Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) is a cyclical company.  That is, its stock does extremely well when the economy is ready to accelerate, and does poorly when the economy decelerates.  So it’s no wonder that last year the stock fell more than 50% from the record-high of $27.78 a share it reached December 2007. However, the company has rallied more than 50% from its Feb. 23 low of $12.08 a share. It closed Friday at $19.64. So, what’s next?

A longtime investment adage holds that “As goes Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), so goes the rest of the semiconductor industry.”

For decades, economists and academics have tried to define exactly how the stock market works – and the best way to profit from its moves.

You could be losing serious money every time you buy or sell a stock. Over time, that could add up to thousands upon thousands of dollars of losses and missed profits. You’re not alone – millions of investors fall into the same investing trap every year. But armed with these three secrets to profitable small-cap order execution, you can make sure that you’re on the upside of every penny stock trade.

Japan’s Economy Grows; Home Builder Confidence Up; New York Manufacturing Rises; Credit Card Defaults Stabilize in July; MSNBC Buys “Hyperlocal” News Aggregator; Reader’s Digest Files for Bankruptcy; Lowe’s Profit Falls 19%

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

Imagine waking up tomorrow morning with no access to the Internet. No e-mail. No news. No streaming video.

Oil Rises on China Demand, Slowing U.S. Recession; Homebuilder Shares Surge After Order Increase; Natural Gas ETF to Suspend New Share Offers; Microsoft to Bring Office to Nokia Smartphones; J.D. Power: Auto Sales to Surge Next Year; WTO: China Violated Trade Rules on Books and Movies; Despite Shrinking Sales, Macy’s Beats the Street

First, a historical note…US equities have just come off their best July since 1989. Overall, the market is up over 8% for the year. But if we look backward (after all, hindsight is 20/20), March 1989 also saw a huge run up. It was followed by an even stronger rally in July, during which volume dried up. It appears the same is happening now. What came next in 1989 was a big sell-off in September, followed by an even greater one in October.

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