Day 4 of the Warren Buffett European offensive, and expectations of an imminent bid have been managed down. Mr Buffett says he is not stalking targets, he wants companies that meet his criteria to call him. He even gave out his phone number on a number of occasions during the Lausanne press conference.

He's a man who knows how to charm a room and the European press seem to have overlooked a lack of detail and fallen for him. Such was the frenzy of the press pack waiting to welcome him in Madrid that a drinks waiter who brought his customary coca-cola into the briefing room minutes before the man himself arrived, was set upon by photographers. They soon realized the startled waiter was not Mr Buffett and he was free to pass.

The Spanish press welcomed him with a list of companies that they thought he should take a look at. (Buffett seemed more excited about his meeting with the Spanish King!), whilst the Italians focused on his view of the currency markets. He's no dollar bull, that's for sure.

And that seems to be part of the reason that he is here. He admits that he should have been shopping in Europe earlier, but not just because currencies have moved against him in recent years. He says he likes

Fresh retirees and those nearing retirement may well be keeping one eye on the stock market and the other turned toward the heavens, wondering why they're being tested like Job. The turmoil in the markets certainly causes suffering for all investors, but none more so than those who have started or are about to start tapping their portfolios for a lifetime of income.

A downturn just as you're about to reverse gears can seriously chew up your nest egg. If your $1 million portfolio suddenly plummets to $800,000, your carefully planned 4% annual withdrawal of $40,000 is squeezed to just $32,000. There goes that long-awaited trip to Rome.

Ask anyone who retired as the dot-com bubble burst: It's very difficult to regain your losses if you begin to draw on investments as the roller coaster takes a downward plunge. If you're about to reach for the antacids, hold off. For soon-to-be and recent retirees, there are some strategies you can employ that will make the roller-coaster ride a little less heart-stopping.

Our first piece of advice: Don't panic. Take a hard look at your asset allocation, cash flow and spending. But don't abandon the stock market -- selling off at a low point -- and move into cash or bonds, which are not exactly going gangbusters either.

"You don't want to be out of the market, and you don't want to time the market," says Philip Lee, a certified financial planner with Back Bay Financial Group, in Boston. Lee recalls one client who moved entirely into cash during the market swoon of 2001-02. "He missed participating in the market upswing of

Being "upside down" is usually a negative term when applied to financial matters, but multimillionaire Robert Shemin believes that sort of thinking is ... well ... upside down.

Shemin, author of "How Come That Idiot's Rich and I'm Not?" feels there are two positions when it comes to wealth: right side up and broke, or upside down and rich. Shemin prefers upside down. The best way to build and maintain wealth, maintains Shemin -- once considered the "least likely to succeed"-- is by breaking the rules you think and hear about when building wealth.

Following are eight rules worth breaking -- in upside-down order -- and what Shemin and other financial gurus have to say about them.

Diverging from the traditional mind-set may put you on the right course to riches.

8. Before investing, learn enough so that you're not going to make any mistakes
The problem here: Fear causes inaction, Shemin says. "Everything in life has a risk and a cost for doing it, and a risk and a cost for not doing it. Rich idiots focus on the risk of not doing something." In his experience, most people don't get started on stock market or real estate investing, or in estate planning, because they're so scared of making mistakes, they're overwhelmed.

"Of course you should expect to make mistakes when you start investing (or any time)," agrees Ramit Sethi. "But if you start with small amounts, any mistakes won't hurt you too bad. Plus, any mistakes can

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Clothing retailer Gap Inc. boosted its first-quarter profit by 40 percent despite a persistent sales slump that seems likely to deepen this summer as consumers scrimp on fashion to help offset rising gasoline and food bills.

The San Francisco-based merchant said Thursday that it earned 249 million, or 34 cents per share, during the three months ended May 3. That compared with net income of $178 million, or 22 cents per share, at the same time last year.

Revenue for the period fell 5 percent to $3.38 billion.

The earnings beat the average estimate of 30 cents per share among analysts polled by Thomson Financial. The revenue missed analysts' target of $3.42 billion.

"We are pleased with our first-quarter performance in what undoubtedly was one of the most difficult retailing environments in recent memory," Gap Chairman Glenn Murphy said in a conference call with analysts.

Gap shares gained 22 cents to finish Thursday's regular session at $18.29, then added another 36 cents in after-hours trading.

In a telling sign of Gap's misery, sales at stores open for at least a year dropped 11 percent -- the company's worst erosion yet during a downturn that has lasted nearly four years.

Gap's so-called same-store sales have now declined in 15 consecutive quarters, by far the retailer's worst