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Labor Day Weekend Linkfest

Sunday, August 31, 2008 | 10:30 AM

Here are some of the things I have been reading this week . . .

INVESTING & TRADING

• The Reluctant Bulls (Barron's)
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB122006077547885467.html
U.S. stocks probably won't make much progress before year's end. But they're a better bet than most, say leading Wall Street strategists.

• The Fannie & Freddie Question (WSJ)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122005562753985195.html See also Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: A Damage Report (BusinessWeek)

• Monolines, Back on Track? (MarketBeat)
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2008/08/28/monolines-back-on-track/

• Credit Seizing as Banks Balk at Lending (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aa9qsN2KBb0Y&

• September: The horror story (Marketwatch)
http://tinyurl.com/6r3blq
Does September deserve its reputation as being bad for stocks?

• Lehman Brothers in urgent talks on capital injection (Telegraph)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/08/31/cnleh131.xml

• Value Investors Cut Losses (WSJ)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122005360806685021.html

• 50 SPX Stocks Down > 50%
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/08/50-spx-stocks-d.html

• THAT UNCERTAIN FEELING (New Yorker)
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2008/09/01/080901ta_talk_surowiecki
James Surowiecki on Volatility and Herding

• PERCENTAGE OF STOCKS ABOVE 50-DAY MOVING AVERAGES
http://bespokeinvest.typepad.com/bespoke/2008/08/percentage-of-2.html

• The four horsemen of the market (Marketwatch)
http://tinyurl.com/fourhorsemen

• Web sites give tips for savvy investing (SF Chronicle)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/16/BUD312ADRG.DTL

• The FDIC Wants in on the Bailout Action...
http://econompicdata.blogspot.com/2008/08/fdic-wants-in-on-bailout-action.html

• Buybacks, Look Before You Leap (WSJ)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122005273251785043.html

• Top 41 Untruths Perpetrated by Wall Street
http://timinglogic.blogspot.com/2007/10/general-consensus-amongst-many-market.html

~~~

ECONOMY

• Lagging Incomes Signal U.S. Economy Weaker Than GDP Suggests (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIWiIsk9fzl8&

• The Death of the Credit Card Economy (Slate)
http://www.slate.com/id/2198942/

• GDP: Lowest Inflation Rate in 5 Years (Barrons)
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB122004938061284705.html
(If no Barrons, go here)

• Why Does It Feel Like a Recession? (Econbrowser)
http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2008/08/why_does_it_fee.html

• UK Economy at 60-year low, says Darling. And it will get worse (Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/aug/30/economy.alistairdarling

• From Sea to Shining Sea (Barron's)
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB122004922730684629.html
Bellwether states are falling off the fiscal cliff.

• Don’t Turn Off Recession Siren Yet (Real Time Economics)
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/08/28/dont-turn-off-recession-siren-yet/

• Income and poverty: Size up your state (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/29/news/economy/census_data_by_state/index.htm

• Shallow Recessions, Shallow Recoveries (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/business/economy/30charts.html

• Japan offers economic stimulus package (FT)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/66bd3d3e-757a-11dd-ab30-0000779fd18c.html

• Is GDP Measuring Growth or Inflation?
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/08/are-you-measuri.html

~~~

HOUSING

• Unthinkable Happens: Manhattan Apartment Prices Fall (NY Sun)
http://www.nysun.com/business/unthinkable-happens-manhattan-apartment-prices/84900/

Unthinkable? Does anyone remember 1989-1996?

• London Luxury-Home Prices Post First Drop Since 2003 (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=a77Zr2.dxrGE&

• Existing-home sales drop 13.2% as prices fall 7.1%
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/08/existing-home-s.html

• June 2008 Case Shiller Housing Index Falls 15.9%
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/08/case-shiller-ju.html

• The next wave of mortgage defaults (CNN Money)
http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/12/real_estate/prime_defaults_price_drops/index.htm?postversion=2008081208

• UK home sales boosted by desperate vendors (FT)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97c97a08-75f4-11dd-99ce-0000779fd18c.html

• Housing Is the Business Cycle
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/08/why-so-much-hou.html

~~~

MEDIA/POLITICS/ENERGY

• Ron Paul followers gathering for own convention (AP)
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hx2FpPC_FhKjPbaHrFdnNHtq0uZAD92SMT000

• Gustav Could Wreck Economic Landscape (Real Time Economics)
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/08/29/gustav-could-wreck-economic-landscape/

• A Biblical Seven Years (NYT)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/opinion/27friedman.html
Thomas Friedman on the US versus China . . .

• Gallup Daily: Obama Stretches Lead to 8 Points
http://www.gallup.com/poll/109933/Gallup-Daily-Obama-Stretches-Lead-Points.aspx

• Next Treasury Secretary: Geithner, Bair? (Real Time Economics)
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/08/27/next-treasury-secretary-geithner-bair/

• The Palin Stunner (Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/29/AR2008082902298.html

• 6 things the Palin pick says about McCain (Politico)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12997.html

~~~

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

• Graphjam: Pop Culture for People in Cubicles
http://graphjam.com/

• Why is a 99p price tag so attractive? (BBC)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7522426.stm

• Internet Traffic Begins to Bypass the U.S. (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/business/30pipes.html

• Can Jerry Seinfeld save Microsoft? (Marketwatch)
http://tinyurl.com/seindfeldmsft
Seinfeld himself was featured in the original "Think different" TV ads that highlighted various figures and celebrities who supposedly think different(ly). If that's not embarrassing enough, Apple was the computer used extensively on the memorable "Seinfeld" TV series, and Jerry is thought to be an Apple user

• MIT Team Builds Nano sized "Virus-Based Batteries"
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/science_news/4279923.html

• Purging The Stupid Finally, software that zaps the most obnoxious Web chatter. (Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/08/29/notes082908.DTL&feed=rss.mmorford

• Court: U.S. can bar mad-cow testing (USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-08-29-mad-cow_N.htm

~~~

MUSIC BOOKS MOVIES TV FUN!

• Death Cab for Cuties' Grapevine Fires videos

• "Classic Tracks": A brief history of some all time classic songs (MIX)
http://mixonline.com/classic-tracks/

• List of problems solved by MacGyver
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_problems_solved_by_MacGyver

• '100 Things to do before you die' author dies at 47 (book at Amazon) And, yes, he did all 100.

• Pictured: The bungling burglar left dangling by his shoelaces after getting caught in victim's bay window (Daily Mail)

~~~

That's all from the last weekend of the summer, where we will be tuned into the US open.

Got a comment, suggestion, link idea? Or do you just have something on your mind? The linkfest loves to get email! If you've got something to say, send email to thebigpicture [AT] optonline [DOT] net.