Weekend Reading

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.

Last week, the major U.S. indices ended their two-week losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3%, and the S&P 500 was up 1.1%. The Nasdaq Composite ended the week up 0.8%. It was a choppy week, and it's clear investors can't get the late-February selloff out of their heads.

Looking forward to next week, worries about the subprime mortgage market look set to continue. The major media is now all over this story, even though it was developing for at least six months. About the only news that might really trigger selling would be a New Century(NEW Quote) bankruptcy filing, and even that could be seen as a positive for subprime mortgage companies in general.

Turning to economic indicators, the government plans to release the February producer price index on Thursday. That will be followed Friday by the consumer price index. Also on Friday we will see March consumer sentiment numbers, as well as the Federal Reserve's February industrial production numbers. As always, market participants will keep an eye on oil prices. Many investors think that, in the absence of any truly bearish economic news, we are headed higher for a while yet.

As for earnings, the market will focus on the brokerage industry, as reports are scheduled from Goldman Sachs(GS Quote), Lehman Brothers(LEH Quote) and Bear Stearns (BSC Quote).

Other companies slated to report earnings next week include Kroger (KR Quote) and Revlon (REV Quote).

Finally, here are some articles and papers worth reading:

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• While subprime troubles may spread, some hedge funds are positioning themselves for a rebound. (The Economist)
• Crises in mortgage markets. (The New York Times)
• A U.S. recession remains unlikely. (Bloomberg columnist John M. Berry)
• Barron's picks Constellation(CEG Quote) and Synopsys(SNPS Quote). (Barron's)
• How Sears(SHLD Quote) is being recast as a hedge fund by Eddie Lampert. (The Washington Post)
• Buy the yen now. (Forbes)
• There may be a recession coming over that hill. (The Economist)
• Measuring the financial position of the household sector. (Bank for International Settlements)
• Low-end cellphones now cost a record low of $25. (EE Times)
• Waves in corporate events. (SSRN)
• Organic produce has been a mild success at best. (Reuters)
• Money manager Bill Miller's sitting tight on his subprime mortgage holdings. (Money)
• A modern history of investment booms. (Marc Faber)
• The split between equity research and banking holds -- but are investors better off for it? (Investment Dealers' Digest)
• The trouble with India. (BusinessWeek)
• The recent Fortress(FIG Quote) IPO made five fund managers billionaires. (Forbes)
• Diversification tends not to work when you need it most, as correlations rise. (The Economist)
• Nouriel Roubini is the new must-read bad boy of international economics. (The Washington Post)
• Yahoo! Finance message board content is more valuable than researchers thought. (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