Weekend Reading: At Last, a Good Week

Good Sunday morning, and 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, a summary of some articles and books worth reading.

It was one of the best weeks of the year for the major U.S. markets. Lower oil and commodity prices, plus a higher U.S. dollar, led to gains all around in stocks. Specifically, the Dow and the S&P 500 gained 3.6% and 2.9%, respectively, during the week, while the Nasdaq ended the week up 4.5%.

It's hard to nail down a specific cause, other than lower oil prices, for the markets' surge this week. After all, both Fannie Mae(FNM Quote) and Freddie Mac(FRE Quote) turned in worse results than expected, as did AIG(AIG Quote). About the only material piece of stock-specific good news was that Cisco(CSCO Quote) didn't turn in bad news. Investors are simply of a mind to look past the current problems, it seems, and we are having a classic bear market rally.

Turning to economic indicators, on Thursday we will see the July consumer price index, which is expected to have risen 0.4%. On Tuesday we will see data on the June international trade deficit.

As for earnings, next week we will see a raft of retailers report, including Wal-Mart(WMT Quote) and Abercombie & Fitch(ANF Quote).

Finally, here are some articles and books worth reading:

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• An unnamed sovereign wealth fund is looking for U.S. properties at 50 cents on the dollar. (New York Post)
• PMI(PMI Quote) sees California and Florida weakening while most of nation's housing markets recover. (Los Angeles Times)
• The credit crunch one year on: Mission creep at the Fed. (The Economist)
• GE's(GE Quote) NBC Broadcasts Olympics via Cisco(CSCO Quote) Video Backbone. (eWeek)
• Why are economic forecasters so wrong, so often? (Slate)
• Global commercial property sales halved: study. (Reuters)
• Bill Miller laments losses, but is silent on strategy. (Fortune)
• Barron's picks American Water Works(AWK Quote) and Auxilium Pharmaceuticals(AUXL Quote) (Barron's)
• What did Americans watch on TV this summer? (Advertising Age)
• The U.S. pales badly in energy efficiency compared to Denmark. (The New York Times)
• US Tsy's Paulson says won't stay on past January. (Reuters)
• Intriguing read: Ahead of the curve: Two years at Harvard Business School. (Amazon.com)
• Also this: Traffic: Why we drive the way we do. (Amazon.com)
• Citi's(C Quote) turnaround plan isn't enough. (Fortune)
• Good profile of Citi analyst Meredith Whitney. (Fortune)
• Pilots complain airlines restrict fuel to cut cost. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• As the loonie falls, it's Canada's turn now. (Globe and Mail)
• How adventurer Bear Grylls manages his money. (Telegraph)
• UPS(UPS Quote) in talks with TNT about $15-billion takeover. (Bloomberg.com)
• The debt trap: Outside U.S., credit cards tighten grip. (The New York Times)
• Shiller: Crisis Averted. What of the Next One? (The New York Times)
• Google(GOOG Quote) believes $1 billion investment in AOL is crumbling. (SiliconValley.com)

 

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