Hope Floats

• Stocks kick off second-half with a win

• A wild ride so far

• A slip in consumer confidence

• Wall Street's fear gauge

• Stock market sentiment according to Google Trends

• Obama presents bill to create consumer-finance watchdog

• New financial commission is stuck

• Is the Fed still independent?

• Auditing the Fed

• Central Banks at work

• Risk of raising rates too late

• Spending on lobbying and compaign contributions this year

• A company getting a charge from your tax dollars

• 10 things your congressperson won't say

• Stimulus spending per person shows disparity

• There's no news like bad news

• Can you balance California's budget? Give it a shot!

• Why isn't the stimulus stimulating?

• School boards are now wrestling with mammoth budget shortfalls

• Trucking stocks facing road bumps

• Did you know that as many as 1 in 5 hotel loans may default?

• What about those gaming stocks?

• Retailers eagerly await back-to-school sales season

• Auto sales in June

• A really long-term perspective on housing prices

• Priced to sell

• All eyes on the H&S pattern

* More links (and posts) can be found at the members' only website.