While investors remain extremely concerned about the volatility of the U.S. stock market, the weakness of the American economy and the uncertainty of the global financial markets, last week brought “slight” relief from the excessive panic of the eight-trading-session losing streak.

There is no way to sugar coat it or paint a rosy picture. This week could be disastrous for the market. Coming off eight straight down trading days, and the largest weekly percentage drop in the history of the Dow, the economic calendar provides no relief.

Retirement Plans Lose $2 Trillion; eBay Sells Out Workforce; Eli Settles Marketing Dispute; Morgan Stanley Gets OK on Capital Infusion; IMF Says Rough Economic Times Ahead; Wachovia Split?

eBay’s Copy Cat Move; Mortgage Applications at New Low; FDIC Extends Help to IndyMac Customers; Oil’s Wild Ride; Suntech Stock Shines; BJ’s Stock Slump; HP Beats Expectations; TVA Hikes Rates 20%

Small online businesses are in for a serious wake-up call in 2011, says Mark Nestmann in The Sovereign Society. This is because it will then become mandatory for all electronic payment systems to report sales data to the IRS. The agency will then be able to check these records against filed tax returns from business owners.

Here’s a quick heads up from Christian Hill at Investor’s Daily Edge on economic and earnings data due this week…

Paul Moore is a new tech investing expert with The Smart Profits Report. He says the best way to beat the bear is to follow the money. In a bear market cash is king. It allows companies a number of options that support their share price…

If you’re looking to double your money, don’t invest in the markets.

MySpace Expands Deeper into Cyberspace; News Corp. Posts $2.7 Billion Profit; Gasoline and Crude Hit New Records; Weekly Unemployment Applications Decline; Latin America Attracts $106 Billion in 2007; ECB and BOE on Pause; New Alcoa CEO; Barr Comes Up Short.

We’re in the middle of a recession and there are a ton of expensive stocks on the market. Are they worth it? I just did a search of companies with price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of over 100. These stocks are pricey. Buying reasonably priced companies in the best of times can be tricky.