The Motley Fool's CAPS investing service is one of the newest additions to the investing community at Fool.com, and it's another great way for investors to work together to beat the market. One of CAPS' features allows users to set up a blog to talk about their picks, investing strategy, market view, or favorite football team (if they so desire).
I've scoured the CAPS blog universe to bring you a generous helping of the top blog posts of the past week.
The Housing Market and The Wizard of Oz
Kicking it off this week, the amazingly prolific floridabuilder has put out several new posts in his ongoing series on homebuilders and the real estate market. My favorite, mainly because it was just so darn creative, was a post from last week that compares what's going on in the housing market to the plot of The Wizard of Oz.
In the post -- among other things -- he compares Fed chief Ben Bernanke to the Tin Man (who was in need of a heart), the big banks to the Cowardly Lion (who needed courage), and the homebuilder CEOs to the Scarecrow (who wanted a brain -- ouch!).
Of course, floridabuilder's thoughts represent one side of the discussion, but if you're considering picking up shares of major homebuilders like Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), KB Home, or Pulte Homes (NYSE:PHM), his blog can supply some great background research.
Maximizing Community Intelligence
The CAPS community is already huge and growing fast, with more than 65,000 players, last count. But are those 65,000 people getting the most out of the CAPS experience?
Who better to clarify the finer points of mining the most value from CAPS data than Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner? In a blog post last week, Dave, aka TMFBreakerDave, did just that.
Ruddick
This week, CAPS TV features CAPS player and blogger Eileen Sullivan, aka MaverickAtWork. Eileen gives her pitch for Ruddick (NYSE:RDK), a holding company that owns the grocery store Harris Teeter. Looking for a company somewhere between high-end Whole Foods (NASDAQ:WFMI) and low-end Safeway? You might want to check out Eileen's pitch.
Thirsting for some more CAPS TV after that? Check out TMFHollywoodDan in the first-ever edition of Great Calls, or watch a hilarious video about what could be the worst stock out there.
Tips for Saving Money on Gasoline
Need I say more? On her blog, InvestorDeb gives some tips to help get the most out of your gallon when you fill up next time. Ben Franklin would certainly approve!
Explaining the Historical P/E Mentality
It's not surprising that CAPS player HistoricalPEGuy would talk about this subject. In a blog post last week, PEGuy covered the hows and whys of looking for cheap stocks based on comparing current price-to-earnings ratios with historical ratios. While PEGuy suggested skipping the homebuilders, he thought that solid issues like 3M (NYSE:MMM), GE (NYSE:GE), and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) might merit this kind of analysis.
Get a Global View
Are you too focused on what's going on in the U.S. markets? While the U.S. is still a juggernaut in the global economy, it's good -- and potentially very profitable -- to know what's happening abroad. In her blog post, SarahGen makes a good case for checking the news coverage in the Financial Times. And if you find yourself looking for more global opportunities, check out Bill Mann and company at the Fool's Global Gains newsletter.
Pavarotti
And finally, for your off-topic dose of culture, in honor of the recently deceased Luciano Pavarotti, camistocks offers up some video clips of the virtuoso in action.
How can Pavarotti help you with your investing? Well, the next time the market gets really tumultuous, why not throw on some Pavarotti? It might help your blood pressure drop back into the ideal range for making good investments.
Now it's your turn -- get off the sidelines, join CAPS, and start your own CAPS blog. Share your knowledge and insights with the rest of the CAPS universe.
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