Coming Week: Searching for Sanity

Investors expect another volatile set of trading sessions next week, as they keep their sights pinned on decisions emerging from Washington and clues about how poorly the economy is faring.

Last week brought several trading days of bottom-searching and dead-cat bounces, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average traveled in a range of 1,265 points, from its high end to the low. The bears ultimately won, and the index closed out the week with a loss of more than 440 points, or 5%.

Several regulatory factors may come into play next week, as lawmakers grapple with how to handle the fate of troubled automakers GM (GM Quote), Ford (F Quote) and Chrysler, and the Federal Reserve considers even further cuts to its key rate target. ...