The action on Wall Street is nauseating. The more Washington acts, the more Wall Street drops. The folks with stomachs strong enough to keep them in the market are looking more like gamblers than investors. They are quickly realizing all roads lead to Washington.

The most foreboding Christmas season in history…every day brings more cutbacks, more bankruptcies and more trouble… Borrowers have counted on home equity money to fill in the gaps in their household budgets, using borrowing in place of saving… Americans are really beginning to resent Wall  Street…Consumer prices are sure to fail in the near future…and more!

The situation is grim for home furnishing retailers… Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Tuesday Morning, and just about every company that supplies furniture and home accessories has been crushed.

In the energy market Thursday, crude for July delivery moved higher after the one-day pullback, closing at $132.19/barrel, up $1.38. July reformulated gasoline gained back 6 cents, to $3.396/gallon.

This from MarketWatch:

Concerns about the impact of the credit crisis and the weak economy will come into sharp focus next week, with investors set for a flood of earnings from ailing financials as well as the technology sector.

Earnings results in focus include financials Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Washington Mutual and tech bellwethers Intel and Google.

U.S. food stamp users hit record high as food prices surge. First quarter in review… how the U.S. market and dollar fared versus their global competitors. Chris Mayer on the sectors looking to stage a comeback in the second quarter. Write-downs return… which banks came forward today with new financial follies. Kevin Kerr on how the latest planting intentions report will affect resource investors.

BIG GOLD: Gold has passed its 1980 nominal high. Why do you think it’s breaking out now?