Weekend Reading: Recessionary Headwinds

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 some articles and papers worth reading.

It was a poor week on the major markets, but it could have been much worse. It felt as if recession news, deepening credit problems and a general sense of malaise had us teetering on a market edge. The week ended with the Dow and S&P 500 down 3.0% and 2.8%, respectively, while the Nasdaq lost 2.6%.

Next week will see more recessionary headwinds. Without a doubt, data will increasingly show that we already are in a recession, which won't put investors in an upbeat mood. Then again, while such news isn't pleasant, it does remove a source of economic uncertainty and move the recession-related questions to "how bad" and "how long." That's a kind of progress, at least in market terms. At the same time, expectations are growing that we will see a 50-basis-point rate cut, perhaps as early as next week. ...