Karatz: Out of sight...

Just before the closing bell, KB Home was up more than 2 percent. Yes, that's the same KB Home whose CEO Bruce Karatz "retired" after the company's independent investigation found that Karatz's stock option grants had been improperly backdated. Wall Street is looking at the "retirement" as lifting the cloud that has been hanging over the company for months. It also tells federal investigators that KB has responded to the nasty business instead of just hoping for the best. Said Raymond James analyst Jim Wilson: "The recent precedent at companies is if you've done something clearly wrong that you presumably knew was wrong - even though it may not have been technically illegal at the time - then the appropriate thing is to resign."