EDITOR S NOTE: Every day, countless stocks are placed in the spotlight around the web, from those highlighted in well-known columns like The Wall Street Journal s Heard on the Street to companies highlighted by influential bloggers. To save you time and point you to the most interesting picks, SmartMoney s StockScope highlights key stocks in focus each day.

Top News
PEP: Pepsi names new chief financial officer

WSJ
NKE: Nike is well-positioned to deal with margin pressure
PVH: Phillips-Van Heusen bets on sales growth with Tommy Hilfiger acquisition

NYT
AUXL, BSTC, PFE: BioSpecifics Technologies finally sees profits ahead from a drug that can straighten clenched fingers

Barron s
CNK: Cinemark execs selling shares, taking profits
VRSK, SCHW, RL, TIF, H: Fund manager s high-quality midcap picks

TheStreet
FLS, CFSG, BUCY: The three best machinery stocks
PEP, DMND, CAG: Food giants can drive growth by expanding healthy snack offerings
FDN, GOOG, NFLX, IACI, PNQI: Google headlines distract from long-term prospects for internet ETF

SmartMoney
HRB, KLAC, FLIR: 3 stocks that are tumbling this year

Bloomberg
GS, JPM, C, BAC, WFC: Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan use their market positions to demand more collateral from hedge funds

Reuters
BP: World is on track for oil-less economic growth

Motley Fool
GOOG: Risk of investing in Google has little to do with China

24/7 Wall Street
BAC, JPM, C, WFC: Does Dodd have the votes to pass bank reform?

CNBC
MWW, YHOO: One trader s big bet on operator of Monster.com

Seeking Alpha
VGQ: An inexpensive Canadian gold miner
PLTM, CU: Two new ETFs focus on platinum and copper miners