The Motley Fool's Weekly Editors' Picks

There are many "teachable moments" during a trading week. This week, the Fool wrote on the chalkboard about what's going on in D.C., a noteworthy market signal, and how to think about choices between domestic and international investments.

How to Fail at Financial Reform
Sen. Chris Dodd: "The economic crisis was driven by an across-the-board failure to protect consumers."

Fool Matt Koppenheffer: "As if!"

OK, Matt actually said: "While that may be a heartwarming sound bite, it shows either an acute misunderstanding of the true causes of the financial crisis, or an unabashed willingness to pander to populist views."

While Dodd's reform bill seems like a good deal, Matt points out three flaws: too much bureaucracy, too many studies, and too little understanding. "The crisis wasn't simply about big, bad banks that preyed on the entire country," writes Matt. "It was about the same thing that panics, meltdowns, and crashes are always made up of: greed run wild."

Click to the article for a closer look at Matt's musings on how the bill might affect citizens' and government's dealings with companies such as Capital One Financial (NYSE: COF), AIG, and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

The Last Snort of a Dying Bull Market
Is that snot or steam coming from the bull's nose? Is Blackstone (NYSE: BX) the one to know? The private equity firm is preparing to cash out of several deals it entered before the market peaked in late 2007. That means it wants to make money and get out before the market starts going down again, right?

Click to the article and let Fool writer Rich Smith help you consider the implications of Blackstone's actions -- most prominently, the sale of Kosmos Energy's Ghanaian oil interests to ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM).

"Blackstone's IPO activities don't necessarily mark the exact top of a market. They're just one clue -- a hint that we should open our eyes and see whether there's anything else suggesting that the market's gotten a mite frothy," writes Rich.

Five Homegrown Growth Stocks
Large companies includingMcDonald's (NYSE: MCD) and Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) generate the majority of their revenue outside of the United States. But Fool writer Stephen Mauzy reminds investors not to stop their research at that number, and thus blindly follow the crowd into investing in companies with heavy foreign exposure.

"Like McDonald's," Stephen writes, "Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) gets more bang for its buck in the United States. Each dollar of domestic Wal-Mart U.S. sales produces $0.07 in operating income, compared to $0.05 internationally."

Click to the story to see the five businesses focusing on domestic opportunities that Stephen suggests for your consideration.