Weekend Reading: Capitulation Time?

Welcome to another edition of Weekend Reading. First, we'll take a look back at the week that just finished, and then we'll preview the week ahead. Finally, I'll highlight some articles and papers worth reading.

One word describes last week: awful. It may not have been quite as nausea-inducing as the week before, but there is the distinct sense in the markets that we are sliding lower as we try to puzzle through the interlocking effects of oil, weakening earnings, fatigued consumers, higher unemployment and slumping economies overseas.

Oil markets are fishing for the price that will cut global demand without creating regional resource wars, and those markets don't care if that price is $140 a barrel or $240 a barrel. Equity markets around the world are trying to figure out just how interlocked they remain, now that the theory of global decoupling has been largely refuted. Could some sort of market capitulation be in the cards, as many are suggesting? It's possible.

Next week will bring economic data worth perusing. On Friday, Reuters and the University of Michigan Survey plan to release their consumer sentiment survey for July. It's forecast to fall to a 28-year low. Also next week, Wal-Mart(WMT Quote - Cramer on WMT - Stock Picks) is scheduled to release its June sales data, which should give us another read on the health of the U.S. consumer. Finally, an index of pending home sales for May is due Tuesday, and it will likely be dismal.

As for earnings, the main event next week will be General Electric(GE Quote - Cramer on GE - Stock Picks). The industrial-financial giant is well-known for being an economic barometer, not to mention being consummately skilled at playing the analyst earnings game. A miss from GE this week will deliver a major strike to the markets, while positive results are at best likely to make no difference. Either way, that's the earnings report to watch.

Finally, here are some articles and papers worth reading.

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• More than 40% of investors in structured products don't understand them. (Risk)
• Is capitulation in the cards? All the pieces seem to be in place. (Reuters)
• Emerging Asian currencies under pressure. (Pacific Exchange Rate Service)
• Credit default swaps suggest both Ford(F Quote - Cramer on F - Stock Picks) and GM(GM Quote - Cramer on GM - Stock Picks) will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (IDD)
• Michael Lewis on how Wall Street-ers can survive the downturn. (Bloomberg)
• Barron's tips Time Warner(TWX Quote - Cramer on TWX - Stock Picks), frets about the bear market. (Barron's)
• Price Surge Driving Some Countries Close to Tipping Point (IMF)
• Louis Vuitton CEO says sales don't suffer in downturn. (San Francisco Chronicle)
• FTSE 100 'will fall to at least 5,000.' (Telegraph)
• Inside the turmoil at Lehman(LEH Quote - Cramer on LEH - Stock Picks). (Fortune)
• Asia's exporters suffering as global demand weakens. (Reuters)
• Wall Street profitability likely to fall with increasing regulation coming. (The Economist)
• Top 100's Ad-Spend Growth Grinds to Halt. (Advertising Age)
• Recent failures slow growth of Icahn's funds (The Boston Globe)
• Why oil prices will rise even higher. (Globe and Mail)
• Federal Reserve Board launches new data feeds. (Federal Reserve)
• Speculation, Futures Prices, and the U.S. Real Price of Crude. Oil. (SSRN)
• Las Vegas economy spiraling downward. (Independent)

1 What would best describe your stance heading into the coming week of trading? Bullish Bearish Neutral 2 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move up in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities 3 Which of these sectors do you think is set to move down in the coming week? --Choose One--Aerospace and DefenseAirlinesAutomobilesBeverages and Food ProductsBiotechnologyCommercial BanksComputers and PeripheralsConsumer NondurablesEnergy Equipment & ServicesHMOs and HospitalsHomebuildingInsuranceIntegrated OilInternet, Software ServicesInvestment Bankers and BrokersMediaMultiline RetailPharmaceuticalsPrecious MetalsSemis, Semi EquipmentTelecom EquipmentTobacco and AlcoholWireless CommunicationsUtilities View the results without voting