It seems as if everyone is worried about the economy going into a double-dip recession these days. Worry in and of itself can be very destructive, both to your mental state and to the economy overall. Besides pulling out your hair, causing acid reflux and other health problems, worry can actually become self-fulfilling prophecy and cause the very thing you are most afraid of.

A number of years ago when I read Dale Carnegie's book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, one method he suggested was just to accept the worst case scenario and then move on with life from there.

So accept it: THE ECONOMY IS DOOMED! it's going to be 10 years of economic nightmare!

Now what?

Comcast (CMCSA) and Visa (V) reported earnings on Wednesday. Following is my brief take on each of them.

Comcast is a big name in cable, and it's waiting to close on a deal with General Electric (GE) involving the latter company's NBC Universal. It will be interesting to see if Comcast's management team can properly synergize with the studio.

Visa (V - option chain) stock is trading lower along with most credit card companies this morning after the Senate passed a financial regulatory overhaul yesterday which would reduce interchange fees that retailers must pay issuers and banks for debit-card transactions. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on V.

This morning, V opened at $73.60. So far today the stock has hit a high of $73.75 and a low of $71.27. As of 12:15, V is trading at $72.69, down $2.59 (-3.4%). The chart for V looks bullish and S&P gives V a positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy ranking.

With the unemployment rate hovering near 10%, bad news on the TV and job prospects dwindling, it can be tempting to retreat to a nice beach somewhere until the economy turns around. Some people are actually doing it! Rather than sitting around and moping until the economy recovers, you can go see the world and have the trip of a lifetime.

Out of work and taking a vacation? You probably want some of what I am smoking? Well, listen up!

(DFS), whose related companies include American Express (AXP), MasterCard (MA), and Visa (V), closed higher yesterday after releasing Q2 data. Of course, I should put the phrase "closed higher" into perspective. The stock ended the day at $14.08, which meant it rose 0.5%. Not exactly a spectacular end to the session, but it actually was doing better at other points during the intraday period.

According to this item, an improved profit picture in the latest report drove the buying. Card-sales volume went up while charge-offs went down. A great combination for the business.

Visa, Inc. (V) saw a nice pop today during the afternoon session. With a little less than two hours to go before the end of market activities, the shares were higher by well over 7%. They hit a price of $83, and the volume level was healthy.

It was great to witness the buying activity. While I don't own Visa, I do recognize its great potential over the long term. The company makes money on transactions at points of sale: just a small percentage on each one, of course, but considering how society has become dependent on both credit and debit cards, you've got to respect the model. Remember that Visa doesn't expose itself to too much risk: it's the banks who make the actual credit loans.

How many days can we have where the plus or minus signs on the DJIA and the S&P 500 are not fully clear until the final minutes of the trading day? Lots it appears. US markets followed global markets higher this morning after China announced its partially more flexible Yuan-Dollar peg promise. A strengthening Euro and concerns in energy and retail sectors took out the strength of the day, as sellers started coming into the market right before the last hour of trading. Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,442.41 -8.23 (-0.08%)
S&P 500 1,113.20 -4.31 (-0.39%)
Nasdaq 2,289.09 -20.71 (-0.90%)

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Last week's ratification of the Durbin Amendment by U.S. lawmakers seemed to put Visa (V) on edge, with the credit card company now facing the prospect of curtailed interchange fees. (Of course, the firm's written statement cited concerns about potential harm to consumers -- a nice touch.)

So, with the forecast looking gloomy on the home front, perhaps it's no surprise that Visa is now trying to woo another major world power. According to Japan's The Nikkei, Visa "will urge the Japanese government to use credit cards for all of its purchases, from stationery items to parts for fighter jets, saying it would save the country a lot of money."

Well, it's time to own up to some mistakes. I've been wrong on a few stocks. Sure, the market has been volatile, and perhaps my ideas will eventually bear fruit, but it doesn't matter. When you're timing is off, it's off. And I've got to admit it.

Where shall I begin? Let's go with Disney (DIS). I've been bullish on Disney. Like many of the analysts on Wall Street, I became infatuated with the prospects for the Mouse's studio operations. A little too infatuated, I think. I kept throwing around this $40 personal price target. My rationale? Perhaps it turned out to be too simplistic; I basically said that, because Iron Man 2, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Toy Story 3 were all ready to reign supreme at the box office, traders would become excited and more than willing to fulfill the promise of the one-year chart and keep the technicals moving in a positive direction.

With no economic data we focused at first on Europe, then on finance regulation, and then on bargain hunting. Very few earnings were out and very little corporate news was out. Today was about raw supply and demand mixed with a big short squeeze with the bulls having a winner.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow 10,193.39 +125.38 (1.25%)
S&P 500 1,087.69 +16.10 (1.50%)
Nasdaq 2,229.04 +25.03 (1.14%)

U.S. stock futures declined Friday morning, pointing to a weaker start for the session as investors awaited a batch of economy data, including consumer sentiment. Meanwhile, concerns about Europe and its debt persisted as did worries about the global economic outlook.

Starting at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, several economic reports are due. The Commerce Department will report April retail sales at 8:30 a.m. Sales are expected to have risen just 0.2% after climbing 1.9% the previous month, according to Briefing.com. Excluding autos, sales are expected to show a gain of 0.4%, compared to a March increase of 0.9%. The weather and an early Easter are blamed for the tiny gain.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• American International Group Inc. (AIG) said its Q1 earnings doubled, easily topping analysts' expectations.
• Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) said Q1 revenue grew, but disappointing earnings dragged down shares.
• Chevron Corp. (CVX) had strong Q1 earnings and boosted its dividend, but Gulf spill concerns weighed on shares.
• CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) Q1 earnings topped consensus estimates but it also said same-store sales slipped.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) said its lost $8 billion in Q1, less than a year ago, and requested further bailout funds.

Visa (V) posted a decent second quarter earnings results of 96 cents per share, compared to the Thomson/Reuters first quarter estimate of 91 cents. It was propelled higher by an 8% increase in payment volume to $769 billion, but it wasn't enough to keep investors happy.

Wall Street's response to the earnings upside has been rude, to say the least: the stock sold-off about $1 on the day of the release and the selling hasn't stopped: the stock is down more than $4 to about $90 as early Monday afternoon.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Coinstar Inc. (CSTR) shares surged following stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings driven by DVD rentals.
• Humana Inc. (HUM) shares traded lower despite the report of better-than-expected earnings for Q1.
• IMAX Corp. (IMAX) reported strong Q1 results that easily topped consensus estimates, but shares declined.
• Kellogg Co. (K) topped Q1 earnings expectations and announced a share buyback program.
• Office Depot Inc. (ODP) Q1 earnings fell short of consensus estimates and same-store sales declined.

Visa (V), which competes with American Express (AXP), Discover Financial Services (DFS), and MasterCard (MA), is probably one of the best long-term ideas out there, in my opinion. Credit and debit cards will always play a vital role in the financial culture, and Visa is a top brand in the space.

The equity's 52-week high stands at $97.19. It closed yesterday at $93.61, up a paltry 66 cents, or 0.7%. The stock wasn't rocking into the earnings report, which was released after the bell. And it's pulled back a little from the 52-week high. So what? The one-year chart looks attractive to my eye, and even if it didn't, this is one story I'm fully behind.