Searching For Direction

• Is the U.S. in recession — yes or no?

• Recession odds tick lower

• "Inflating our way out of trouble is tempting but it's another buy now, pay later strategy, both for the economy and investors." - James Saft

• Why all roads lead to inflation

• When should the Fed crash the party?

• Get ready for lots of Fedspeak this week

• Market psychology according to the NYSE TICK

• Beneath the action of the broad index is considerable sector rotation

• Navellier provides five reasons why sell in May and go away will not occur this year

• "Isn’t it amazing how fear has morphed into greed in a mere seven weeks, for now the cry on the Street of Dreams is about the new bull market that has emerged!" - Jeffrey Saut

• Risk management is becoming an art

• Bulls could drown on the river card

• More cash is flowing into money market funds

• For the first time since December 2005, futures traders are turning bullish on the dollar

• Beijing and Riyadh will call the shots on ailing dollar's future

• The week ahead according to the Financial Times

• First-quarter earnings season shifts to the retail sector this week

• "Since the beginning of 2006, 74% of the option expiration weeks have been positive (20 out of 27), but the average return was only +0.5%. Wednesdays have by far been the strongest day of the bunch, being up 78% of the time by an average of +0.5% - accounting for all of the points gained during expiration week." - Jason Goepfert

• Aren't stocks always at a critical level?

• How to tell if a rally is real

• Consumers feel pinched, but market isn't worried

• House prices need to fall by 10-15% over the next year and a half for the rent/price yield to return to its historical average

• Schwarzman’s subprime analogy

• The foreclosure crisis is hitting the self-storage center

• My favorite quote of the day: "It's either the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning." - Josef Ackermann

• GE makes a timely exit from the recreational vehicle & boat industry

• Experts dispute the notion that Americans have become cavalier about financial obligations

• The pawn shop indicator

• Banks and companies raised $20 billion on the world’s equity capital markets last week

• Meanwhile, more entrepreneurs are turning to controversial merchant cash advances

• Why does a bank need a meteorologist?

• An oil bubble to rival the internet boom

• "Buying oil has become a way for hedge funds, pension funds and other institutional investors to offset their exposure to dollar-based assets like United States stocks and bonds. And many traders have followed the market’s momentum, aggravating the trend." - Roger Diwan

• California's fascination with solar power has created thousands of jobs

• Ethanol fantasy fuels a food-price nightmare

• Oil costs are expected to offset stimulus package

• Debate over taxing oil profits grows

• Oil stockpile is only a drop in the bucket

• Tidal energy?

• Have you looked at the Baltic Dry Index lately?

• Peru & Russia could follow Brazil's higher rating

• Why emerging-market growth isn't always good for investors

• Busting the DRAM chip cartel

• Inside the Tata Nano Factory

• BlackBerry gets bold

• Apple, Google, & RIMM dominate the Nasdaq 100

• Americans are on the pot-holed highway to hell?

• Morgan Stanley's infrastructure fund rakes in $4 billion

• A peek at Pimco's long view

• What are today's megatrends?

• Corporate deal-making is a lot like dating and marriage

• Van K. Tharp makes a book recommendation

• The humbling travails of Bill Miller

• "These concentrated funds scare the hell out of me. Either the manager knocks it out of the park or he strikes out." - Brad Alford

• Hedge fund hits investors with an exit fee

• How some stock-fund managers stockpile dollars but still earn top returns

• The experts share their favorite stock picks

• Newsletters' love affair with Pfizer has been stormy

• Harry's momentum stocks

• Barron's 500

• Ask this question frequently - what would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

• Learn from my mistakes, Nick Leeson says

• Should you trade mechanically or with discretion?

• Combining price & volume to predict price movement

• Trading Gartley Patterns

• Another perspective on the COT report

• Jim Wyckoff's trading checklist

• When trading around earnings, you must avoid high-expectation situations

• Dividends don’t lie?

• When using the p/e ratio, look to the margins

• You don't have to be a client to access TradeStation's stock research

• New study finds workers make simple 401(k) mistakes

• Simple portfolios for complex times

• Ultra-short bond funds haven't been ultra-safe

• Measuring identity theft at the top banks

• Did you know that women are better at avoiding investment fraud?

• Tobu is a freeform information organizer

• Bruce Lee’s top 7 fundamentals for getting your life in shape

• "We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified." - Aesop