Weekend Reading: You Can't Deny This

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

It was an unhappy and volatile week on the major markets. Indices oscillated madly, only to end the week markedly down. The Dow and the S&P 500 ended down 4.2% and 3.9%, respectively, while the Nasdaq lost 4.3%. Given the markets' recent volatility, these may seem like small numbers, but they aren't. One should not overlook the damage the continuing swings are inflicting on companies, markets and confidence.

Last week was when the last puff of air went out of the "no recession" balloon of hope. Big increases in joblessness and the continuing collapse in manufacturing tipped things over, and the nitwits who are still denying things have no data left to use. Markets have now moved to worrying about the length and severity of the recession, and they are likely to be disappointed on both fronts. As I have written for some time, this is unlike any recent recession. It's also different from the Great Depression in meaningful and important ways. It will play out along its own long trajectory, with the outcome likely to be a weak recovery, at best, followed by commodity inflation and more highly regulated global trade. More on this in a future column.

Turning to economic indicators, next week will include the government's report on retail sales in October (due out Friday) and weekly numbers on jobless claims in the U.S. Both reports will, of course, be awful.

As for earnings, retail will be the watched group, with Wal-Mart(WMT Quote), JC Penney(JCP Quote), and Kohl's(KSS Quote) all reporting. The key will be Wal-mart, which because of its low prices has been seen as the best play in a downturn. If it guides to lower sales going forward, however, then all bets are off.

Finally, here is a look at some articles and papers worth reading:

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• Big increase in the number of early-stage life sciences firms with less than a year of cash. (IDD)
• Barron's pans Raymond James Financial(RJF Quote) and picks commodities. (Barron's)
• IMF Urges Stimulus as Global Growth Marked Down Sharply. (IMF)
• Why blue-chip corporate bonds should be on your radar. (Globe and Mail)
• Qualcomm(QCOM Quote) leaps into top 10 among chip suppliers. (EE Times)
• George Soros on the Crisis & What to Do About It. (The New York Review of Books)
• The 'Catch 22' of consumer credit. (Christian Science Monitor)
• Italy next to bail out banks. (Times of London)
• Why Obama has to take over economic policymaking -- now. (Slate)
• China launches massive fiscal stimulus program. (Bloomberg)
• France proposing unnerving protectionist programs. (Bloomberg)
• Special report on the future of energy. (Forbes)
• Behind the scenes at Saudi Aramco. (Forbes)
• A Brief History of Energy Boondoggles. (Forbes)
• Euro worries persist. (Globe and Mail)
• Nobel Laureate's Fund Halts Withdrawals. (The Washington Post)
• Google(GOOG Quote) at 10 -- Searching Its Own Soul. (The New York Times)
• Mankiw: Obama needs to be an economic moderate. (The New York Times)
• Bernstein: Obama must focus on households. (The New York Times)
• Shiller: Obama must work on solving income inequality. (The New York Times)
• Blinder: Capitalism is not a spectator sport. (The New York Times)
• Frank: Time for a progressive consumption tax. (The New York Times)
• Jim Chanos' year in the sun. (New York Post)
• Great Depression memorabilia are about the only growth industry. (BusinessWeek)
• Mitt Romney on Obama's challenges. (Fortune)
• Rehabilitating credit-default swaps: Fix them, don't kill them. (The Economist)

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