Weekly Roundup: MarketWatch's top ten stories Aug. 27 - 31

	Weekly Roundup AUGUST 31, 2012 MarketWatch's top ten stories Aug. 27 - 31 By MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — There was a lot of notable news this week. Bernanke said he was prepared to do more to boost the U.S. economy, setting the stage for action that will affect economies around the globe. Mitt Romney accepted the Republican nomination for president of the United States. And, there was that hurricane down in the Gulf of Mexico. But there was another event that, while not seismic in its importance, nevertheless caught the attention of Americans of a certain age. I'm talking, of course, of Wednesday's ejection from the Standard & Poor's 500 Index of Sears (SHLD). We all shop, or shopped, at Sears, didn't we? Before Wal-Mart (WMT) or Target (TGT) or Home Depot (HD) , Sears was the place to go for just about anything the American household might need. Clothes, hardware, appliances, toys, sporting goods, even home decorations. If you needed it, you could find it at Sears. And of course, you still can. As Sears pointed out in a statement after Standard & Poor's tossed it out of the benchmark index, the decision was made for a technical reason having to do with how many of the company's shares are publicly traded, not because of any decline in the company's health. But still.... Sears was one of the companies included in the S&P 500 when it was launched in 1957. It reached No. 5 in market capitalization in May, 1965. It was a titan of the U.S. retail scene for decades and it's inclusion in the index felt like it made sense. So, while not exactly the end of an era, the news on Wednesday still felt like a milepost in the changing of America's retail landscape. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 90.13 points or 0.7% on Friday to close at 13,090.84. For the week it was down 0.5% while it was up 0.6% for August. The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) gained 18.25 points, or 0.6%, to 3,066.96 on Friday, off 0.1% for the week and up 4.3% for the month. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) gained 7.10 points, or 0.3%, to 1,406.58 on Friday. For the week the index was off 0.3%, but for the month it was 2% higher. Please visit MarketWatch over the weekend, where we'll have all the news you need to keep track of your portfolio as well as other news. If you want to look ahead to next week, have a look at our weekly videos.  U.S. Week Ahead: Amazon, ECB, Jobs  Europe's Week Ahead: ECB is prime focus -- Christopher Noble , assistant managing editor More asset buying Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke called the stagnation in the U.S. labor market a grave concern and said he was open to using more quantitative easing to help the economic recovery. Bernanke didn't commit to taking action, but he did reinforce the case for more asset purchases to boost the U.S. Read a story about Bernanke's speech in Jackson Hole . Yield Dilemma For retirement-focused savers, the take-away from Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech in Jackson Hole on Friday is that, long after Bernanke returns to Washington, they will still face a painful dilemma: Accept safe investments with yields they can't bear, or take more risk in the hope of greater returns, which they also find unpalatable. Read a Weekend Investor column about retirees dilemma . Fear itself European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, fighting a battle against fear itself, has effectively taken aim at the extra premium demanded by investors to hold certain European government bonds that can be attributed purely to fear the euro could fall apart. That leaves the central bank with an unenviable analytical and strategic task, economists said. Read a story about Draghi's fight to contain market fears over the euro. Growing up fast While growing up in a hurry, the tea party has moved Republicans and their presidential nominee Mitt Romney more to the right, got the vice presidential pick it wanted in Sen. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and now is setting its sights on winning the Senate for Republicans. The ticket is focusing almost exclusively on the economy and Romney now is emphasizing his past experience as a businessman and less on his personality. Read a story about the coming of age of the tea party . Currency war Because the dollar is the world's reserve currency, the Fed has a responsibility that far exceeds that of other central banks. And these days, in an increasingly interconnected global economy, it is in America's interest for the Fed to take this responsibility seriously. Otherwise, the U.S. central bank might start a currency war. Read Michael Casey's FX Horizons column on the potential international impact of QE3 . Staring contest Even with much of the Gulf of Mexico's energy production shut down as Hurricane Isaac approached the region earlier this week, the natural-gas market barely blinked, reflecting the increasing importance of shale gas to the market. Read a Commodities Corner column on the changing dynamics of the natural gas market . Smartphone storm The next few weeks will feature a storm of announcements for new smartphones as manufacturers work to get their latest and best devices in place to compete with the juggernaut expected from Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) next iPhone. The new devices are expected to boost smartphone sales to a record in the last quarter. Read a story about this month's expected flurry of smartphone announcements . Resale value Many experts predict Apple Inc.'s court victory over Samsung could shake up the wireless industry over the long term.In fact, it's already having an impact on one key area: the resale market. Customers of Samsung have been dumping their Android products on at least one major resale site and they've seen the price for those devices drop 10%. Read a story about the falling resale prices of Android phones . $10,000 or less Almost half of U.S. retirees die with savings of $10,000 or less, but that grim finding doesn't fully describe the uncertainty that characterizes retirement in America, according to a recent study. While pensions, social security and Medicare can make up for a shortfall, retirees are often unable to withstand a big shock to their finances. Read Andrea Coombes' Ways and Means column on retirees . A window for bonds Ever since European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do whatever it took within the bank's mandate to preserve the euro, bond markets have been relatively calm. Some European banks are taking advantage of that calm to issue corporate bonds. But, the window of opportunity that Draghi's comments opened could slam shut soon. Read a story about European banks corporate bond issuance . Get the latest news on our mobile site: http://www.marketwatch.com/m MarketWatch has sent you this newsletter because you signed up to receive it. To ensure you receive this newsletter in the future, please add marketwatchmail.com to your list of approved senders. Sent to: kumaresan.selva.blogger@gmail.com Unsubscribe | Subscribe Copyright 2012 MarketWatch, Inc. All rights reserved. MarketWatch, the MarketWatch logo, and BigCharts are registered trademarks of MarketWatch, Inc. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated 6/26/07). MarketWatch - Attn: Customer Service, 201 California St., San Francisco, CA 94111