Has the massive Obama stimulus plan put us on a collision course with virulent inflation? It sure looks that way. Let me explain …

The depression deepens. “These are not layoffs… they’re permanent job losses,” said Barry Rithotlz this morning. “These people are not going back to work anytime soon.”

Buy tax-free bonds – now.  If you’re a mutual fund investor, buy them through Vanguard (the average fund company charges expenses six times higher than Vanguard’s).

Existing Home Sales Up 2.9%; Malaysia’s Economy Shrinks 6.2%; Staples Beats Estimates; U.K. Millionaires Halved by Financial Crisis; Treasury Yield Spread Hits Record High; Intel Won’t Cut Dividend After Euro Fine; Moody’s: U.S. Aaa Credit Rating Stable; Oil Surges to Six-Month High

Oil rose to the highest level in about four months above $54 a barrel on Thursday as expectations that economic stimulus packages might be working to offset the impact of high oil inventories.

Although there’s a veritable laundry list of obstacles that could blunt the U.S. government’s ongoing economic turnaround efforts, its single-biggest challenge may come from its single-biggest creditor – China.

Berkshire’s Armor Cracks; JPMorgan Bags $5 Billion Selling Deriviates; Recordati Proposes Increased Divided; China May Double Stimulus This Week; Homes Sales Continue to Break Down

I thought I was still asleep and merely dreaming when I opened up Barron’s and saw that the earnings of the S&P 500 dropped to $28.75, which is down from last week’s $45.95, which is down from last year’s $78.80.

The Markets await the Obama economic stimulus and bank rescue plans…  AngloPlat reports higher earnings but flags up cost fears… Johnson Matthey (JMAT) sees 2009 platinum demand declining 5 pct…

A wave of government bailouts around the world and a sharp deterioration in existing infrastructure could lead to as much as $35 trillion in public works spending over the next 20 years, according to a new study by CIBC World Markets.