The financial press has been flooded the last few weeks with stories of the billions of dollars lost in the giant Ponzi scheme orchestrated by Bernie Madoff. No one knows for sure, but it is likely that the number of investors that lost everything will run into the thousands.

According to the new book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, countries that have high PDI’s (power-distance index) respect authority more and are less likely to speak up to or challenge superiors. The evidence cited is the case of a Korean Air flight where the first officer (the co-pilot) knew the plane was in serious trouble, but out of  perceived ‘respect’ for the pilot, was slow to suggest otherwise. The result of the first officer’s lack of speaking up was the plane crashing into the side of Nimitz Hill.

The economic calendar wastes no time getting off to a busy start in the first full week of 2009.  The Construction Spending report for November this morning leads off the week, and carrying over from last year, it should show a continued slowdown. Until the housing market stabilizes, and the credit markets unfreeze, money simply won’t be spent on new construction. Since neither of those options looks likely to occur anytime soon, 2009 could be another long year for the construction industry.

It comes as no surprise to anyone who has set foot in a mall this holiday season that retailers are struggling. The Sunday before Christmas, I went to Target in the early afternoon for some last minute gifts. When I went to checkout, the express line for shoppers with fewer than ten items was empty. I walked up, put down my items, and was out the door in less than two minutes. Great for me, not so great for Target (TGT).

The economic calendar is unusually light this week, with only the ISM Index reporting on Friday. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the report will likely show a decline from the previous month. It has been an overriding theme this year that even though the bar gets set lower and lower as the months go by, the market still manages to underestimate the scope of the economic slowdown and reports continue to disappoint.

A little over a week ago, Rick Pendergraft pointed out the eerie similarities between the stock market in 1974 and today. It is quite startling when you realize how much the two have in common. Even the declines in the Dow are within a single percentage point of each other.

Well we have made it to the end of another year, and this one has been quite a ride. This is the last full trading week of the year, so barring a huge rally, the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P will all end the year with losses north of 30 percent.

The economic calendar starts very slow this week, with only the Pending Home Sales report coming on Tuesday. Once Wednesday morning rolls around, it’s a mad dash to the finish with 11 reports coming in the last three days of the week.

Now that the turkey-induced coma has worn off, it’s time for the market to get back to work. Heading into the final month of the year, we could hope for an early Christmas present and a strong rally, but that will be a tall order.

Perhaps I am being too optimistic, but I think the government bailout of the Detroit 3 is a foregone conclusion. In the interest of the entire country and the national economy, the government simply can’t let the automakers fail. There is no denying the business model is broken, but hopefully steps will be taken to change that.