Best wishes to all and, next to world peace among people, we should hope for the same among world markets.

I have let some time pass before commenting on a recent example of how fragile a world we live in. This past year through a time of greater economic danger, fear and volatility than most of us has experienced in a life time, many people cannot fathom how close we came to the edge of Hades.

Reports are surfacing that Citigroup (C) may be gearing up to pay back some for the $45 billion it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). According to CNBC, Citi is going to raise as much as $20 billion through a stock offering as part of these plans. The report notes that Citi's CEO Vikram Pandit has changes his travel plans so he can announce an equity offering today.

Furthermore, Citi chairman Dick Parsons indicated to CNBC that the bank "is in a position to repay the TARP money, but there is an active discussion we have to have with regulators." An earlier report hinted that Citi and government regulators disagreed over how much C should raise to taxpayers.

On Tuesday, McDonald's (MCD) announced that November same-store sales increased 0.7%. Great news, right? Well, the fast-food pioneer's sales dropped 0.6% in America, but increased 2.5% in Europe. MCD blames the drop in the United States on the sluggish economy, although the house of Ronald managed to outperform a majority of its American competitors.

Here is my question, hasn't the economic situation gotten better in America? Why would McDonald's sales suddenly slump just as it seems the economy is in recovery mode? Are we as Americans now more accustomed to eating at home thanks to tightening purse strings? Now that the economy is recovering, do we have a taste for better fast-food options? Are we finally tired of McDonald's?

It looks like we may have a bit of a rally on this final trading day of the first week of December thanks to the nonfarm payroll report. During November, 11,000 jobs were shed, far fewer than the expected 100,000 and the fewest lost jobs since December 2007. And the unemployment rate dropped to 10%.

There is a word of caution, as some economists believe that November's payroll figures could appear better because of the way the government adjusts the data for seasonal factors. That's the only wet blanket I will throw on this news, as the "seasonal factor issue" does not impact the jobless rate.

Discount retailer Dollar Tree (DLTR), which sells everything for a dollar or less, reported third-quarter earnings Tuesday morning. The company earned 76 cents per share during the quarter, nearly 62% higher than last year's same-quarter earnings. Sales for the quarter increased by more than 12% to $1.25 billion from $1.11 billion in sales from last year.

Dollar Tree beat the Street's earnings expectation of 66 cents per share by a dime and topped and revenue expectations of $1.24 billion. "I am pleased with our third quarter performance," said CEO Bob Sasser in a statment. "Sales and earnings were above plan." Solid earnings from a company specializing in cheap prices during a recession -- is anyone really surprised?

Lowe's (LOW) kicked off the week's earnings reports by posting third-quarter earnings of 24 cents per share, matching the consensus estimate. Revenue checked in at $11.4 billion, which -- while 3% lower than a year ago -- was better than the expected revenue of $11.28 billion. LOW's same-store sales dropped 7.5%.

Looking ahead, Lowe's forecast fourth-quarter earnings between nine and 13 cents per share and full-year earnings between $1.16 and $1.20 per share. Both of those forecast ranges surround the expected 10 cents per share and $1.20 per share, respectively. Lowe's also noted that it seems that some of the home markets feeling the biggest crunch in the economic crisis are stabilizing. Nevertheless, the home-improvement firm was negatively hit as customers were putting off larger purchases thanks to the economic situation.

On Monday, the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) announced that it believes the recession is over, but many of the economists it surveyed don't believe there will be a "meaningful improvement in jobs, credit or housing for months to come."

NABE asked a group of 43 top economists if they believe the U.S. economy has pulled out of the recession. Of those responding, 81% believe the recovery has started recovering, and 9% (four of those responding) thinking we are still in a recession. Four others were unsure.

We've watched stock market numbers bounce around for two years. Unemployment stats have served as unpleasant reminders that, for some, leading indicators haven't translated to reality. We look for so many ways to understand the brutal economic environment with which we've had to contend, and all the choices can make your head spin. So, let's make it simple. Here are eight ways to tack a label onto the financial world in which we live.

1. Lost market value
Total stock market losses from October 2007's top to March 2009's bottom: $11.2 trillion
Total gains in the stock market since the bottom: $4.6 trillion
Lost ground: $6.6 trillion

2. Bad days
Percentage of the 10 worst days in history for the Dow Jones Industrial Average that happened in 2008, by point drops: 60%
Percentage of the 10 worst days in history for the DJIA that happened in 2008, by percentage drops: 30%

3. Mutual funds
Value of mutual fund assets at the end of 2007: $6.5 trillion
... and a year later: $3.7 million
Lost value: $2.8 trillion

But, it got a little better at the end of August 2009: $4.5 trillion (value of assets)

According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate increased to 9.7% during August -- hitting the highest level since June 1983.

The report showed that employers cut a net total of 216,000 jobs. The number of jobs cut was less than July's 276,000 (which was upwardly revised) and was the lowest reading in a year. Economists expected job cuts to come in at 225,000. As for the unemployment rate, expectations called for 9.5%.

The Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment report was released before the opening bell Wednesday morning, showing that the private sector lost 298,000 jobs during August. Expectations called for a loss of 255,000 jobs, but the loss was better than the revised 360,000 jobs lost during July.

A spokesperson for ADP noted a "gradual improvement in labor markets" because "monthly losses are diminishing." That said, the group did note that job losses are likely to continue for "several more months."

In addition to this news, Challenger Gray & Christmas reported that layoffs planned by major U.S. corporations fell 21% from July to August. The 76,456 layoffs in August were the second-lowest amount cut in 2009.

Slumping sales did in Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) in the second quarter, as the company posted a surprise loss of 17 cents per share (excluding items). The Street expected the company to report earnings of 38 cents per share. Why the staggering disparity?

One reason is that comparable-store sales dropped 8.6% (12.5% at Sears stores and 3.9% at Kmart). Another reason is what the company called "significant items," which include costs associated with store closings and severance (32 cents per share), domestic pension plan expenses (22 cents per share), mark-to-market losses on Sears Canada hedge transactions (8 cents per share), and a positive impact of a reversal of a $62-million reserve (29 cents per share). The store closings include charges that related to the decision to close 28 underperforming stores.

Earlier this morning, Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) reported third-quarter earnings that dropped 27% as a result of falling sales during the past quarter. The farming equipment firm reported quarterly earnings of 99 cents per share, easily topping the consensus estimate of 57 cents per share.

While the results crushed the Street's estimate, it fell short of DE's year-ago performance. Quarterly revenue fell 24% compared to a year ago to $5.89 billion -- which again easily bested the consensus estimate for $5.25 billion.

America's second-largest retailer, Target (NYSE: TGT), announced second-quarter earnings this morning.

The discount retailer saw second-quarter earnings drop 6.4%, which was less than what the Street expected. For the quarter, Target earned 79 cents per share; down three cents from a year earlier but far better than the expected 66 cents per share.

Target was hurt by wary consumers who were less than willing to part with money on apparel and other "nonessential items." Target's CEO attributed the strong results to "very strong operating margin in our retail segment, and credit card segment performance in line with expectations."

Private equity returns are down 27.6% year-over-year for the 12-month period ending July 30, 2009, according to a Preqin report received by BloggingStocks. The London-based research house notes, however, that the global private equity industry's dry powder (i.e., uncommitted assets) continues to exceed $1 trillion, suggesting that there is still plenty of capital waiting for a rainy day.

Returns for the past 12 months reflect all the nastiness we've seen and lived -- bailouts, company collapses, equity and credit market mayhem and unemployment rates dangerously close to double-digits. But, the money is still coming in. Preqin puts the rate by which contributions outpaced distributions at 235% for buyout funds in 2008. This category raised $148 billion while distributing only $63 billion, making last year the most imbalanced for these two measures in history.

With all the focus on unemployment, the usual recession victims have been overlooked a bit. The over-65 crowd, living on fixed incomes, has seen portfolios decimated and those consistent dividends from blue chippers evaporate. At the same time, medical costs are headed in the other direction. Expenses up and income down, seniors have found only one solution: credit cards.

Low- and middle-income consumers who've reached or passed age 65 had $10,235 in credit card debt, on average, last year, up a disturbing 26% from 2005. Meanwhile, credit card debt climbed only 3% across all age groups – to $9,827. From the fourth quarter of last year to the first this year, total revolving debt fell a modest 2.3% to $939.6 billion.