Innovation Update
Weekend Reading
Paul Kedrosky
01/07/07 - 03:48 PM EST
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 mixed week on the major markets, with the Nasdaq Composite
advancing and the other two major U.S. indices declining. Click here for the weekly performance.
So the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced on the week while the Dow
and the S&P 500 declined? The last time that happened was March of
2006, and the last time a year began that way was way back in -- you
guessed it -- 2000. While I wouldn't read too much into this, it still
speaks volumes about investors' newfound ardor for technology stocks,
which is certain to be a major theme in 2007.
Turning to economic indicators, next week will be a fairly busy
one. On Wednesday we will see the November trade balance, and on
Friday we will see December retail sales. Two Federal Reserve officials also plan to give speeches. On Monday, Vice Chairman Donald Kohn speaks in Atlanta, and on Thursday, New York Fed President Timothy Geithner appears at a New York event.
As for earnings reports, it should be fairly quiet, although market
participants will be watching closely for preannouncements for
fourth-quarter earnings. Companies scheduled to report include Genentech(DNA Quote)
, Alcoa(AA Quote)
and Samsung.
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Finally, here are some articles and papers worth reading:
- GM is set to announce a new effort to build an electric vehicle (but it requires a battery that won't be available until 2012). (The Wall Street Journal)
- Barclay's quants have built one of the pre-eminent hedge funds in the world. (Bloomberg)
- BP's Caspian pipeline is being criticized as risky and prone to leaks. (Bloomberg)
- The Ford family is pledging oodles of assets as collateral to secure the company's future. (Bloomberg)
- Gladwell on analyzing companies in an age of too much information. (The New Yorker)
- Books: P.J. O'Rourke reads Adam Smith (so you don't have to) in a well-reviewed new book. (Amazon.com)
- How being geographically large explains the U.S. policy response to climate change. (The New York Times)
- The financial benefits of CES tradeshow are unclear to everyone, except the conference organizers. (The New York Times)
- Record U.S. spending on consumer electronics in 2007. (Reuters)
- The greening of the Canadian oil sands. (Globe and Mail)
- Dollars and doldrums in Canada's tar sands. (The Washington Post)
- The impending glut of U.S. ethanol plants. (Christian Science Monitor)
- In an interview, U.S. attorney Kevin Ryan tips major option backdating actions to come. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- "H&Q" biotech conference this week in San Francisco is set to be big and market-moving. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Housing data yield a false sense of complacency. (Bloomberg columnist Caroline Baum)
- San Diego homebuilders cutting back for first time in a decade. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
- Central banker anti-inflationary zeal is causing global liquidity drain. (Bloomberg)
- Barron's tips Bed, Bath & Beyond and Tyco, and pans Medifast. (Barron's)
- Economic survey of the Euro area for 2007. (OECD)
- Gartner: Microsoft's Vista is not anywhere near done. (EETimes)
- Investing in distressed companies to be a performer again in 2007. (dailyii)
- Megadollar gambling showdown in Macau is underway. (Bloomberg)
- Research: Interesting new look at volatility and stock performance. (SSRN)
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