Wall St rallies on strong earnings
Wall Street stocks rallied strongly on Tuesday as some positive corporate earnings restored confidence in equities. But trading was choppy amid continued worries about a US economic slowdown. Technology stocks again saw the best gains.

Home improvement (by Dean Baker)
Congress can simply change the rules on foreclosure (just as it changed the rules on bankruptcy two years ago), so that homeowners facing foreclosure will have the option to rent their home indefinitely at the fair market rent. This rent would be determined by an independent appraiser, appointed by the court. The appraiser would determine the fair market rent in the same way that appraisers determine the market value of a home before a bank issues a mortgage.

Why Credit-rating Agencies Blew It: Mystery Solved (by Robert Reich)
It’s obvious why credit-rating agencies didn’t blow the whistle [during the sub-prime loan frenzy]. (They didn’t blow the whistle on Enron on Worldcom before those entities collapsed, either.) You see, credit-rating agencies are paid by the same institutions that package and sell the securities the agencies are rating.

Wide income gap linked to deaths in both rich and poor nations
A wide income gap between the most affluent and the worst off in society is closely associated with higher death rates worldwide, especially for younger adults, finds a study published on bmj.com [Tuesday] as part of a global theme issue on poverty and human development.