Kirk's Daily Briefing

• We're grinding around a bit this morning as some pros take their profits and gear up for a far less quiet trading environment


• Wal-Mart reports smallest profit gain in 4 years


• Some consumers aren't feeling so festive


• "Bulls have been feeling pretty bulletproof due to the combination of the "calendar" and what I refer to as the "no-news period." - Bill Fleckenstein


• The Week Ahead


• There's opportunity in emerging markets if you know what you're doing


• The Great Global Buyout Bubble


• A future water shortage?


• Currency traders are the most bullish on the dollar in five months


• The price of copper tells us almost everything we need to know about the global economy?


• Ben Stein takes a look at cement, steel, and stocks


• Most Americans now see China as an economic superpower in 10 years. My view? They already are!


• The coming disaster in the derivatives market


• Donations to hurricane victims are likely to surpass 9/11 contributions


• "Investing in knowledge pays the best interest." At least that is what my fortune cookie said at a lunch over the weekend


• Morningstar names the best five new funds of 2005


• A return that a rational investor can expect is 6% to 7% according to the Leuthold Group


• So long pensions, hello management fees


• Even index funds must be used wisely


• Women are better investors according to a recent Merrill Lynch survey


• A new hedge fund for the masses


• For financial advice, even pros look to pros


• Why do stocks get cheap?


• Aligning the head with the heart is key for traders


• Standard of living soars in India


• Big pharma's big headache


• Airlines are at the beginning of a massive boom?


• 3D TV coming to a living room near you


• An interesting look at Paul Jacobs at Qualcomm (QCOM)


• Nearly everyone I know is bullish on Motorola (MOT)


• Uncertain Q4 looms for electronics industry


• Will the on-demand revolution work? Some think so


• Stocks on my trading radar include SFUN, CMED, CTHR, ANTP, NEON, RSTI, ARXT, CUTR, AVII, CPTS, WGO, IDSY, MNTA, INLD, HOM, NMTI, QSII, TSCM, & LPSN


• Standard & Poor's goes stock screening with three lesser-known measures


• The fastest-growing, top-rated companies according to IBD


• "If trading were easy, it would be called winning, not trading." - Daniel Rosenblum


• Many traders prefer using options, but I don't


• Do you like investing & trading IPOs? Forbes has uncovered some useful data


• Another day, yet another new tech ETF


• It's true: Churchgoers are wealthier


• Look who's blogging now: senior citizens


• Six months of emergency cash? Get real!


• In selling a home, price is everything


• The iPod is no longer cool


• Quick & easy Christmas gift returns? Not this year!


• Gift cards have gone from cold to gold in the last five years and some think they're inappropriate for children


• More people are giving experiences as holiday gifts


• Wikipedia's popularity grows


• How easy is identity theft? Very easy!


• Coffee is the new health drink?


• The Mind Reader


• "Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds. - Orison Marden