Weekend Reading: Countervailing Winds

Good Sunday morning and welcome to Weekend Reading. 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 to the week ahead.

It was a slightly downbeat week for the major markets. After wandering in circles all week, the Dow and the S&P 500 lost 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2%. New inflation data had investors nervous that rate increases weren't done, and there were more signs that the U.S. housing sector won't see a uniformly soft landing. Click here for the weekly performance.

Will we see a more upbeat mood next week? Oil prices slid 4% last week, and some traders are calling for a continued slide in the commodity, including Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Management, who told Bloomberg that we could see $50 oil within twelve months. If we can make it through the coming week without more reminders of how crummy the housing market is -- and there's no denying that housing is a market fixation -- it's even possible the major indices could end higher. ...