Weekend Linkfest

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Four straight weeks of up! The Dow notched several records, advancing 19 of the past 21 sessions -- one of its strongest streaks since 1929. The industrials and the Nasdaq each gained 1.2% for the week, while the S&P 500 tacked on 0.7%. The Russell 2000 continues to lag and barely notched into the green this week. Depending on how the indices close Monday, monthly gains for April may be the best for the major indices in five years.

There are some speculative juices running: The semis grabbed about 9% in two weeks, while Amazon(AMZN Quote) tacked on 40% -- in two days!

Barron's Trader column has this tidbit:

"Institutional market confidence stands at the highest level since 1990, according to a Yale School of Management survey that asked respondents to gauge the odds of a market crash in the next six months. Meanwhile, the gap between institutional and individual confidence has widened to a historic chasm. This is 'the polar opposite of what prevailed late in the tech-bubble years,' notes Douglas Ramsey of the Leuthold Group."

This weeked, we're bringing you an experimental 2-part Linkfest. Today, I'll review the week that was, and tomorrow I'll look at the week ahead.

Let's get clicking!

INVESTING & TRADING

Some looks at the Dow's record-setting week

• Finding the Meaning in Dow 13000: "The stock market reached record highs this past week even as the government reported that economic growth slowed to its weakest pace in four years. Better-than-expected corporate earnings sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average past the 13000 mark for the first time on Wednesday. And reports that corporate earnings will improve as the year continues contributed to easing concerns about a slowdown that emerged when stock markets plunged in late February." (free in The Wall Street Journal)

• Bulls snorting over stocks, but not yet stampeding. (MarketWatch)

• The Dow May Be at Its High, but Its Performance Is Still Lacking: "... does that mean the stocks in the Dow have done better than those in the S.& P. index since the market peaked in 2000? Actually not. As can be seen in the accompanying charts, only half of the stocks in the Dow are higher than they were back then, while the number of rising stocks in the S.& P. is triple the number of losers." (The New York Times)

• One of the most talked about stories this week was the one in The New York Times on the compensation for some top-performing hedgies: Top Hedge Fund Managers Earn Over $240 Million.

• GE Shares Rally on Citigroup's Push for Unit Spinoffs: "General Electric Co. shares staged their biggest rally in more than four months after Citigroup Inc. analysts said the company should spin off NBC Universal, GE Money and the real-estate division. 'GE's size and complexity is working against investor interest in the stock and has contributed to further valuation erosion,' the analysts wrote." (Bloomberg)

• The Real-Estate Blame Game: The unlikeliest victims of the housing slump.

• Five Reasons to Think the Pound Will Get Stronger: "You need to be at least 40 to remember when the pound regularly traded at more than $2. It broke through that point last week for the first time since the U.K. was thrown out of the European exchange-rate mechanism in 1992. Most people view a $2 pound as a historical aberration and assume it is about to slide again, just as it has in the past. Think again. The British currency may go even higher -- perhaps to $2.50." (Bloomberg)

• Decoupling US and Global Markets?

• World passes by: "Toyota has overtaken General Motors as the world's largest automaker, selling the most cars in the first quarter. This news is significant because it exemplifies the waning role of the U.S. in the world as globalization takes hold. And it further highlights the long-term payoff of an ethically driven company." (MarketWatch)

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ECONOMY

The Wall of Worry continues to build:

• U.S. Economic Growth Is Slowest In 4 Years Amid Housing Slump. (If you lack a subscription to The Wall Street Journal, go to GDP = 1.3%.)

• Psst: Want to buy a better credit history?: "Companies are selling or renting access to improved credit by adding low-scoring borrowers as authorized users of credit cards belonging to those with stellar credit." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

• Consumers continue to support growth: "Consumers continued to spend as durable goods purchases rose 7.3 percent leading to an overall increase of 3.8 percent in personal consumption expenditures. Consumption contributed 2.66 percent to overall GDP whereas private investment took away 1.06 percent, primarily a result of the housing slowdown."

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HOUSING

• Home Equity Stalls: "After years of piling debt on their homes, Americans are becoming more cautious about using them as a piggy bank. A cooling housing market and higher interest rates have made homeowners more reluctant to tap the equity they may have built up in their residences. The amount borrowers owe on their home-equity lines of credit has slipped in the past six months, to $561 billion at the end of March, the first such decline since 1999, according to new data from Equifax Inc. and Moody's Economy.com Inc." (free in The Wall Street Journal)

• More on Mortgage Equity Withdrawals and Consumer Spending.

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TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

• Dell's Founder Is Rethinking Direct Sales: Michael S. Dell, the chairman and chief executive of Dell, who built his business by selling direct to his customers, is now thinking about changing the way the company markets its computers. 'The direct model has been a revolution, but it is not a religion,' Mr. Dell wrote in a memorandum sent on Wednesday to 80,000 Dell employees." Click here to view the memo. (The New York Times)

• Experts may have found what's bugging the bees. A fungus gets the blame.

• Vista, Office '07 drive up Microsoft's Q3 revenues: "The above numbers reflected a previous deferral of $1.67 billion of revenue and operating income, $1.14 billion of net income and $0.12 of diluted earnings per share, primarily related to the technology guarantee programs for Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office release. Excluding those deferrals would bring revenue growth down to 17 percent..."

• Quantum physics says goodbye to reality. Physics-heads out there should consider this quantum concept: Recent experimentation seems to support the idea that "reality" does not exist when we are not observing it.

• Lawmakers propose reversal of Net radio fee increases: "'You can't put an economic chokehold on this emerging force of democracy,' Inslee said in a statement e-mailed by a spokeswoman. 'There has to be a business model that allows creative Webcasters to thrive and the existing rule removes all the oxygen from this space.'" (CNET)

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MUSIC, BOOKS, MOVIES, TV, FUN!

• Weekend Jazz: Dexter Gordon.

• Ex-C.I.A. Chief, in Book, Assails Cheney on Iraq: "George J. Tenet, the former director of central intelligence, has lashed out against Vice President Dick Cheney and other Bush administration officials in a new book, saying they pushed the country to war in Iraq without ever conducting a 'serious debate' about whether Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to the United States." (The New York Times)

That's part 1. Tomorrow, we look at the coming week, including a roundup of the Sunday papers. You stay classy, San Diego!

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