Today it's not the airline industry, or the retailers, or restaurants. It's the hotels-another industry completely dependent on discretionary consumer spending. The culprit once again: High gas prices, the housing slowdown and recession worries, what else?Marriott International (MAR) lost significant ground this week and traded near their 52-week lows.

The women from "Sex and the City" shoved Indiana Jones out of summer blockbuster contention with more than $55 million in weekend movie box-office sales. As retail stocks headed lower in opening trades Monday ahead of May's sales reports, I thought this would be the perfect time to start shopping for apparel stocks.

These are challenging times. Our housing market is in shambles and inflation is threatening to eat away at the gains of the last 30 years. Is this the end as we know it, or will we rise to the challenges of what we now face? And just who will lead this charge? We need to be looking in the corner offices of corporate America.

This week, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee approved legislation that strengthens congressional oversight of Fannie Mae (FNM) and its sister company Freddie Mac (FRE) two of the largest U.S.-mortgage finance companies. I'm sure both companies, whose primary responsibility is to ease the effect of the housing bust, are surely in no hurry to be regulated by any government agency! That being said, I can rationally say that shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have finally hit bottom.

Competition for a share of the consumer dollar is fiercer than at any other time in recent history. Corporations that adapt to the new field of play will survive. Those that don't won't. One company that is not faring so well in the current environment is Sears Holding (SHLD).

Lehman Brothers shares rose 3 percent today even as analysts at Banc of America Securities slashed their earnings estimates and warned that the share price is not inline with current risk levels. Sound familiar? After rival Bear Stearns' (BSC) bombshell, analysts, like everyone else, are understandably gun-shy these days.

I am always on the lookout for the sure thing. I want to find inefficiencies in the market so great that I can exploit the correction. This way, I can generate huge profits for my portfolio with little to no risk. In surveying the current macro landscape these days, where I will find the next great market inefficiency? Oil.

Aerospace and defense stocks are definitely under fire these days. Even after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $601.4 billion defense spending bill Thursday, defense stocks like everyone else, find themselves battling the effects of high oil prices.

Every so often, stocks of companies in a certain industry all get hammered on the same day. Yesterday, it was the airlines day to suffer.

The proposed merger between Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) and XM Satellite Radio (XMSR) has been stuck in regulatory purgatory for two years now that can only be compared to the nonsense of a communist-based system! The only silver lining I can see is when the deal is finaly approved, shares will get a substancial boost.

Let this be a warning. We are not out of the woods yet despite the market telling us otherwise. Today's wholesale price data with higher levels of inflation than expected should be a clear signal that the current market hypothesis may be a bit off base.

So why are TGT shares as red as their infamous logo? Go ahead and blame it on a lackluster earnings report, a worsening housing market…and yes, everyone's favorite topic these days: the rising price of oil. But these are temporary issues in my opinion.

After a 20-year bear market for commodities, the prices of oil, coal, basic metals, precious metals, food grains, cement, fertilizer (you name it…) are finally enjoying the running of the bulls. What many investors don't realize is that the commodities trade relies heavily on container shipping which is in high demand and short supply.

What is happening in oil today is no more than a pyramid scheme. Speculators are chasing after contracts that allow for the delivery of crude at some point in the future. With the convenient use of massive amounts of leverage, traders can take large positions with very little capital required.

While there are many opportunities to invest in China, some investors are deterred from the country because they think that the Chinese stock market is in a speculative bubble. Let me dispel this myth, and tell you why China investing offers some of the greatest profits of our time.

Does it really matter if one can predict the timing of an exact turn in market direction? The market is going to do what it is going to do and timing does not work. Staying invested regardless of conditions is a winning strategy for the long term. Applying a buy and hold strategy with mutual funds makes even more sense.

I just arrived at the Money Show and my cabbie gave me a "hot" stock tip. Trust me, when your cabbie says "buy" it's to sell. Richard Young, on the other hand, has a list of 10 stocks you will want to buy!

We have been witness to one of the greatest financial collapses since the great depression. The decimation in the banking and finance sector has been dramatic to say the least. Indeed, for investors like Tim Middleton, editor of the ETF Insider, finding the end can not only be a friend, but a profitable one at that!

Sell your dang company Jerry Yang, you little twit! This little ego game of yours is costing your shareholders billions of dollars. Even worse, your lack of skill in navigating these choppy waters has left you vulnerable to further collapse in share value! It was your job Mr. Genius to play this deal through.