Cheat Sheet

The Dow today extended a streak of gains to three days—though just barely, closing up 36.47 points to close at 8,479.86. Stocks were way up early on news of more government steps to unfreeze consumer credit, with JPMorgan Chase getting the biggest bounce, gaining 8.3 percent. But amid further signs of a weakening economy—newly released statistics that the third-quarter GDP was much worse than expected were particularly painful—the markets slid. The Dow wound up slightly ahead, as did the S&P 500, but the Nasdaq slid seven points. Overseas, most Asian markets gained, as did European stocks.

Need evidence of the irrational fear that's driving our markets? In The Washington Post, Robert Samuelson flags a startling statistic: "From mid-September to November 21, there were 50 trading days; on 25, the market moved 4 percent or more (16 down, nine up), reports Wilshire Associates. In the previous 25 years, there were just 25 daily moves of 4 percent or more. We've gone from one a year to one every other day." Americans are tightening their wallets—holiday spending is expected to decline 11 percent—and Samuelson estimates consumer spending will drop by at least $450 billion as Americans shift so saving money over spending it. "If the swing toward saving is too sharp," he writes, "consumer spending wouldn't just weaken; it would collapse."

Good news: The rate of cancer in the United States is beginning its first decline since the government began compiling records, the result of better treatment and prevention. “The drop in incidence…is something we have been waiting to see for a long time,” Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, told the Los Angeles Times. And “the continuing drop in mortality is evidence once again of real progress made against cancer, reflecting real gains in prevention, early detection and treatment.” Still, researchers warn the declines, 0.8 percent per year from 1999 through 2005 for men and women, could be temporary, as baby boomers reach the age at which cancer could develop, and the economic crisis could push smoking rates upward. Five of the six most common cancers— lung, colorectal, and prostate in men, and breast and colorectal cancer in women—declined, while the sixth, lung cancer in women, leveled off.

John McCain hosted his first press conference today since the presidential election. Topics included his 2010 Senate race (“I intend to run again”); Sarah Palin (“I think she has a very bright future in a leadership position in the Republican party"); and his decision not to use Jeremiah Wright against Obama ("I thought that that issue had been well ventilated"). He also said that the Republican Party needed to reclaim its old reputation for fiscal discipline if it wanted to succeed again and praised Obama's appointments to his economic team. He singled out the choice of Arizona’s governor, Janet Napolitano, to head the Department of Homeland Security as an excellent pick.

Looks like Americans aren’t the only ones facing air-travel troubles this week. In Thailand, anti-government protestors have stormed the main international airport, which had to cancel all flights. Thousands of travelers are now stranded there, and it looks like it may be awhile before they depart. “Our goal is to shut down Suvarnabhumi [Airport] until [Prime Minister] Somchai quits,” said a spokesperson for the People’s Alliance for Democracy. Gunfire was also reported in Bangkok’s streets and the unrest could provoke another coup, only two years after the last.

Sharon Waxman has a scoop: Several Hollywood icons met last month in an Italian restaurant in Los Angeles to discuss the possibility of a Screen Actors Guild strike. Among those in the private room were Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Meryl Streep, and Nick Nolte. (Nick Nolte?) “They were given slips of paper to write down their views as to how or why a strike should or should not occur,” Waxman reports. “Their verdict, according to my source: the guild should move toward a strike.” The full guild will vote soon on whether or not to strike. According to Waxman, many in Hollywood think a strike is inevitable.

How much do the Brits love Mamma Mia! This much: On its first day of DVD sales, the highest-grossing film in Britain of all time sold an average of 10 copies per second. A total of 1.669 million Mamma Mia! DVDs were sold on the first day of sale yesterday, making it the UK’s fastest-selling DVD of all time.

Nicolas Sarkozy, who is about to rotate out of the European Union's presidency, has a reputation for being a little bit daft. Now meet his successor, Czech President Vaclav Klaus. British historian Timothy Garton Ash has called Klaus "one of the rudest men I have ever met." Klaus has called global warming a "myth" and Al Gore an "apostle of arrogance." He blames the world financial crisis on too much, not too little, regulation; is close with Vladimir Putin; and has frequently lambasted the organization he will now head. "Oh God, Vaclav Klaus will come next," read a headline in a recent Austrian paper. "There is palpable fear that Mr. Klaus will embarrass the world's biggest trading bloc and complicate its efforts to address the economic crisis and expand its powers," writes The New York Times. Good news: The Czech presidency is largely a ceremonial position, and this fact is expected to limit Klaus's power in the E.U.

Can someone give Sumner Redstone a bailout? The controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS is in big trouble, with half of his $1.6 billion of debt due on December 19. According to The Times, Redstone is considering selling his family’s 1,500-screen theater chain and has indicated to insiders that he is willing to part with CBS, but not Viacom. Media watchers think Redstone’s unloading of CBS and Viacom stock could be a good thing: They attribute much of the decline in those companies’ share prices to uncertainness over their controlling shareholder’s financial status.

Having held his tongue throughout the election, Jeremiah Wright has broken his silence in an interview with Sirius XM Radio. Ben Smith has the details: Wright described Obama’s election as a "mixed bag of being proud of him and being blessed to have lived [to see it]”, and frustration at being "put up by the media" as a "weapon of mass destruction to destroy his candidacy." He also recognized Obama’s need to distance himself during the election: "To get the votes that he needs in electoral politics, he has to distance himself from me, because his support would dry up when certain parts of the constituency found out who I was." He was most disappointed not in Obama, he said, but others in the black church who "just rolled over and played dead while we in the black church continue to be hammered for who we are."

Here’s a Wednesday night TV special we bet Barbara Walters won’t be watching: Rosie Live, which stars Rosie O’Donnell and features a mishmash of Broadway dancers, celebrity appearances, comedy sketches, and musical performances. The special will be a test of the viability of the variety genre, which is earning new attention as ratings falter across the board. (The Osbournes and John Mayer are set to launch similar programs). Original variety queen Carol Burnett says, "I'm happy that the V word isn't so nasty anymore." Should Rosie Live sail to the top of the Nielsen charts, her special could become a weekly series.

If there is an Israeli Nicholas Sparks, let him now step forward. Residents of the Israeli beach town of Ashkelon recently found a message in a bottle on one of their beaches. Inside was a note written in Arabic that read, “I love you, I'm crazy about you, and I pray that God never separates us. You changed my life…you're my life, you're my eyes." No word on the letter’s author, but residents speculate that he lives in Gaza, as “large quantities of waste” from Gaza often wash up on Ashkelon’s beaches. "This is very touching and heart-warming," one man commented. "There's also some sadness involved, as this letter ultimately did not reach the man's lover.”

Barack Obama followed up yesterday’s press conference about economic stimulus with an event today focused on savings. "In these challenging times, when we're facing both rising deficits and a shrinking economy, budget reform is not an option. It's a necessity," Obama said. "We can't sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness." He largely shied away from providing specifics, but mentioned reforming farm subsidies as an example of how the government might cut waste. He also introduced Peter Orszag, current director of the Congressional Budget Office, as his director of the White House budget office.

Today’s inspired (and, we have to say, quite unique) rant comes to us from the London Times’ Carol Midgley. Midgley’s beef is with men who have blithely appropriated women’s fashion. Case in point: “mantyhose”—aka, male pantyhose—which follows closely on the heels of other woman-to-man items such as manbags, guyliner, and manscara. (No word on exactly who is wearing this stuff, but we’ll take Midgley’s word for it.) Midgley points out that wearing pantyhose is “one of the very worst things about being a woman. … [I]f you don’t mind an itchy crackle-fest around your nether regions, then please be my guest. Oh, and don’t expect your tights to be much of a chick-magnet.” We should think not.

Sad news for denizens of Gotham City: According to its writer, the newest Batman comic will see "the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman." The exact method of this ending is unknown, though there are rumors that he will be betrayed by Robin. It is expected that Bruce Wayne will be replaced as Batman by another character. Batman was created in 1939. His death has precedent: Last year Captain America's creators knocked him off. The new comic hits shelves on November 26.

Citigroup got its bailout, its share price is up—everything’s good, right? Not so fast, says The New York Times’ Eric Dash. “Almost overnight, Citigroup went from being the sick man of the industry to an institution with an edge over its competitors,” he writes. Those competitors, who have not yet sought a bailout, may hit up the government for a similar deal so as not to fall behind. Small banks could suffer, Dash writes, because the government has lined up behind the big boys. Then there’s the possibility of Citi needing a third bailout—with the government this time offering less than favorable terms.

Another sign of the end of the Bush era: Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama Bin Laden's driver who was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, will be transferred from Guantánamo Bay to his native Yemen, where he will serve out the remaining month of his sentence. Hamdan was once considered a dangerous terrorist by the Pentagon, but was sentenced to only four months imprisonment on lesser charges in a military trial in August. "We hope that this will be a positive first step to the transfer of the remaining detainees," said Yemen's ambassador to the United States. Of the 250 detainees still at Guantánamo, 101 are Yemeni.

The search for a man who allegedly drove cross-country, confronted his estranged wife at her church, and then murdered her, has ended, according to reports. Authorities captured Joseph M. Pallipurath in Georgia Tuesday morning. Pallipurath’s wife, Reshma James, had fled from Sacramento to New Jersey to live with relatives. She said her husband—whom she wed in an arranged marriage—had abused her. Due to a restraining order, Pallipurath could not confront his wife at her home, so he arrived at the church at the conclusion of services. He is alleged to have shot two other men in the head during the encounter, one of whom, Dennis John Malloosseril, died on Monday.

Today’s Times of London tells the amazing story of how the richest woman in Germany got swindled by a con man. Susanne Klatten, whose fortune is estimated at 9 billion euros, met Helg Sgarbi at an Austrian resort last summer. Sgarbi was smart and handsome, and hinted that he was a crisis negotiator for the Swiss government. In fact, he was an alleged former gigolo whom The Times says had pulled the same act on other wealthy women. Sgarbi and Klatten began an affair—at a Munich Holiday Inn, no less—and then Sgarbi began to ask for money. Klatten initially agreed, arriving at their rendezvous points with millions in small bills. Then she realized the con, and turned Sgarbi over to the authorities. His trial begins next year.