To truly understand the peculiar nature of the department store business, consider that Sears could outlive Macy's, at least as an independent company.

When Tony Earley was asked recently to identify the most serious issue facing the nation's giant utilities in the next 20 years, the answer was easy. It is, Pacific Gas and Electric Co.'s CEO wrote, "the huge need for investment in basic infrastructure, from pipes and power lines to poles, transformers and more."