After plummeting below 8,000 shortly after the market opened, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) recovered somewhat, and managed to finish down about 100 at 8,450.

In our earlier story about North Korea's test launch of short-range missiles, we noted that rather than a routine test, it could be a form of saber-rattling. Well, the rattling just got louder.

On Monday morning, the House of Representatives rejected the so-called "bailout bill of Wall Street." It was not immediately clear why lawmakers voted against the bill.

The deal which the Senate had thought was close to a done deal earlier on Thursday fell apart on Thursday night after a meeting between Congression leaders, the Treasury Secretary --- and including both presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain.

Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate reported bi-partisan agreement --- in principle --- Thursday on the $700 billion bailout of the financial industry requested by the Bush administration. Both sides said they had hopes of a vote within days.

On Saturday, the Bush administration asked Congress for the authority to purchase $700 billion in bad mortgage assets in hopes of containing the ongoing financial crisis --- currently assailing Wall Street and financial firms, and affecting markets worldwide.

By all accounts, the Israeli-Syrian indirect negotiations through Turkish mediation are going well, and the fact that a fourth round of talks is scheduled for the end of July suggests that both sides expect to make further progress. The reports from Damascus and Ankara, however, indicating that Syria will not enter into direct negotiations with Israel before the advent of new American administration show an obstructive apprehension on the part of the Syrian government.

Chris Gelken highlights the hypocrisy of the Bush administration and the bitter irony of comparing the Guantanamo hearings to the Nuremburg War Trials.

Bush confidence in his speech has fews slips on Friday meet at APEC summit however he was quick to give it better twist and ended his words well.

At President Bush’s July 11 press conference a significant exchange took place that has received very little media attention. Edwin Chen, who writes for Bloomberg.com, asked Bush, “How hard is it for you to conduct the war without popular support? Do you ever have trouble balancing between doing what you think is the right thing and following the will of the majority of the public, which is the essence of democracy?”