Many of the stock market indicators are suggesting caution, but investors now have to consider the “new normal” before jumping in or retreating, according to Jeffrey Beamer, manager of the Lacerte Guardian Fund (LGFIX) for Lacerte Capital Advisers LLC. “While we’re not in the business of picking highs and lows, we must remain respectful of significant technical areas,” he said.

WASHINGTON — A government watchdog said the $700 billion bailout for the financial industry played a major role in rescuing the economy over the last year but also engendered anger and distrust among Americans because of secrecy and confusion about the way the program was handled. The mixed and blunt assessment by Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general in charge of oversight for the bailout fund, appears in a quarterly report scheduled for release Wednesday.

Amy Winehouse – Discover music, videos, concerts, & pictures at Last.fm Got Soul Sessions FT.com / Companies / Banks – Moody’s downgrades building societies What the Fed? Moody’s: Debra Borchardt comes to the defense of Moody’s – traddr!

They are popping the bubbly on Wall Street. Million dollar bonuses; the Dow at 10,000; the casino is open again. Forget President Obama who says we can’t go back to an economy where finance pockets 40% of the profits

NEW YORK — JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported strong third-quarter earnings Wednesday as its thriving investment banking business more than offset rising loan losses that the bank warned would continue for the foreseeable future. JPMorgan, the first of the big banks to report earnings for the July-September period, reported a $3.59 billion profit but also said it roughly doubled the amount of money it set aside for failed home and credit card loans in the quarter

DENVER — An auction last month of loans from the failed New Frontier Bank generated $157 million on a portfolio once valued at more than $500 million, according to government records. The federal government salvaged 27 cents on the dollar in the auction, underscoring the poor quality of agriculture loans that were stranded when the Greeley bank failed in April, The Denver Post reported Tuesday. One package of notes valued at $5 million sold for $122,778 – or 2 percent of its values, the newspaper reported.

Is man inherently evil? Maybe that’s too big a question. Are members of the securities industry inherently evil