Weekend Reading: Countervailing Winds

Good Sunday morning and welcome to Weekend Reading. As always, here are some articles and papers worth reading. First, however, a look back at the week that just finished, and a look forward to the week ahead.

It was a slightly downbeat week for the major markets. After wandering in circles all week, the Dow and the S&P 500 lost 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2%. New inflation data had investors nervous that rate increases weren't done, and there were more signs that the U.S. housing sector won't see a uniformly soft landing. Click here for the weekly performance.

Will we see a more upbeat mood next week? Oil prices slid 4% last week, and some traders are calling for a continued slide in the commodity, including Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Management, who told Bloomberg that we could see $50 oil within twelve months. If we can make it through the coming week without more reminders of how crummy the housing market is -- and there's no denying that housing is a market fixation -- it's even possible the major indices could end higher.

Turning to the economic week ahead, we will see August retail sales Thursday. Other data next week include a preliminary September figure for consumer sentiment, due Friday.

Turning to earnings, we will see reports from Goldman Sachs (GS Quote) and Lehman Brothers(LEH Quote), both of which are expected to turn in weak results. We will also see reports from Best Buy(BBY Quote), Kroger(KR Quote) and Campbell Soup(CPB Quote).

Finally, here are some articles and papers worth reading:

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• Fascinating data on the decline in home flipping in San Jose. (Altos Research)
• OPEC has a unified front on output. (Reuters)
• ImClone looks set to lose a patent battle over Erbitux. (Fortune)
• The option backdating scandal is hitting Gap, Home Depot, and Sharper Image. (CFO.com)
• Boutique technology I-banks are considering going public. (Investment Dealers' Digest)
• Intel has spent a billion dollars on WiMax. (Bloomberg)
• Prices lead wages, not the other way around. (Bloomberg columnist Caroline Baum)
• Barron's tips Symantec. (Barron's)
• The bin Laden trail is "stone cold". (The Washington Post)
• Does an inverted yield curve still matter? (Economist.com)
• Online betting in the U.S. is in a tailspin. (Economist.com)
• Does God want you to be rich? Maybe. (Time)
• Retail gas prices this year have been like a summer rollercoaster. (EIA)
• Cisco is more dependent on optical components than investors think. (Nyquist Capital)
• Research: Returns to currency speculation seem high, but are they? (NBER)
• Research: The factors that attract U.S. shareholders to foreign listings. (NBER)
• Research: Equity hedge funds' styles drift, and then drift some more. (SSRN)

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