_Economy and Finance

Stocks: All eyes on Egypt, jobs By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporterJanuary 30, 2011: 8:24 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Stocks have been on a run since late August, and investment experts have been warning that the market is due for a short-term correction. With political unrest in the Arab world and the January jobs report taking center stage this week, the catalyst for a downward move may finally be here. After rising to the highest levels since the summer of 2008 and crossing key psychological milestones -- the Dow topped 12,000 and the S&P hit 1,300 last week -- stocks took a hard hit Friday as investors watched anti-government demonstrations unfold in Egypt. "We are worried about the developing geopolitical risk in the Middle East and North Africa," said David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors. "We do not know where it will spread, nor do we know how it will run its course."

Credit Issues In 2011: What To Expect (00:20:49 min) In this podcast, Standard & Poor's analysts from our San Francisco office weigh in on what they believe are the biggest issues facing the telecommunications, cable, electric utilities, municipal finance, higher education, and transportation industries in 2011. Listen

Economic Update: A Home For The Holidays (00:03:48 min) Standard & Poor's Senior Economist Beth Ann Bovino notes that households in search of a home found one this December, with surprisingly robust sales figures reported for both existing and new homes. The data add further evidence that the recovery is still in place. But the healthy pace was not enough to change the Fed's decision to stay the course at Wednesday’s policy meeting. Watch

The Start Of A Housing Recovery Could Frame A Stable Year For U.S. Homebuilding And Building Products (00:06:50 min) In this CreditMatters TV segment, Standard & Poor's Senior Director James Fielding and Director Thomas Nadramia discuss the 2011 industry outlooks for the Homebuilding and Building Products sectors, respectively. Although our economists believe that housing starts will increase continued foreclosures, low employment, and still-falling home prices could extend the housing recovery. Home prices themselves may also decrease due to the elevated amount of existing homes for sale, but adequate to strong liquidity may help companies fund growth. Watch

The Daily Beast America's Greatest Challenge Jan 28, 2011 6:58 AM EST Legendary geopolitical forecaster George Friedman says that in the next decade America must face the realities of its position as a global empire without losing its republican soul.

Brazil talks tough on inflation, urges gov't to help Thu Jan 27, 2011 4:47pm EST Brazil's budget deficit, including debt repayments, stood at 14.4 billion reais ($8.6 billion) in November, nearly five times larger than a year earlier. JOBS, INFLATION SURGING Neil Shearing, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics Ltd in London, said the central bank's minutes "are unequivocally hawkish." "If there were any lingering doubts as to whether or not (the central bank) would shift priorities under the new governor, Alexandre Tombini, I think they've been well and truly banished now," Shearing said. (more)

The Eurozone's Three-Speed Recovery Could Leave Some Members' Competitiveness In The Slow Lane (00:08:57 min) Various economic indicators confirm our baseline forecast for a three-speed recovery in Western Europe over the next 18 months. The stronger economies are already successfully rebuilding their capital stock, while the slowest economies still need to increase their capital intensity, given the private sector's reluctance to invest in these countries. In this CreditMatters TV segment, Standard & Poor's Chief Economist Jean-Michel Six discusses how uneven recovery across Europe could aggravate structural differences over the long term for countries in the slowest growth track. Watch