Weekend Reading: Results or Economics

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.

Whoops, I was wrong. I expected the post-hurricane third-quarter results rally to continue a little longer, and it didn't. The major markets fell last week, with the Dow and the S&P 500 losing 2.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite off 2.9%. It was an unpleasant week on the markets. Click here for the weekly performance.

We are in a maze of twisty little economic passages, all alike. With the Dow back below the 10,300 mark, we are back to where it was in December 2003, and where it was in mid 2004. And again in the spring of 2005. We aren't going much of anywhere in the markets, and we haven't been for some time. The current culprit has been hawkish Federal Reserve statements about higher-than-expected inflation, and while I'm still optimistic that third-quarter results will cause at least a slight rally, there's no denying that the headwinds for the market have gotten even stronger.

Turning to the economic week ahead, perhaps the biggest release will come Friday with the release of September consumer price inflation numbers. On that same day, we also see September retail sales figures, plus the University of Michigan is set to release its preliminary consumer sentiment survey for October. Whew, busy day.

With any luck, however, the market will be more focused on earnings next week than on economics. Here are some of the companies scheduled to report next week: Alcoa (AA Quote), General Electric (GE Quote)and Apple Computer (AAPL Quote)(which is set to release fourth-quarter figures on Tuesday).

Finally, here are some articles and papers worth reading:

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• Stocks face high risk of a declining decade (Bloomberg/Currier)
• The major markets are stuck in a rut (Washington Post)
• The risks of risk aversion (Smith Barney)
• Bird flu is driving some biotech stocks (Reuters)
• Inflation at highest in five years (Reuters)
• Oil futures prices hit two-month low (O&G Journal)
• ESPN gets double coverage (BusinessWeek/Bloomberg Markets)
• De Beers and the billion-dollar diamond quest in northern Canada (Bloomberg Markets)
• A detailed look at the fall of Alberto Vilar (Bloomberg Markets)
• Barron's picks Wal-mart, but pans commercial real estate (Barron's)
• The Chinese economy is rapidly turning into a drag on commodity prices (Economist)
• The instant messaging market is set to double (Messaging Pipeline)
• Research: A major reason why wealthy people don't invest in the market is that they don't trust it (NBER)

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