Ups & Downs

• It's time to pull back the curtain on Wall Street

• Wall Street cries out for another 50 basis point cut

• Existing home sales tumble 8%

• The housing slump really stinks

• But most think housing won't send us into a recession because of the Fed

• Chapter 13 filings gain in popularity because they halt foreclosures

• Countrywide to modify up to $16 billion mortgages

• Is making those modifications such a good idea?

• New bill allowing mortgage lawsuits is expected to stir fierce opposition

• In addition to rising insurance costs due to the California fires, I'm setting a timer to when I hear someone argue that this is good for homebuilders

• The time to buy homebuilders is right now?

• New credit storm clouds start to form

• Superfund faces hurdles in SIV bailout

• IMF head issues a stern warning

• Dirk provides an earnings checkup

• Only 15% of companies are raising their guidance

• The pseudo-science hurting markets

• Bespoke offers some perspective with their review of the largest point declines in the Dow

• A lot of people have been talking about the Hindenburg Omen. Here's the past performance of this signal between 1985 and 2005

• Insiders are still buying stocks

• Where's the insider buying among the microcaps?

• The bulls stay stubborn this week in the weekly investors intelligence poll

• They say the time to get really nervous is when the last bear turns bullish

• The strange timing of the Fox Business Channel launch

• Forget the BRIC, just focus on the three Cs: Credit, Commodity, and Currency

• What you can look forward to - more inflation & a lower dollar

• Consumer face record heating-oil bills

• How to build a bailout

• Bank lending jumps!

• Tis the season for Wall Street pink slips

• But the good times continue for hedge funds

• A hedge fund's stress test

• Are we blinded by the derivatives boom?

• Banks build wealth management to cater to mega-rich

• Wealthy investors expect to shift to alternatives

• Bear Stearns now has a crack at Asia

• The new silk road - rail links from China

• Chinese space program is another indicator of China's desire to build itself into a world power

• Credit squeeze could be harbinger of a Chinese crash

• Buffett says investors should be cautious on China

• And, Jim Rogers shifts more assets out of dollar to buy Yuan

• China's yuan gains past 7.5 to the dollar for the first time in more than a decade

• Capitalizing on the short the dollar mania

• Meanwhile, all is sunny for Spain

• It may just be me, but the Baltic Exchange Dry Index is looking a wee bit toppy

• To cure insurance woes, doctors try prepaid plans

• In addition to bombing Iran, Bush now wants to take over Cuba (anyone have some Cuba picks to share?)

• For the record, Bush is the biggest spender since LBJ

• The poker trend has finally peaked

• Value Line profits from patience

• Should you get your stock picks from the media? CXO runs the numbers

• All eyes and ears on VMware!

• Selling Riverbed down the river

• An interesting view inside Wal-Mart's effort to slash state taxes

• ModernGraham takes a gander at Coach

• For those who don't remember Pets.com, here's how 9 tech companies lost $2 billion dollars

• Lippert looks for companies that play off the growth of the Internet and IT, maintain strong barriers to entry, and have potential

• 3 bargain stocks according to Marty Whitman

• The latest picks from the gurus over at Marketocracy

• 5 brands loved by consumers but hated by investors

• 5 stocks the skeptics admire

• StockScouter's latest picks has a number of oil & gas stocks

• Stocks with the highest and lowest short interest

• A screen of dividend raising stocks

• Warren Buffett's top value stocks

• The mistake Warren Buffett never makes

• How to handle a hot tech stock

• Keeping losses small is an absolute must

• Knowing when to sell separates mere luck from skill

• Chris Perruna's position sizing & stop calculator spreadsheet

• The first day of the month phenomenon

• Is it possible to make three trades a year and not only make money but also to handily beat the market?

• Don't underestimate the importance of self-esteem when trading

• In addition to MSN's earnings calendar, Yahoo offers one as well

• ETFs on Morningstar's buy list

• Sell all your mutual funds!

• Mutual fund investors need to beware of large taxable distributions this year

• How to create phenomenal wealth over time

• However, money doesn't trump independence in my view and apparently I'm not alone

• Great wealth is overrated?

• A bear market for economics blogs?

• Blogs: the next takeover target?

• Financial software moves to the web

• More people are freezing credit reports

• yoonew - the stock market for sports tickets

• Par goes the neighborhood!

• Hedge fund billionaire Jeffrey Epstein's sex suit gets even more insane

• Rice-A-Roni!

• Health is wealth!

• 25 ways to pamper yourself!

• Need more time in your day? Here are 6 ways to get it

• Power breakfasts!

• Paid volunteerism gets popular

• The six mistakes of man according to Cicero

• "The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." - William James