Still Fighting This Recession

U.S. stocks rallied the most in five years as earnings from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. allayed concern investment banks are collapsing and the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate.

Lehman, the fourth-biggest securities firm, had its steepest advance ever and helped lead financial stocks to their biggest gain since 2000. Goldman, the largest securities firm, rallied the most in almost nine years. All 10 industry groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added at least 1.7 percent after the Fed cut the target rate for overnight lending by 0.75 percentage point, helping the market erase a two-day tumble that wiped out $767 billion following Bear Stearns Cos.'s collapse.

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So the FED is trying their hardest to save our economy. If you have money invested, Kramer suggest STOP trading...this is a bear market. This means investors are holding on to stocks as opposed to buying or selling. Our advice is to try and ride this recession wave out.

The Internet War Begins...

For the first time in four years, Google Inc. is feeling the heat of potential competition in the proposed combination of Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc.

Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo may slam another door in Google's so far unsuccessful attempt to expand beyond the four-line text advertisements that run alongside Internet search results. That's because Microsoft and Yahoo would control more than a quarter of the market for animated ads and colorful display banners at the top of Web pages.

Microsoft said it is pursuing Yahoo to challenge Google for online ad sales, a market that may double to $80 billion worldwide by 2011. In the U.S., search ads will account for 40 percent of online promotions, compared with 33 percent for display and media spots. Analysts predict display revenue will become at least as profitable as search ads and say it's growing faster.

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So This Is What A Recession Is Like...

Wall Street closed on the negative side for the fourth consecutive day as news of an economic stimulus package coming together in Washington failed to give the market a much-needed boost in confidence.

During the most recent losing streak on Wall Street, the Dow has lost more than 675 points.

Wall Street has been badly in need of some good news after a series of negative economic reports and underwhelming earnings triggered more fears of a recession and sent the Dow 300 points in the red yesterday. The industrial average has fallen more than 1,100 points in 2008 alone.

On the other side of the world Asian markets rebounded. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose 77.84, or 0.56%, to 13861.29. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 86.89, or 0.35%, to 25201.87. You do the math.

Bernanke Endorses Quick, Temporary Fiscal Stimulus

Congress could help steer the economy away from recession if it adopted a quick, efficient and temporary fiscal stimulus plan, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Thursday.

Bernanke made it clear he wasn't forecasting a recession, but said action by Congress, along with more interest-rate cuts from the Fed, could help prevent one.

"Fiscal action could be helpful in principle, as fiscal and monetary stimulus together may provide broader support for the economy than monetary policies alone," he said in prepared testimony to the House Budget Committee.

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In case you were in hibernation this winter and not aware of our economic status, LOOK AT THE MARKET! We're in a recession people, no one will admit it, but the losses in the market speak for itself. Time to stack!