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While Garmin's global-positioning gear can pierce the fog to pinpoint your location, the company's financial officers can't see through the murky economic scenario, and the electronics maker said Monday it would not offer guidance for its 2009 results until the clouds clear.

In the current climate, that, combined with a fourth-quarter earnings report that missed estimates by a nickel, wasn't so bad.

Investors were so impressed, they pushed Garmin's stock up 9.6%, or $1.46, to $16.63, in midday trading. That's still a far cry from the $120 level near which it peaked in 2007.

The highlight of the the quarter ending Dec. 27 was Garmin's ability to maintain margins, despite its sales falling by a fifth. It recorded a gross margin of 41.1%, down only modestly from 44.3% in the third quarter, and 41.8% in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Times have been tough for Garmin (nasdaq: GRMN - news - people ). Though its car-navigation systems were hot items for the 2007 holiday season, prices fell fast last year as consumers pulled back and spent their electronics dollars on laptops and televisions.

For the quarter, Garmin's sales totaled $1.0 billion, 20.0% below the $1.2 billion reported in the previous year's corresponding period, and just shy of the $1.1 billion Wall Street had forecast.

Earnings dropped 48.7%, to $157.7 million, or 78 cents per share, from $307.3 million, or $1.39 per share. Excluding foreign-exchange considerations, earnings only fell 93 cents per share, from $1.31 cents per share. That, however, was below the 98 cents analysts had predicted.

Earlier this month Garmin and Asustek Computer announced they will make phones based on global-positioning satellite technology, which is what powers Garmin's navigation devices

At no time in American history has it been more important to keep tabs on changes in the tax code--and believe us, plenty are on the way.

Dealing with the impending deluge won't be fun, but better to be prepared and sulking than caught off guard and suddenly short of cash. Meanwhile, there are plenty of moves to make before the end of the year--and certainly by next April.

Assuming your business runs on a calendar year and you want to cut this year's tax bill, you have three basic options: collect less money from customers, increase expenses or both. To what degree you do any of these should depend on how much cash you need today--and what you think President-elect Obama and company have in store for the tax code down the road. (That second part matters a lot to entrepreneurs looking to pass on their fortunes to the next generation.)

In Pictures: 11 Tax Moves To Make Right Now

Have questions about running your small business better? Go to the Forbes.com Small Business Exchange and ask our cadre of experts.

If you keep your books on a cash basis, every penny you collect before Dec. 31 will be taxed in April; likewise, every penny you spend will reduce taxable income and shrink your tax bill in four months.

If you keep your books on an accrual basis--meaning that you match revenues and expenses regardless of the timing of cash flows--you have a bit more flexibility. With big changes to the tax code on the way, "clients are asking more questions about the timing of income than ever before," says Mark Nash, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Timely tips for calculating the right pay package for big decision-makers.

In Pictures: How To Calculate What Key Employees Are Worth

With the economy tanking and unemployment nearing 7%, it's a buyer's market for firms lucky enough to be hiring. The challenge: landing loyal talent without going broke in the process--either by losing valuable hours rooting through piles of résumés or dangling profit-sapping salaries.

"A buyers' market doesn't mean that it's any easier," says John Younger, chief executive of Accolo, a Larkspur, Calif., staffing company for the software industry. "Hiring tends to consume more resources than it did before. You place an ad on Craigslist and get people bugging you for weeks."
So what are key decision-makers really worth? Unfortunately, there is no one formula that transcends industries and business cycles. Tackle the problem in logical steps, though, and you can increase your odds of earning a solid return on that important player. Potential applicants can learn a thing or two from this process, too.

Like everyone else, Warren Buffett's equity portfolio, year-to-date, has sustained serious damage. Not to worry! Unlike headmen at banks, brokerage houses and insurance conglomerates, nobody's throwing Warren out of his house (I assume no mortgage) and dumping his chattels on the sidewalk.

The heart of Berkshire Hathaway's (nyse: BRK - news - people ) portfolio hardly changes decade over decade, because its low cost basis makes harvesting prohibitive. Why should Buffett singlehandedly cure the Treasury's deficit with his capital gains levies?

Berkshire's equity portfolio exceeded $50 billion at September's end. The 12 largest positions totted up to $48 billion. The top three holdings, $22 billion worth, remain Coca-Cola (nyse: KO - news - people ), Wells Fargo (nyse: WFC - news - people ) and Procter & Gamble (nyse: PG - news - people ). Huge winners, but Buffett got into P&G when it acquired his legacy holding, Gillette. I'm not sure how happy Buffett is with P&G, but, again, why pay billions in capital gains taxes?

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Wells Fargo is a survivor among the five largest banks in the country, more than you can say for Wachovia (nyse: WB - news - people ), which Wells swallowed, edging out Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ). I owned a lot of Bank of America (nyse: BAC - news - people ) but whittled it down over concern about earnings power next year. All banks could be setting aside inadequate reserves for loan losses on mortgages, credit card receivables and commercial and industrial loans, but the Citigroup bailout suggests that the biggest survive but do not necessarily prosper.

When I drill down into Berkshire's top 10 holdings, some are relatively new positions. ConocoPhillips (nyse: COP - news - people ) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (nyse: BNI - news - people ) together account for $9 billion of the portfolio, and they're problematic today. Railroad car loadings are fading fast as the recession bites into industrial production, inventories and commodity shipments.