For the week ending Nov. 30, 2007
Jubak: Fed, Wall Street are playing chicken
The smart shopper's gift guide
Losing stocks to win with in '08
9 high-tech ways to simplify your money

I used to put stock-chart fanatics in the same class as astrologers, dowsers and mind readers. They're right often enough to convince themselves, but not me, the hard-nosed skeptic. No sirree.

In fact, I resisted learning about stock charts for years before I finally realized how much money my ignorance was costing me. When I finally did take the plunge, it was no easy job wading through all the jargon and the obsessive pattern taxonomies of most charting guides to arrive at what I really needed to know.

To spare you this kind of pain, we've developed our own MSN Money approach to stock charts that will teach you the essentials in just a few minutes. No books to study, no need to pore over pages of murky patterns and mystifying language -- just the basics, explained in a few words and illustrated with animated examples.

The project was authored by Michael Kahn, editor of the daily Quick Takes Pro technical newsletter and author of the "Getting Technical" column for Barron's Online, in collaboration with Chris Oster, MSN Money's senior editor for investing, both very sharp students of the charting discipline. Narrating the project is Market Dispatches writer Elizabeth Strott.

Click here to take a look and drop me an e-mail to let me know what you think.

Richard Jenkins, Editor in Chief

New on MSN Money

NEW NEWSLETTER, NEW DAY: This is the last Friday issue of our "This Week" newsletter. Starting Dec. 10 we'll be sending this on Mondays, with a brand-new look. But it will remain a roundup of what's new and newsy on MSN Money, and we hope you'll stay tuned.

BIG RALLY, BUT: Major gains set Wall Street up for a merry season this week, but Jon Markman advises caution into the new year. Short-term rallies will happen, he writes, but a "big rally doesn't mean all is well."

INSIDE THE HEDGE FUNDS: Jon Markman this week also wrote his second piece looking into the world of the money elite who've made a bundle off the subprime loan fiasco. Read "Getting rich off the subprime mess" and Markman's earlier column, "For an elite few, credit pain means profit."

CEOS WHO CASHED IN: We've all read by now about the $161.5 million payoff package handed to Merrill Lynch chief Stanley O'Neal, which no doubt makes being shown the door less painful. But's he's only No. 5 on our list; for the others, read Michael Brush's "The 5 richest payoffs for fired CEOs."

BUDGET REPAIRS: So your spending plan works on paper but runs a little short in real life? MP Dunleavey may have some answers for you. Read "5 steps to fix a broken budget."

CLOSE THE GAP: Or perhaps your problem is that you just don't bring in quite enough. Take a look at Liz Pulliam Weston's "20 ways to make $100 more a month."

Coming up on MSN Money

NOT IN THE CARDS: Liz Pulliam Weston's view that plastic gift cards are a cop-out has generated tons of debate among out readers. On Monday, she offers a list of easy gift-card alternatives starting at around $10. (You can always find her latest work on her MSN Money home page, where you can sign up to get an e-mail whenever she publishes a new column.)

BIG AL: There's much blame to go around in the mortgage mess, but Bill Fleckenstein writes Monday about the rogue he wants you to remember. The name is Greenspan. (You can find all his columns on his index page.)

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