Trail Blazing

• Economists now see the need for as much as $1T in stimulus measures

• Number of workers on jobless rolls at 26-year peak

• Has the jobs report already been fully discounted?

• TSLF to AMLF to PDCF - stop the acronyms!

• Have you read GAO's report on TARP and the Treasury?

• Bailout monitor sees lack of a coherent plan

• Congress set to save Christmas with auto deal

• Michigan Blue Cross makes bid for aid

• Here we go again - Fed officials play down risk of deflation

• According to Bair, we need an exit strategy

• However, Geithner to give Bair the boot?

  Paulson debates second cash infusion

• No decision yet on final bailout cash

• Policymakers are usually accused of doing too little too late – but what if they are doing too much too soon?

• Fed extends its emergency lending

• The flipside of falling rates for U.S. banks

• Worried about hyper inflation? Don't hold your breath!

• Let the 2009 prediction season begin! The S&P will soar +53% in 2009!

• "One only has to recognize that roughly 20% of bank capital is now owned by the U.S. government and that a near proportionate share of profits will flow in that direction as well. Better to own corporate bonds than corporate stocks." - Bill Gross

• The Great Recession?

• Only the very optimistic now expect recovery to start in 2009

• According to Evans, it is hard to gauge when recession will end

• Stock performance during recessions (1926-2008)

• The more the market drops, the more attractive stocks become for long-term investors. Why?

• Market volatility explained

• Are investors done being surprised?

• The market's performance based on the position relative to its moving averages

• 5-10-20 Trend-Following Strategy

• Peter Worden reviews the QQQQ

• The S&P's dividend yield now higher than the 10-year T-note's

• Building the case for a rally

• How about another bear market rally?

• Bernanke urges more aggressive action to halt foreclosures

• Homes are now undervalued?

• Luxury homebuilder Toll reports worst annual results since going public

• Everyone is fixated on super low mortgage rates

• Delinquent mortgages will likely double by the end of 2009

• The latest annual audit of the FHA shows a steep drop in the capital cushion the U.S. agency holds against losses from mortgage defaults

• Wal-Mart sales were strong in November, but most retailers slumped

• Amazon takes the cyber-Monday prize

• Forward prospects for the airline industry look bleak

• Wow - Oil prices could fall to $25

• Economic decline cuts into sales of renewable energy

• Crash in commodity stocks outpaces that of tech in 2000

• Companies face spiraling funding costs

• Big losses await private-equity investors

• U.S. to expand tax inquiry to include Credit Suisse and HSBC

• AIG's CEO wants to renegotiate rescue terms

• Goldman Sachs may launch an online bank

• Are U.S. markets turning Japanese?

• In fight to avert deflation, Fed could learn from Japan

• Gulf nations plan to form central bank & common currency

• Europe's stimuli not as impressive as they appear

• How Iceland melted down

• Chile hard-hit by drop in commodity prices

• China's cooling property market chills global economy

• China's sovereign wealth fund wouldn't dare invest in U.S. financial firms

• China's devaluation of yuan frightens traders

• Only new thinking will save the global economy

• Top 20 magic formula stocks by price/sales ratio

• Five stocks with super yields

• 6 stocks paying reliable 6% yields

• 6 takeover plays

• Another screen that finds stocks with high growth rates and the low P/Es

• This week's comeback stocks

• Don't miss Carret's "Twelve Commandments for Speculators"

• "You have to know what you are, and not try to be what you’re not. If you are a day trader, day trade. If you are an investor, then be an investor. It’s like a comedian who gets up on stage and starts singing. What’s he singing for? He’s a comedian." - Steven A. Cohen

• Options trading for the beginner

• Trading lessons from rock climbing

• Mark Carruthers shares his recommended reading list

• The intersection of value & contrarian thought

• Buffett tactics chime with our crazy times

• The basics of Graham security analysis

• How to handle your portfolio's losers

• More on tax-loss harvesting

• Want to know why a monkey throwing darts is probably as good as your stockbroker? Read on

• Is now really the right time to build a gloom and doom portfolio of ETFs?

• Why ETFs are cannibalizing the mutual fund industry

• Hedge funds haven't done all that well hedging

• Insurers abandon rosy view of variable annuities

• How safe is your bank? Look up the ratings at BauerFinancial

• Teens get their own paypal allowance

• The 3-day cooling-off period: myth and reality

• The tax perks of charitable giving

• The best news I've read in a long time - generous gen-xers

• 6 financial gifts that let you do more with less this season

• Afternoon Rally is another social financial news site

• The holiday season has arrived, and with it, self-reflection has begun

• "The only thing a trader can do is control his or her risk - on each and every trade. If there is a secret to trading, it is this: take the next trade not to make money but to improve one's skills as a trader. This is how a trader is able to make a living at the game. This is how a trader is able to avoid a catastrophic loss." - John F. Carter