Weekend Reading: Less Inflationary Heat

Good Sunday morning. 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 at the week ahead.

The markets continued their directionless dance. This week the major indices split the difference, with the Dow gaining 1.2% and the S&P 500 rising 0.23%, while the Nasdaq shed 0.03%. Click here for the weekly performance.

Looking ahead, it seems possible all three markets might go in the same direction. The weekend press offered mixed messages about Google, which will wash likely each other out. Lower oil and natural gas prices should be a bigger factor, lessening some of the inflationary heat in the economy. That, in turn, should keep rates under control and increase the likelihood that we're near the end of the current tightening cycle. ...