Last week wasn't good for stocks. It seems that investors were worried about inflation and now they are worried about an economic slowdown--basically the opposite scenario. A big factor in both these sentiments is oil. I'll interested to see how prices at the pump influence the spring/summer car buying season. Experts are saying investors should expect more volatility over the next few months because there doesn't appear to be the economic growth available to push a rally. It may be a good time to do some day trading until the summer internship starts.

Today Coke settled with the SEC regarding its accounting practices between 1997 and 1999. Coke had asked Japanese bottlers to make additional purchases of Coke concentrate to boost Coke's revenues. Head of the SEC's Atlanta office, Richard Wessel, said,

Coca-Cola misled investors by failing to disclose end-of-period practices that impacted the company's likely future operating results.

I'm sure Coke is glad to have the inquiry behind them because it isn't the sort of news item you want associated with an all-American company.