Weekend Reading: Back to Work

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 articles and papers worth reading.

Even though it turned around somewhat toward the end, it was a fairly icky week. Worries about Fannie Mae(FNM Quote - Cramer on FNM - Stock Picks) and Freddie Mac(FRE Quote - Cramer on FRE - Stock Picks), fanned by last weekend's Barron's article, set the market spinning downward on Monday, and it took until midweek before traders found something else upon which to fixate. By then, however, the damage had been done and the Dow and the S&P 500 ended the week down 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.5%.

Next week looks set to be eventful. We are coming to the end of summer, and volumes are likely to start climbing over the next two weeks as traders return from their holidays. There is a sense out there that a game of chicken is being played between the markets and Treasury and the Federal Reserve over Fannie and Freddie, and it currently feels like regulators have lost: Something needs to happen.

Turning to economic indicators, we have July existing-home sales due Monday, and then the S&P Case-Shiller home price figures on Tuesday. On Thursday we will receive preliminary second-quarter GDP, and it's expected to come in at an annualized 2.7%, up from 1.9% in the first quarter.

As for earnings, next week is fairly quiet for U.S. index members. The main stocks of interest will be a spate of Canadian banks, a few U.S. retailers (like Williams-Sonoma(WSM Quote - Cramer on WSM - Stock Picks) and American Eagle(AEO Quote - Cramer on AEO - Stock Picks)), plus a long list of Chinese companies.

Finally, here are some articles and papers worth reading:

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• Reliability of oil supply, demand forecasts challenged. (Oil & Gas Journal)
• More road kill coming on the credit crunch highway. (Bloomberg)
• Barron's compares Obama/McCain's tax plans, and interviews Byron Wien. (Barron's)
• The impact of news on long-term yields. (Federal Reserve)
• EIA forecasts oil in the $120-$130 range for balance of year. (EIA)
• U.S. and Global Economies Slipping in Unison. (The New York Times)
• Securitization isn't going away, even if credit crisis has been a surpise in its severity. (IDD)
• Denmark leads the list of the world's happiest countries. (BusinessWeek)
• Here is hoping Nouriel Roubini is proven wrong. (Bloomberg)
• There are good reasons to think inflation is peaking. (Bloomberg)
• Will America follow Japan into a decade of stagnation? (The Economist)
• People's Bank of China buys stake in Prudential. (Telegraph)
• Home buyers hold fate of U.S. economy. (Reuters)
• View of economy somber from Fed mountain retreat. (Reuters)
• U.K. banks face double property crash. (Reuters)
• Tudor Jones' new quant fund turning in standout numbers. (New York Post)

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