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There is a saying that Alchohol and Pornography will always perform well in a recession. This sentence is pointing to the fact that unemployed people can't afford to maintain positive relationships. This leads to human contact through photographs and self medication. Books are another form of affordable human contact, which is enjoyed by a larger market than Porn.

U.S. stocks closed broadly higher Monday, ending a three-day losing run, as a strong housing report reassured investors’ faith in the economy.  A weak dollar helped lift gold to another record high and sent shares of commodity-related companies higher.  Calls for central banks around the world to continue stimulus measures also hurt the dollar even as speculation grew that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at a record low.

• GDP Preliminary - Street sees 2.9%
• GDP Deflator Preliminary - Street sees 0.8%

• Case Shiller 20 City Index - Street sees (9.05%)
• Consumer Confidence - 47.5

Investors appear worried that the economy is not keeping up with the eight-month old rally in the stock market.  Disappointing outlook and grim economic data are further fueling concerns that markets are ripe for a pullback and a full-blown economic recovery would take time.

Filed under: Amazon.com (AMZN), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Media World, Technology

Take the Nook off your Christmas list. The new e-reader from Barnes & Noble (BKS) has already sold out, and more won't be available until after the holiday has passed. The next batch will be available, at best, by November 4, 2010.

Filed under: Competitive strategy, Amazon.com (AMZN), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Technology

Every day, it's becoming clearer that e-readers will be the hot holiday gifts of 2009. Amazon (AMZN) is obviously in the game with its Kindle, with which it took an early lead in the industry. Barnes & Noble (BKS) has made a play with its new Nook reader, applying some pressure to what was once a wide open space.

Even though we're still short of Black Friday, the weeding process has begun. Sony (SNE), which is also in the e-reader market, has revealed that it makes no guarantees about delivery by Christmas.