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.

The major U.S. indices were off significantly last week. The decline got underway Tuesday, took a day off on Wednesday, and then continued on Thursday and Friday. The upshot was one of the worst weeks in years, with the various indices all off almost 5%.

While the decline was fairly widespread, worst hit was the financial sector, with nervousness about debt and credit causing some bond issues to be delayed. Other sectors, like technology, were much less affected, with Apple, Google and Garmin all up for the week. Overall, the market problems have wiped out this year's gains on London's FTSE index, while halving the returns on domestic indices.

Looking forward to next week, recent history suggests a rebound. Over the last ten years no significant weekly decline has been followed by a second week of significant decline. This could, of course, be the first one, but given improving global growth, reasonable domestic markets and a reasonably strong quarterly earnings season, investors will be hard-pressed not to try to find solace in purchasing a few stocks at newly lower prices.

Turning to economic indicators, it will be a busy week. On Tuesday we will get personal income and spending, the Chicago purchasing managers' index, and consumer confidence. Later in the week we have a manufacturing report from the Institute for Supply Management, plus data on pending home sales and July car and truck sales. Friday's likely to be the big day; that's when the government issues nonfarm payroll data.

As for earnings, next week we will see reports from General Motors, Disney and Procter & Gamble, among many others.

Finally, here are some articles, papers, and books worth reading:

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• Global growth forecasts revised upward to 5.2% in 2007. (IMF)
• Junk bond risk premiums have nearly doubled since June. (The New York Times)
• A $3 billion credit-related hedge fund is off 10% for the year. (The New York Times)
• Fun interview with Sumner Redstone, who says he's not dying so he needs no succession plan. (BusinessWeek)
• The U.S. is seeing home price deprecation greater than at any time since the Great Depression. (Bloomberg/Baum)
• The perils of pending global population decline. (The Economist)
• The rise of aesthetic medicine companies. (Boston Globe)
• The nuclear renaissance has turned sour for Cameco. (Globe and Mail)
• Even the hottest sectors, like natural resources, have badly lagging funds. (New York Post)
• Companies behind ubiquitous ad-running TV screens. (New York Post)
• Research: Is smart money really all that smart? (Journal of Finance)
• Research: IPO pricing and share allocation. (Journal of Finance)
• Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff are staking a $600 million Idaho resort. (Bloomberg)
• More than 200 companies target debt-saddled U.K. households. (FT)
• London real estate prices are still soaring, complete with $500,000 parking places. (Bloomberg)
• The Ronco bankrupty case may hinge on a porn star. (CFO)
• China has started to deploy its giant sovereign funds. (Telegraph)
• DRAM market plunged by 25% in the second quarter. (EE Times)
• Faster energy demand growth in second half of 2007. (EIA)
• Maria Bartiromo on Celebrity Jeopardy. (Dealbreaker)
• Can The Washington Post survive the current decline of newspapers? (Fortune)
• The valuation bear case on Google. (Fortune)

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