This post is part of a feature in which we wonder whatever happened to some notorious financial felons. See all 17.

I sometimes get the impression that people think I'm joking when I say I love Martha Stewart. I get it; I don't look like I have much in common with Martha. My apartment is cluttered, my cleaning habits are slapdash at best, and my hair is generally unkempt. I have at least a week's worth of random garbage traveling with me in the Hyundai at all times -- and I often get the distinct impression that people from New England are looking down on me.

Despite our differences, Martha is a personal hero of mine. Flipping through her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, is not unlike paging through a National Geographic. It's a glossy, impeccably photographed glimpse into an exotic world that I can only hope one day to visit. If the July 2007 issue can be believed, Martha is the type of woman who, on a whim, jaunts out to East Hampton for a weekend of kayaking and antiquing. In between horseback rides and hikes, she just might whip up some pasta with salted pressed fish roe, or perhaps a nice avocado gelato. Can you imagine?

So you can appreciate my shock upon discovering that Martha, this creature of uncommon refinement, might also be a common white-collar criminal. On December 27, 2001, Stewart dumped 3,928 shares of ImClone Systems (NASDAQ: IMCL) through her broker, Peter Bacanovic of Merrill Lynch. Martha -- the CEO herself of an eponymous multi-million-dollar media empire, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) -- raked in about $288,000 from the sale. The next day, after the market closed, ImClone announced that its cancer drug Erbitux had been rejected by the Food & Drug Administration. It was an explosive bit of news that sent ImClone shares plunging.

You could have tossed a coin today and come up with the same predictions for if the market was going to close up or down. The 1.9% GDP report was lighter than the 2.2% estimates, but despite feeling like a recession, it isn't formally a recession. Equities headed south as did oil prices by more than $2.00 per barrel. Investors chose to focus on the bad data today and take profits. The bears came roaring back by the close.

Here are today's unofficial closing bell levels:

DJIA 11373.38 (-212.91)
S&P500 1266.96 (-17.30)
NASDAQ 2325.55 (-4.17)
10YR T-NOTE 3.979% (-0.069%)
KEY ANALYST DOWNGRADES

Akamai Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM) was today's big loser in tech, media, telecom. The company beat estimates last night but guidance was a few percentage points light and the investment community still demands growth here. Shares were down by 26% to a new 52-week low at $23.10 in the final minutes.

Some SEC filings from today show several changes to Carl Icahn's investments. Please be advised that these are shown as of September 30, so they could be far different than what the filings from today have indicated. Icahn has made acquisitions of hotel stocks including 4.1 million shares of Hilton Hotels (NYSE:HLT) and 2.2 million shares of Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (NYSE:WYN).

What was surprising was that through his personal holdings and through his entities, he has apparently increased his Time Warner, Inc. (NYSE:TWX) holdings.

There are two different filings and it is unclear if there will be more or if there are some overlapping positions:

• ICAHN CARL C ET AL (0000921669) (Filer)
• ICAHN MANAGEMENT LP (0001317365) (Filer)

The reason the Time Warner position was more unusual is because he is deemed by the Street as having some restrictions on his ability to sell for a period of time and the intent of the purchase has not been telegraphed. I may follow up with another report if there are more updates, but the Street has not widely expected any changes to Time Warner holdings by Carl Icahn.

It appears that his holdings in Imclone Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:IMCL) have also grown and he has initiated a position in Cyberonics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CYBX). Other increased holdings are Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO). He has eliminated holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) and Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ:SYMC).

Almost every single day day of last week I said the same in the morning, that futures point to a positive start. Yet it seemed the market just couldn't get a break and was hit with one economic news after another that kept bulls at bay. Once again this morning futures are positive, pointing to a higher start for stocks, and hopefully finally ending a six-day losing streak. It would be interesting to see how the market reacts a day before the midterm elections.

Part of this early positive sentiment, undoubtedly has to do with oil prices. This morning, oil prices slipped to below $59 a barrell. This is due partly due to the belief OPEC would have a hard time fulfilling its announcement to cut production and partly because the threats to disrupt production in Nigeria and the U.S. never came to pass. At the same time, OPEC President Edmund Daukoru also said this morning that there is oversupply and warned of further production cuts.

Today there are no economic data due, and this week in general will have little from the economic front. On Thursday, trade balance will be reported and that would be the major report to note. However, a number of Federal Reserve will be speaking today and the market could very well react to that.

In Corporate news:

Some companies due to report today: Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE:APC) - estimated $1.35 earnings per share, El Paso Corp. (NYSE:EP) - estimated $0.16 earnings per share, RealNetworks Inc. (NASDAQ:RNWK) - estimated $0.22 earnings per share, and XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:XMSR) - estimated -$0.46 earnings per share.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) yesterday announced that it will test expansion of its business into offline media and will now be helping customers buy advertisements in 50 U.S. newspapers. More than 100 advertiser were invited to join the three-month test of a Print Ads service that places ads in daily papers such as the New York Times Co. (NYSE:NYT), Gannett Co. (NYSE:GCI) and the Washington Post.

Ryanair Holdings Plc (NASDAQ:RYAAY), Europe's largest low-cost airline, posted a 24% gain in quarterly profit and lifted its 2007 guidance. Shares rose more than 3% in London.

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning that General Motors Corp.'s (NYSE:GM) Rick Wagoner said that a deal between $6 billion to $7.5 billion could be reached soon with Delphi Corp. (OTC:DPHIQ) over GM's contribution on labor costs at auto-parts maker. Wagoner is touring China where GM also displayed the company's hydrogen fuel cell-powered Sequel.

Again, according to the Wall Street Journal the U.S. Justice Department, informally probing anti-competitive behavior in the private equity sector, has requested information from Merrill Lynch's (NYSE:MER) private equity arm.

ImClone Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:IMCL) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) reported mixed results from a pair of Phase III trials of Erbitux, the cancer drug.

In the radio market, in attempt to to defend its eroding market share from satellite radio and iPods, U.S. radio operators said sales of its high-definition radios will expand to Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE:CC), and stations are set to air some 75,000 ads a week pushing HD Digital radio.