Several key second-quarter earnings reports could either validate or undercut assertions that the U.S. economy is poised for recovery.

On the earnings calendar, as you can see from the ones I have listed there is a significant amount of retailers reporting this week. That’s only a partial list, here’s the rest: ANN, BJ, APP, DDS, HOTT, DKS, ARO, GPS, PSUN, NWY, ROST, and TJX.

If you save for retirement through a 401(k) plan, or have large IRA or Keogh Plan assets, you probably hurled your last statement in the bin. If you’d been making contributions consistently over the last decade, your last annual or monthly statement probably showed that the current value of your plan was well below the amount you had actually invested.

At this point, the temptation to work as long as possible, and then blow what remains of your savings on a round-the-world cruise and a suicide pill is considerable.

However, such despair is unwarranted.

Unless you have already given up all paid employment, or absolutely have to retire in the next year or two, the current bear market may have made your eventual…

If there’s a proverb that captures the outlook for the U.S. economy in the New Year, it’s the one that says: “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

By all reasonable measures, we are already in a recession, says Shah Gilani. Deflation has become today’s number one threat. But massive government rescues mean another bout of inflation looms on the horizon. Shah says investors should look to short vulnerable stocks in 2009. But in 12-18 months, they should be prepared for a “generational opportunity” to make a fortune.

Although consumers and businesses have gotten a bit of a reprieve at the gas pump as of late, says William Patalon in Money Morning, the escalation in oil prices we’ve seen over the past year has led to some major changes in overall consumer behavior. Many car-owners have dumped their gas-guzzling pickup trucks and SUVs at the nearest used-car lot and used the proceeds to buy some gas-sipping rides.

With oil trading near a three-month low (and corn now at a four-month low), U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers may have just the ammunition they need to hold the line on interest rates for the foreseeable future – or at least until their Sept. 16 policymaking meeting.

The U.S. economy is certifiably lousy, says Lynn Carpenter in Investor’s Daily Edge. Many businesses are looking for a turnaround. There are many factors affecting the success of a turnaround. A company needs to have a clear direction of what it is and where it is going. And it needs a brand name that has not been dragged through the mud. More from Lynn…

How does the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline sound to you? Undoubtedly, it doesn’t sound all that great. But what if I said that gasoline prices were headed for the $4 a gallon level, but once they got there, they’d head no higher?

How does the prospect of $4 a gallon gasoline sound to you? Undoubtedly, it doesn’t sound all that great. But what if I said that gasoline prices were headed for the $4 a gallon level, but once they got there, they’d head no higher?