Weekend Reading: Time to Nibble on Stocks?

Welcome to another edition of Weekend Reading. First, a look back at the week that just finished, then a look forward to the week ahead, and, finally, some articles and papers worth reading.

It was a typically wacky week on the markets, with stocks alternately soaring and tumbling as investors flipped between worrying about a recession and worrying they were missing the market's bottom. When it was all over, the major markets ended the week higher, with the S&P 500 and the Dow gaining 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.7%.

Looking ahead to next week, it feels as if we could see higher levels. Although the worst is far from over for mortgage markets and financial stocks, and there seems to be little doubt that the economy slid into recession in the latter part of December, investors are busily looking past most of this (so long as there's no more calamitous news). There are still many risks, including the continued unwinding of bond insurers, but even so, investors -- expecting the parts of the economy that are doing well to continue to do so -- seem set to pick up food and agriculture stocks, some broken financials and even some select technology companies.

Turning to economic indicators, on Tuesday we will see the National Association of Home Builders' builder sentiment index, which is expected to be flat. On Wednesday we will see the consumer price index for January, which is expected to rise 0.3%. Also Wednesday, we will see the minutes from Jan. 29-30 Federal Reserve meeting, which could move the market. Finally, on Thursday the Philadelphia Fed will release its February business activity index.

As for earnings, things are settling down a little, but even so, earnings reports from Hewlett-Packard(HPQ Quote - Cramer on HPQ - Stock Picks) and Wal-Mart(WMT Quote - Cramer on WMT - Stock Picks) on Tuesday could be market-moving.

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• Barron's picks Wells Fargo(WFC Quote - Cramer on WFC - Stock Picks), AIG(AIG Quote - Cramer on AIG - Stock Picks) and tech, and pans China listings and a Microsoft(MSFT Quote - Cramer on MSFT - Stock Picks)/Yahoo!(YHOO Quote - Cramer on YHOO - Stock Picks) merger. (Barron's)
• High-end home sales soar in Bay Area. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• I'm about to pay way too much for a house, and I know it. Does that make me a fool? (Slate)
• Sidelined home buyers frozen by fears. (Reuters)
• Shades of gray amid a bleak view of housing prices. (Los Angeles Times)
• TV switch to digital may help cable business. (The Boston Globe)
• This Week In Petroleum. (EIA)
• Novel mathematical model predicts new wave of drug-resistant HIV infections in San Francisco. (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News)
• China Mobile says 400,000 Apple(AAPL Quote - Cramer on AAPL - Stock Picks) iPhones are using its network. (Apple 2.0)
• Airline profits threatened by credit crisis. (Reuters)
• Fed Governor Mishkin says Fed will continue to act decisively. (Reuters)
• Credit auction market is next to face big test. (The New York Times)
• Nice graphic of 50 years of market swings. (Fortune)
• SEC Probes Dozens of Subprime Lenders. (CFO.com)
• China's trade surplus boomed (again) in 2007. (Bloomberg)
• Action needed to avoid oil crisis, Hess(HES Quote - Cramer on HES - Stock Picks) chief says at CERA conference. (Oil & Gas Journal)
• Watching the hedge fund detectives. (IDD)
• Books: Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions. (Amazon.com)
• Henry Paulson as economic policy sales skills are being tested. (Bloomberg)
• Cross-holdings muddy Yahoo, Microsoft drama. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• More illegal immigrants are rushing to file taxes. (The Boston Globe)
• Silicon Valley is embracing solar power in a major way. (The New York Times)
• Corporate earnings are set to surge in 2008, or so say equity analysts. (The New York Times)
• Yale's David Swensen preaches the gospel of simplicity. (The New York Times)
• Learning in the Credit Card Market. (NBER)
• Rare Disasters and Exchange Rates. (NBER)
• Estimating the Impact of Climate Change on Crop Yields: The Importance of Nonlinear Temperature Effects. (NBER)
• Northern Rock to be nationalized. (FT)
• A caller is hoaxing way onto company earnings calls and faking analyst speak. (The Wall Street Journal)

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