Stocks Finish Mixed

Stocks finished off the day mostly lower on Monday as falling commodity prices and financial shares dragged on the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 41.34 points to end at 9,778.86. Broader stock indicators ended slightly mixed. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index lost 3.64 points while the tech heavy Nasdaq added 5.18 points. News of Dell Inc.'s (DELL) plans to buy information technology company Perot Systems Corp. (PER) for $3.9 billion helped to lift some tech stocks, but didn't provide enough momentum for a broader rally. Investors are also waiting to see what the Federal Reserve will conclude after its two-day meeting this week. The Fed is expected to hold short-term interest rates steady at historic lows near zero. Reports on housing and consumer sentiment are due later in this week. President Obama said over the weekend that job growth won't kick in until the end of the recovery, which is not expected until sometime next year. In other news, U.S. light crude oil for October delivery tumbled $2.33 to settle at $69.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar finally reversed its declines against the euro and yen. Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.48% from 3.45%

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Insurer American International Group (AIG) has definitely made some decent progress over the last year. Despite this, congressional investigators are casting doubt on whether efforts made by the company will allow them to repay the government in full. The bailout package has already been revised three times this year, so should taxpayers start worrying? Should the package be altered for a fourth time? Investors didn't appear phased by the assessment, pushing the stock 10% higher during the trading session.

Are AIG's Enemies Becoming Frenemies?

Another indicator is suggesting that the recession may have finally bottomed out. The index of US leading economic indicators rose for the fifth straight month, capping the longest stretch of gains since 2004. If we look a little deeper, the gain here is actually a drop when compared to recent months.

It seems like ever since the walls came crushing down on Bernie Madoff, other billion dollar ponzi schemes have been popping up all over the place. Two men have been charged in New York with an $80 million Ponzi scheme involving an automated teller machine business.

Signs that the housing market is gaining traction have not been felt at Lennar Corp. (LEN). The homebuilder reported a wider loss in its fiscal third quarter as it continued to write down the value of land and unsold homes.

All the tax invaders that had offshore accounts still have time to disclose their indiscretions to Uncle Sam. The Internal Revenue Service has decided to extend the deadline for its tax amnesty program. The final deadline has now been set at October 15, 2009.

Drug maker AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) has inked a potential $1.2 billion deal with Nektar Therapuetics (NKTR). The partnership between the two companies will allow AstraZeneca to license two experimental drugs from Nektar .

The U.S. Department of Transportation released a report today that showed airlines' second-quarter operating margins improved . This is likely a result of lower fuel prices and improving sentiment among consumers and investors.

Other Juicy Tidbits

The popularity of Amazon (AMZN) has been growing at a rapid pace. Millions of shoppers flock to the website on a daily basis looking for great deals. The online retailer is very similar to another big discount store. Can Amazon Be the Wal-Mart of the Web?

Since the start of the financial crisis, everyone has been pointing fingers and shifting blame. The Federal Reserve shares some of the blame for the creation of the crisis, but most of the credit for keeping things from spiraling out of control.

Bankers are back to their same old tricks. One might have thought they would show some restraint for fear of creating a public backlash. Curbs on their pay are definitely necessary.

Ben Bernanke Needs To Answer These 9 Questions . He'd better answer them before the Senate confirms him to another term as Fed chairman.