...

The book, The Intelligent Portfolio: Practical Wisdom on Personal Investing from Financial Engines by Christopher L. Jones, is a very comprehensive book which covers risk versus rewards, past performance versus future expected returns, market timing versus long term investing, and investing in individual stocks versus investing in mutual funds. He also discusses diversification, fees and expenses, and the tax consequences of investing. All of his recommendations are backed up with extensive research and presented in an easy-to-understand manner. The following is an excerpt from his book about retirement investing: An Unnecessary Gamble The Biggest Mistake in Retirement Investing By Christopher L. Jones Author of The Intelligent Portfolio: Practical Wisdom on Personal Investing from Financial Engines One of the most common mistakes made in the retirement investing world, particularly among 401(k) participants, is over-concentration in an employer's stock. In an analysis of more ...