Weekend Reading: Mixed Bag

Good Sunday morning. Here are some articles and papers worth reading. First, however, a look back at the week that just finished, and a look forward at the week ahead.

It was a mixed week last week for the major markets, with two of the three declining. It also was the first week of losses after five weeks of gains. The Dow and the S&P 500 lost ground, falling 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, while the Nasdaq gained 0.5%. Click here for the weekly performance.

Opinion is mixed on the coming week, with some feeling like it wouldn't be too surprising to see a flat or even slightly down market as November's large gains soak in. But sentiment remains unchanged that December will see more gains for the markets, even if the first full trading week isn't outstanding. There is a feeling that companies will surprise positively, including bellwether technology firms like Intel (INTC Quote - Cramer on INTC - Stock Picks), and that consumers, while bowed somewhat by higher energy prices, are not yet bent. The only potential looming threat to consumers is that it is obvious to anyone paying attention that the largest real estate boom (bubble?) in U.S. history is now over. The consequences will take some time to reveal themselves, however.

Turning to the economic week ahead, we are due to see the Institute for Supply Management's nonmanufacturing numbers on Monday, productivity figures and factory orders on Tuesday, consumer credit data on Wednesday and a consumer sentiment report on Friday.

Next week is fairly quiet on the domestic earnings front. Here are some of the companies expected to report results: Sears (SHLD Quote - Cramer on SHLD - Stock Picks), Kroger (KR Quote - Cramer on KR - Stock Picks), and Costco (COST Quote - Cramer on COST - Stock Picks). We will also have updates from Intel and Coca Cola (KO Quote - Cramer on KO - Stock Picks).

Finally, here are some articles and papers worth reading:

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• Could Craigslist turn the newspaper classified market into ashes? (Fortune)
• The best (and craziest) investments in recent history (Fortune)
• Hedge funds represent $25-billion in revenues to Wall Street, but they mostly have Wall Street worried (IDD)
• The biggest lesson from MySpace's rapid rise is that consumers are as fickle as ever (BusinessWeek)
• How Societe Generale became the kingpin of derivatives (Bloomberg Markets)
• A close look at David Swensen, the top-performing Yale endowment portfolio manager (Bloomberg Markets)
• Books: Swensen's latest book on investing is a good read (Amazon)
• Books: The Origins of Value is a great Chistmas book for investors on your list (Amazon)
• Barron's picks Fossil, Coach, and CVS, and pans Gap (Barron's)
• We are awash in capital and it is leading fitfully toward lower returns (William Bernstein)
• Despite heavy advertising promotion (and buckets of spam), sales of anti-impotence drugs have stalled (The New York Times)
• How drug companies are being gouged by uniform prices and one-payer systems (Forbes)
• Traditional retailers are doing far better online than many predicted (The Economist)
• Converging foreign and domestic accounting standards could catch many U.S. companies by surprise (CFO Magazine)
• Lunch with Prince Alaweed, uber-investor, happens at 6:30pm and involves uniting the world (The Financial Times)
• The bizarre world of Patrick Byrne's Overstock (The Register)
• The controversies continue over infant vaccines, despite the preponderance of evidence that there is no controvery at all (Boston Globe)
• There will be no Bush-driven push for comprehensive tax reform until 2007 or 2008 (Time)
• The Vice Fund is having performance troubles, despite its focus on "booze, bets, butts, and bombs" (Institutional Investor)
• G7 ministers calls for more flexibility in China's exchange policies (G7)

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting