Share Trading Online

We’re mid-way through 2008, and in may respects, the U.S. markets are better positioned than they were six months ago.

These days, investors and consumers alike are caught between crude realities and Mother Nature’s vindictive then vindicating furies.

PORT WASHINGTON, NY. (MarketWatch) — Considering how energy efficient we’ve become over the past 38 years, it is nothing short of amazing how much havoc the jump in oil prices is wreaking on the financial markets and the economy.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian shares were mostly back into the red Tuesday, with Santos Ltd. fronting declines in the resource sector after crude-oil prices weakened overnight, while Hynix Semiconductor was among decliners in South Korea.

Lehman Brothers climbs more than 3% late after Morgan Stanley recommended that investors purchase shares of the embattled investment bank, and shares of Fortune Brands fall after the company issued a warning about second-quarter results.

Here’s a new “Mega-Meltdown Poll,” expanded to include the “Top 25” issues defining America for this crucial election, for the next century. But we cannot deal with them separately, anymore than the colonies could win separately. They must be solved collectively: All 25 are a loud call to arms.