Rosetta Stone, an Arlington-based language instruction company, plans to file an initial public offering this month, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It would be the first venture-capital-based IPO in six months.

The firm could raise as much as $106.3 million under its plan to offer 6,250,000 shares of common stock priced between $15 and $17 per share.

Another big CEO is forced out during the housing crunch and lowered earnings. Wachovia chief executive Ken Thompson was pushed out Monday as head of the nation's fourth-largest bank, following Stanley O'Neal at Merrill Lynch & Co. and Charles Prince at Citigroup Inc.

I just read an interesting post by Jennifer Yousfi of MoneyMorning.com on how we can find a little protection in these turbulent markets, Conglomerates.