Weekend reading: here's a list some articles readers may appreciate

Here's a list of some articles that readers here may appreciate for some thoughts on the economy, markets, and what's ahead. By the way, some might want to start with re-reading Raymond Merriman's weekly preview for the past week of April 13. But I don't want to set him ahead of all else, because there's benefit in reviewing insights from many sources. Besides, I'm not conversant in financial astrology myself - I just know that my late trading mentor included him among sources he referred to, and I find it interesting how he's able to pull it all together. Here are some additional articles I've run across today that provide additional news and insight (not in any particular order, and not endorsing any opinions or conclusions):

*update - adding this one: Bernanke Frets as Variable Notes Strip Taxpayers in NY, Texas
Bloomberg - Apr 16, 2009 - Banks, reeling from almost $1.3 trillion in credit market losses since the start of 2007, raised the cost for providing guarantees as much as 10-fold, ...

*update - also adding these two from SeekingAlpha: Bond Expert: Friday Wrap by John Jansen, and The Worst Isn't Over Yet by Joel West (both dated 4/17/2009).

At nakedcapitalism.com - Bank Stress Tests Now Officially a Garbage In, Garbage Out Exercise - Saturday, April 18, 2009 [including as one quote, "Meredith A. Whitney, a prominent research analyst, said in a recent report that what banks were doing amounted to a “great whitewash.” The industry’s goal — and one that some policy makers share — is to create the impression that banks are stabilizing so private investors will invest in them, minimizing the need for additional taxpayer money, she said."]

Citigroup Posts Potemkin Profits - Saturday, April 18, 2009

Guest Post: Should Governments Stop Meddling in Pensions? - Friday, April 17, 2009

and links also listed by Yves at nakedcapitalism.com, including:
Dying Midwestern Cities Are The New Bohemian Enclaves Clusterstock. Does that mean you can really trade down cost and location wise and still find a good latte?
Citi Losing Non-US Deposits Jake, EconomPic Data
New York Fed Proves Lack of Lending Argument a Lie DcotoRx
Reserve managers keep buying Treasuries … Brad Setser
Pelosi calls for panel to probe Wall Street San Francisco Chronicle
Fed first to blame for financial crisis: Kaufman Reuters
Even Vigilant Investors May Fall Victim to Fraud New York Times
Japan plans emergency share purchases Financial Times

Some others I found this morning to review:

http://jutiagroup.com/2009/04/16/beginning-of-another-bull-market-or-just-wishful-thinking/

http://jutiagroup.com/2009/04/17/the-commercial-real-estate-sector-as-the-other-shoe-drops-be-wary-of-bank-stocks/

Stock performance based on short interest [at GreenLightAdvisor] by Prieur du Plessis - 18 Apr 2009 at 8:21am - Bespoke brought an interesting research study on short positions to our attention earlier this week, as reported below. “Since the S&P 500 bottom...

Richard Bernstein: 10 guidelines learned in 20 years [at GreenLightAdvisor] by Prieur du Plessis - 18 Apr 2009 at 8:18am - Respected Global Investment Strategist Richard Bernstein left Merrill Lynch this week after 20 years at the firm. Bernstein, who also wrote Navig...

Jim O’Neil and Nouriel Roubini: FT.com Interviewby GreenLight Advisor - 17 Apr 2009 at 8:36am - April 6, 2009: Nouriel Roubini of New York University and Jim O’Neil, Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs, talk to John Thornhill about the G20 summit...

Video-o-rama: Are stock market gains built on solid foundations? [at GreenLightAdvisor] by Prieur du Plessis - 17 Apr 2009 at 8:25am - As stock markets attempt to notch up a sixth consecutive week of gains, the debate as to the longevity of the nascent rally rages on. The feature...

Roubini Global Economics: Banks in the spotlight [at GreenLightAdvisor] - 17 Apr 2009 at 12:59am - By RGE Monitor: According to preliminary results leaked to the New York Times, all 19 banks with assets above $100 billion that are subject to the T...

Weekly Observations, at ZeroHedge, 4/17/2009

And then there's Roubini Adjusts His S&P Target To 600 (Zero Hedge, 3/9/09)- dated, but something to consider since our technical analysis indicates this remains possible as one of the bear market projections.