Weekend Linkage – January 11, 2009

Market Recap

Stock markets lost momentum in the first full trading week of 2009, after reaching 5-month high last week, overshadowed by worsening economy reports and corporate earning outlooks. On Friday, the government reported that U.S. employers cut 524,000 positions in the last month of 2008, pushing the unemployment rate to a 16-year high of 7.2%. In 2008 alone, 2.589 million jobs were lost. On the earning front, industrial giant Alcoa and tech bellwether Intel fell hard following job cut announcement and lowered than expected sales.

For the week, the Dow dropped 4.82% to 8,599.18, the Nasdaq lost 3.71% to 1,571.59 and the S&P 500 slipped 4.45% to 890.35. For stocks, the losses last week were the most since November. Crude oil, after last week’s 23% rally, tumbled 11.62% to $40.83 a barrel, while gold gave up 2.71% to $853.70/ounce.

Weekend Readings

• Paying for a Missing Item @ Brip Blap
• Millionaire Secrets of the Super Rich: The Big Problems They Keep @ The Digerati Life
• Off-Price Retailers Offer Lower Prices On Name Brand Items @ Frugal Dad
• Why the Recession Will Be Good for Us as a Country @ Generation X Finance
• How To Be Successful in the New Year (20 Tips Inside) @ Lazy Man and Money
• My Financial Goals for 2009 – What are Yours? @ Million Dollar Journey
• Tax Returns and eBay Tax Tips @ Money Smart Life
• New Year’s Resolution: Organization and Execution @ My Dollar Plan
• John Bogle Offers His Advices For Investors @ Personal Finance Reviews
• Hedging a Dividend Portfolio @ The Dividend Guy
• Barack Obama’s 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan @ Consumerism Commentary
• Investing in the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats @ Five Cent Nickel
• The formula for financial success (or any sort of success) made easy @ The Penny Saved

Carnivals

• Carnival of Money Stories Edition #92 @ Gather Little By Little
• Carnival of Personal Finance: Fairy Tale Edition @ Cleaver Dude