The DOW Jones Index is just a few thousand trades from the 13,000 mark.

As of market close on Friday the DOW sat at 12,949.87.  That seems almost impossible to believe considering the financial crisis and Great Recession of just a few years ago.  The highest the market has ever closed was 14,164.53 back in October 2007.  The S&P 500 is currently trading at a P/E Ratio of 22.74 and the average over the last 140 years or so is around a P/E of 16.

Is the economy finally gaining so momentum and getting on stable feet?  Or is this just another run up before another big crash?

As Warren Buffett is often quoted: “We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.”

The ultimate question is: are a majority of people out there currently fearful or greedy?

While you’re trying to figure out how everyone else feels about the market so you can know how to be opposite of that, here are some solid reads from this week:

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The five largest banks in the United States have settled with 49 of the 50 states to settle suits of improper, abusive, and negligent foreclosure practices.

The banks will pay a combined $26 billion into a settlement fund to compensate individuals who lost their homes or are currently underwater on their mortgages. A big chunk of the fund — $17 billion — will be used to lower the principal balance of homeowners who are behind on payments and owe far more than their home is worth.

While this is a good deal I can’t help but be a bit bothered that no compensation is paid to homeowners who are on time with their current mortgages (aside from part of the fund being used to help refinance those loans to low rates) or to homeowners who sold their homes as short sales or at serious losses out of their own pockets. In short, homeowners who did the right thing are getting the least (if any) help.

If you’re benefiting from the settlement, congratulations. Make sure you don’t blow the money you’ve been given. These articles should help guide you:

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The 46th Annual Super Bowl kicks off tonight.  Who are you cheering for?

It’s been a heck of a week: Facebook announced its IPO, the Obama administration set out new refinancing assistance, and mortgage rates hit all-time lows well under 4%.

Refinancing is a great idea right now if you have a mortgage payment at 4.75% or above because the rate on a 30 year note is about 1% less.  Even with factoring in closing costs, if you plan to stay in your home for 10 years, you’ll make your money back.  (If you aren’t planning to live in your current place for very long, what are you doing in a house in the first place?)

Before you consider refinancing your mortgage and investing your nest egg into Facebook shares, check out these articles:

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The rumor mill on a Facebook IPO has been churning for months.

Insiders and reporters now believe that as early as Wednesday this week that Facebook will file for it’s initial public offering.  The offering will value the company somewhere between $75 and $100 billion and raise approximately $10 billion for the firm.

It will also make Mark Zuckerberg very, very paper rich.  (He won’t technically be rich until he sells some of his shares; I’m sure he’s doing just fine.)

The irony with the Facebook IPO is that the company doesn’t produce anything.  It is a platform for users to share their lives… which Facebook then turns around and sells as marketing data.

Wish you had millions (or billions) to worry about managing? These articles will get you a step closer:

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The World Series started this week and while you might think it is terrible to lose the championship series it turns out it really isn’t all that bad for the players. There is a playoff pool created for all of the teams that breaks out a certain percentage to each team.  The pool is formed by taking 60% of the total gate receipts for the first four games of the World Series and League Championship Series, and the first three games of each Division Series.  The pool is then paid out to the teams in the playoffs with the World Series winner getting 36% of the pool, and the World Series loser getting 24% of the pool.  The rest is split up to the losing teams earlier in the playoffs. Turns out 2nd place isn’t all that bad.

If you aren’t competing for a World Series this week, you should probably grow your financial knowledge so you can retire.  Here are some great articles to help you get there:

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The European Union continues to deal with instability caused by an impending debt crisis. Will Greece default?  Will this lead to defaults in other Eurozone countries such as Spain, Portugal, and Italy?  And would a massive default in Europe plunge the world, including the United States, back into a recession?  The financial markets are still trying to make sense of all of it.

Instead of worrying about something you can’t control — Europe’s debt problems — focus on fixing your own finances with these great articles:

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