Fools were out and about this week in an investing world jampacked with actions and ideas. Here are three articles you might find useful as you decide how to invest your money.

A Brief History of Bear Markets
"So we're in a bear market. Take a deep breath and relax," advised Fool contributor Alex Planes. "There are still opportunities in the wreckage, and as always, every little bit of information helps."

Alex contributed more than a little bit of information to help investors get a handle on bear markets over the past 82 years. His chart starts in 1929 (the Great Depression), travels through years including 1938 ("the herd was skittish") and 1976 (high inflation and rising oil prices), and finishes in 2009.

Alex looked back at 2008 to find "a handful of highfliers that avoided the subprime free fall." He found things to like in companies including Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Family Dollar (NYSE: FDO), and Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN).

Read his article to see the full recession chart and find out more about stocks that didn't succumb.

Where's the Beef, Apple?
After Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone presentation Tuesday, Fool contributor Anders Bylund noted that "Mr. Market showed a clear disdain for the lack of truly big news, as everything was a simple next-step evolution from last year's model -- hardly a speck of fairy dust to be seen."

Anders reported that Apple's market cap dropped by 6.3% during its iPhone presentation. "In other words," he explained, "the lack of investable excitement destroyed some $21 billion in paper profits in less than two hours. That's nearly half of Hewlett-Packard's market cap or enough to buy Research In Motion twice."

Have your opinions on the iPhone 4S (and Apple stock) changed now that we've had a few days to process the news? Read Anders' article and use the comments section on that page to let your fellow Fools know what you think. And don't miss "Steve Jobs: Tribute to a Visionary" by Fool contributor Evan Niu.

The Fastest Way to Stop Oil and Gas Drilling
 Using the U.K. as an example, Fool contributor David Lee Smith points out that increasing companies' tax burdens is a heck of a way to stop oil and gas drilling. The situation in the U.K. "appears to have already resulted in a substantial 52% quarterly drop in North Sea drilling activity," David reported, "a phenomenon that could foreshadow our fate should our administration's proposed ramp in energy taxes become reality."

He moves onto the situation in the U.S. in part two, where he provides "a sample of the key proposals in the Obama administration's approach to heightened taxation for the sector." They're not new taxes, David notes, but repeals or removals of existing deductions.

Read David's articles to learn more about what's going on and why investors need to keep an eye on companies including ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC), and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL). And click the green button next to the tickers to add the companies to your free, personalized stock watchlist.