Our story continues…According to the popular version, Ben Bernanke, our flawed hero, has averted a Second Great Depression. When the crisis came in ’07-’08, he calmly took out the text he had written himself: “Dummies’ Guide to Avoiding a Japan-style Deflation”… or something like that.

After earning hefty profits on its commodities trading for nearly 18 years, heavyweight trader Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) now finds itself on the hot seat, defending this crucial source of revenue. And while that may not be good for Goldman, it’s also bad for investors.  Let me explain…

You could be losing serious money every time you buy or sell a stock. Over time, that could add up to thousands upon thousands of dollars of losses and missed profits. You’re not alone – millions of investors fall into the same investing trap every year. But armed with these three secrets to profitable small-cap order execution, you can make sure that you’re on the upside of every penny stock trade.

Japan’s Economy Grows; Home Builder Confidence Up; New York Manufacturing Rises; Credit Card Defaults Stabilize in July; MSNBC Buys “Hyperlocal” News Aggregator; Reader’s Digest Files for Bankruptcy; Lowe’s Profit Falls 19%

Several key second-quarter earnings reports could either validate or undercut assertions that the U.S. economy is poised for recovery.

Brazilians used to joke that their country was the country of the future – and always would be because a new crisis seemed to crop up every time the economy came close to fulfilling its potential.

Overdraft fees, which a large number of U.S. banks and credit unions relied on to turn a profit in 2008, are under a great deal of fire from consumers and Washington alike.

Markets Fall On Profit-Taking; Southwest Ups Bid For Frontier; GM to Sell Cars on eBay; Dish Subscribers Grow, Profit Falls; U.S. Consumer Bankruptcies on the Rise; Nobel Nod; McDonald’s Same-Store Sales Up 4.3% in July; BofA Pays $55 Million in Countrywide Employee Settlement

 Goldman Sachs Would Have Collapsed If Not For Henry Paulson.

If you look at recent headlines such as CNNMoney.com’s “Another Sign of a Housing Thaw” you may be inclined to believe that the housing market has finally found a bottom. Various reports cite increases in sales, slight increases in sales prices, and reduced inventory. These are the three factors needed for any housing recovery to begin. Throw in the first-time homebuyer tax credit, and we may have a winning formula.