(From the nytimes) Combine one part nervous traders, one part Greek crisis and one part trader error. Stir in one part central bank complacency. Bring to boil. Panic.  That combination produced one of the wildest days ever in financial markets, with the Dow Jones industrial average, at one point, down almost 1,000 points while the euro sank to its lowest level in more than a year. (more…)

(From the WSJ.com) For every dollar in debt that Americans have paid off since they started cleansing their balance sheets in mid-2008, the U.S. government has borrowed more than $7. All the hard work by consumers to replenish their piggy banks may be for naught if big government budget deficits play havoc with the economy. (more…)

(From the WSJ.com) The federal government is expected to borrow $1.6 trillion this year, or about $15,000 for every household in the country. Over the next 10 years it’s expected to borrow a total of $8.5 trillion. And the government was already deeply in debt to begin with. (more…)

(From the WSJ.com) Jennifer Winslow wanted to earn some extra cash without giving up the flexibility of working part time. An avid cook, she and a friend initially planned to cater meals for busy families. When that turned out to be too time consuming, she tried baking. More than five years later, she has a thriving bakery business in Winslow, Maine (her husband’s family has been in town a long time). (more…)

(From the FT.com) The beleaguered US commercial real estate sector has been attracting a new wave of money from sources including foreign banks, US private equity firms, and a leading Chinese sovereign wealth fund. (more…)

(From SmartMoney) Ten years ago, most homes relied on dial-up connections to access the Internet and iPods, flat-screen TVs and the Nintendo Wii didn’t exist. As we prepare to ring in 2010, consumer should expect to see more revolutionary products supplanting old mainstays. In media, DVDs, books, newspapers and magazines will continue to lose ground to services like in-home movie rentals and gadgets like the Amazon Kindle. In big-ticket items, the push for energy efficiency will continue to influence consumer decisions on cars and home upgrades. (more…)

(From the wsj.com) Still mulling over your New Year’s financial resolutions? David Laibson, a Harvard University economics professor, has one for you—one that many of us may wish we’d made last year. “Promise that you’ll never try to time the market again,” he suggests, a not-too-subtle gibe at the many investors who sold their stock in the depths of the downturn early this year and then missed the huge rally that followed. (more…)

(From the FT.com) Consumer confidence in the US picked up in December, as lower levels of unemployment and bullish stock markets lifted hopes about the state of the economic recovery. (more…)

(From the WSJ.com) Worries about rising tax rates are propelling investors to reassess longstanding strategies and in some cases pay taxes earlier than necessary to lock in current rates. Rule No. 1 for taxpayers has always been put off the tax bill as long as possible, but huge government deficits and the expectation that state, local and federal taxes will rise are prompting some people to question it. (more…)

(From the N.Y. Times) Stock markets fell across Asia on Friday as investors were spooked by news this week that Dubai World, the emirate’s main investment vehicle, was seeking to suspend repayments on all or part of its $59 billion in debt. (more…)

(From the Wall Street Journal) For investors, 2009 has been a year spanning the full range of emotions, from the depths of fear and panic in early March, to bullishness that verged on euphoria by late summer. The year’s events, coming on the heels of the turmoil in late 2008, provide important lessons for investors about the basics of investing, no matter what direction the markets take into 2010 and beyond writes Tom Lauricella. (more…)

(From the New York Times) The corner office is getting a bit more bullish about the economy. While investors have been bidding up shares in the stock market for months, many chief executives and boards had privately remained skittish about their own businesses — until recently. (more…)

(From the Financial Times) People trust themselves to look after their own savings and investments more than banks, building societies or independent financial advisers, according to a survey in the US and Europe. (more…)

(From the Wall Street Journal) Pat yourself on the back. Government data show that in the face of the financial crisis, we have reduced our debt, cut our spending and, by one measure, boosted personal savings to the highest level this decade. (more…)

Gold is going great guns above the magical $1,000 a troy ounce level Tuesday, but analysts and traders say the move spells bad news for seasonal buyers and could ultimately be the market’s downfall reports the Wall Street Journal. (more…)

Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stands roughly 2000 points below where it was on this end-of-summer weekend one year ago. No one knew then, of course, but the U.S. stock market and the world economy were just days from historic calamity, unprecedented in the lives of anyone born in the last 80 years. (more…)

Those who argue that the US Securities and Exchange Commission should fund itself from the fees it charges say it would let the regulator invest in technology and would put it on the same independent footing as many of its peers. (more…)

One in five investors in the US and UK are worried that inflation could surge out of control in the wake of record government deficits (more…)