"IT REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF BOLDNESS AND A GREAT DEAL OF CAUTION TO MAKE A GREAT FORTUNE." Ralph Waldo Emerson. And last week's headlines contained a mix of items to inspire both boldness and caution. Here are the highlights.

Last Week in Review -  
 

Meanwhile, the government continues to make bold moves to help our economy. On Monday, Treasury Secretary Geithner unveiled a plan to remove toxic assets from financial institutions by using money from the $700 Billion TARP fund. The government will help mitigate the risk by offering private investors Billions of dollars in low-interest loans to help finance the purchases. Indeed, it's a bold strategy - let's see if it pays off!

And...there is room for cautious optimism on the economy, as good news was noted on several fronts last week. The housing market received good news when both Existing Home Sales and New Home Sales came in stronger than expected. Additionally, Durable Goods Orders for February came in better than expected, showing the first increase in six months, and the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure Index (Core PCE) showed inflation is presently at tolerable levels. Plus, the US Dollar received a boost when China said it will continue to purchase US Treasuries.

On Friday, the Labor Department will release their Jobs Report for March. Last month's report showed that 651,000 US jobs were lost in February, while revisions for the prior two months showed that an additional 161,000 jobs were lost between December and January. Given that last week's Initial Jobless Claims report showed that the number of people collecting state unemployment benefits has reached a record high - jumping to a seasonally adjusted 5.56 Million - it will be important to see what Friday's report reveals.