The Motley Fool's CAPS investing service is great way for investors to work together to beat the market -- and maybe get famous while they're at it. Among its features, CAPS lets users blog about their picks, investing strategy, market view, favorite college football team, or whatever floats their boat.
As the CAPS blogosphere continues to grow, players are adding more great content on a daily basis. To make it easier to find some of the gems out there, I've dug through the past week's posts to find some of CAPS' best insights. Of course, with room for only seven posts, I can't possibly cover all of the great stuff in the CAPS blogosphere. So when you're done, here I highly recommend heading over to CAPS and checking out what some of the other investors have to say.
More on GM, Ford, and Chrysler mismanagement
General Motors, Ford (NYSE: F), and Chrysler found themselves in their current unenviable position because of gross incompetence at the top and over-the-top labor costs, right? That alone is reason enough for many to assert that a bailout of the automakers should've been out of the question. CAPS All-Star devoish isn't quite so convinced, and has penned a blog post giving reasons why the bailout should have been pushed through.
Deflation ground zero -- Detroit, Michigan
The struggles of Detroit's automakers are spilling out to affect the broader Michigan economy. For a look at what CAPS blogger iamamartin sees from ground zero, click through to his blog.
More retail outlets closing
Because this is largely a consumer-led recession, retail has been taking it squarely on the chin. Some well-known retail chains like Circuit City and Linens N Things have already filed for bankruptcy, and many others are doing what they can to keep from filing that dreaded paperwork. However, even retailers like Gap (NYSE: GPS), Macy's, and Home Depot (NYSE: HD), which aren't on the verge of bankruptcy, are playing defense and closing down stores. CAPS blogger morgan628 has tried to stay on top of the rapidly contracting retail world, posting a list of store closings on his blog.
Defensive stock opportunities beyond health care
Health care is an obvious choice when it comes to playing defense in the current market. After all, if you have an unfortunate accident, it's unlikely that you'll skip a trip to the hospital to save a few bucks. But there are plenty of other options for those investors looking to put on the defensive hat. CAPS blogger ETFinnovators has provided a whole gaggle of them -- including Altria (NYSE: MO), AT&T (NYSE: T), and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) -- in a recent blog post. Click through to ETFinnovators' blog to get the entire list.
I think New York City real estate is in for some major pain
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Citigroup, Lehman Brothers. All three of these companies, and an endless number of other financial firms, share a common home base in New York. So what does that mean for the Empire State, now that Lehman is bankrupt, Citigroup is slashing jobs, and even Goldman is looking pretty ill? CAPS blogger Tastylunch thinks it means trouble for New York City's real estate. Click through to Tastylunch's blog for his view.
Dividends are no longer merely a welcome add-on
Are the days of sitting around and waiting to collect capital gains on your stocks over? I doubt it, but nobody seems to think that the market will head back up to its former levels anytime soon. Is all lost? Hardly, particularly if you listen to TMFDeej, who points out that dividend yields are particularly attractive right now -- and those payouts don't rely on a market recovery. Head over the TMFDeej's blog for the scoop.
Tweets of the week
Once again, TMFNato has gathered up The Motley Fool's top tweets (from our Foolish Twitter feed) for readers who like their news in bite-sized chunks. Stop by TMFNato's blog to check out these investing morsels.
And that's our round-up for this week. Be sure to check back next week for more great blogging action. In the meantime, why not head over to CAPS and add your two cents to the community pool?
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