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.

I’ve found another informal but telling economic indicator to go along with the iPhone Index and the Roubini Ratio. And this one’s grim stuff indeed.

While 2008 has not been the banner year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) that 2007 was, several blue-chip operations including Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Time Warner Inc. (TWX) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) have picked up where private-equity firms left off last fall.

The U.S. buyout market is about to enter a new phase, as corporate takeovers pick up where private-equity firms left off last fall. The deal-making market is a key to the health of the U.S. stock market.