For many Americans, shopping resembles a religious experience. For others, the urge to spend represents an addiction every bit as powerful as those involving drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. And for some, keeping up with the Joneses is like being under the spell of a dangerous cult. Now, with cold-turkey reality intruding and unexpected economic interventions leaving many formerly spendthrift souls unable to shop, some are experiencing a rash of unsettling symptoms. In "Downturn Spurs 'Survival Panic' for Some," Reuters reports on the emotional, physical, and social fallout stemming from the transition to a new age of frugality. A paralegal, recently laid off,[More...]

What a difference a month makes. One month after releasing its third quarter earnings report, Intel has issued a press release guiding down revenue and margins for the fourth quarter. As recently as October 14th, the company was expecting Q4 revenue to come in between $10.1 and $10.9 billion with gross margin at or near 59%. The company is now looking for revenue of $9 billion with gross margin in the vicinity of 55%. In just under one month, Intel's business has deteriorated by 14%. This is a huge miss. There will be plenty of negative commentary over the next day about this miss, but I actually think this may perversely turn out to be positive for the market in the near-term. Despite the earnings misses and the cautious guidance from virtually every company this earnings season, Q4 and 2009 earnings expectations still remain too high. Now that[More...]