Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL) reported results today that missed expectations. The company lost, excluding items, $26 million or $0.07 per share. Analysts were hoping for a break-even quarter.

In a recession one would think that consumers would turn to deep dish pizza as a cheap alternative to more expensive dining options. But surprising, earnings for the quarter show that sales slowed significantly.

If you are a trader, you will never find a time for riches like today. There has never been a better time to trade the market. Professional day traders and amateurs alike can make huge profits with the current environment as crazy as it has been.

Consumer products companies are stocks that investors tend to favor during troubled times as people are always going to use soap, shave, brush their teeth and feed their families no matter what is happening in the broader economy. This time, however, things are different.

In its current state it is entirely impossible to value MS. Your guess is as good as mine. About the only thing we know is once the dust settles the profit potential will not be nearly as exciting as the past.

The big question for investors now that the panic has passed will be the future of the economy.�??�?� Can the consumer hang in there while we go through this process of de-leveraging?

The deployment of the bailout plan will have a lasting effect on many areas of the economy. There will be winners (and losers), and so, investors need to understand how the new law will impact their portfolio. Specifically, which sectors will do well given the intervention, and which sectors will suffer?

There is the proverbial blood in the street and fear is at an all time high. Value investors like me are starting to dip their toes in the water. A brave few are calling this the bottom. So the question is: Is it time to buy?

You know you're truly in a bear market when not even a better-than-expected earnings report from none other than tech bellwether IBM can stem the…

Four weeks ago, Lehman Brothers collapsed, China slashed interest rates, and I stressed the importance of global coordinated rate cut. But global central banks waited four weeks to cut interest rates. And now the question remains, was it too little, too late?

If you are building a list of names to buy when the bear market ends, adding REITS may be a wise strategy.

Per tradition, earnings season kicks off with Dow Industrial component, Alcoa (AA). On Tuesday, the aluminum giant reported results from the third quarter, and the news was not pretty.

It's been said that stocks take the stairs up and the elevator down. When they're going up, the process can be painfully slow, but when they're falling it's as though there is nothing anybody can do to stop their descent. Case in point is Potash (POT).

Are there companies out there that can deliver reliable earnings despite tough operating conditions? I'm not sure, but there are companies out there that have been doing so well that even cuts in forecast leave plenty of profit on the table for investors. One such company is CSX Corp. (CSX). 

Forget about the short term troubles. Once the dead wood is taken out of the economy, Bank of America (BAC) is in prime position to dominate the financial services industry. Learn why here.

There is way too much focus on calling a bottom, but the question still remains: When will we get there? For a clue into the future, investors would be wise to take a hard look at the chart of the Nasdaq index in 2000-2001. 

One stock that the market is now pricing for bankruptcy due to the crisis is Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI). Shares have recently fallen precipitously, mainly on fears that debt coming due in 2009 will not be replaced.

The bailout was finally approved at the end of last week and there were no joyous celebrations or pats on the back for a job well done. Instead was the blunt reality of an economy that is essentially experiencing a lobotomy of extraordinary size and scope.

Historically, one of the most defensive sectors to play was the drug space. At least that is the theory. In practice, that theory has been tested of late. The large drug companies in the United States have struggled as a result of shallow pipelines for new drugs and old drugs becoming open for competition in the generic market.