Retail investors had a rough go of things in the first half, but since the March lows of all the markets, the Standard & Poor’s Retail Index is showing progress toward its 52-week high of 427.13.

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

Gloomy Beige Book Report; Weak August for Autos; Layoffs at GMAC; Fraud Charges for Former Credit Suisse Brokers; Factory Orders Rise; Staples Profit Squeezed; United Technologies Lands $80m Jet Deal; Liberty Spins Off DirectTV

Money Morning’s William Patalon III says comments by Ben Bernanke at the end of the week show he continues to prioritise economic growth over inflation. This means no rate hikes in the near future. But despite falling commodity prices, William says the threat of stagflation is growing…

Investors better keep an eye on bonds this week.While the stock market may be more fun to follow, fixed income is often a stronger gauge of investor expectations of the economy, future U.S. Federal Reserve policy, and inflation.

A Better Beige Book; Japan’s Daiichi Swipes Generic Drug Titan; Big Lots “Highly Motivated” to Expand; Corn Hits Another Record; Caterpillar Raises Dividend 17%; Russian Partners to Sue BP; Martha Loses CEO; Office Supply Merger.

Gas Fuels Factory Orders; Borders Cuts Jobs to Cut Costs; Starbucks Serves Up Free Wi-Fi; Kenya Inflation Soars 32%; Chevron to Invest $5 Billion in Africa; Staples Raises Bid for Corporate Express; Lehman Looking for Cash Infusion; Oil Slides

Lowe’s Reports 1Q Declines; Oracle of Omaha for Obama; Microsoft, Yahoo at it Again; Staples Launches Hostile Takeover of Corporate Express; News Corp. Increases Premier Stake; Take-Two Snubs EA; Pacific Ethanol Stock Surges Despite Loss; Feds to Investigate DeVry.