By William Patalon III Executive Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report The U.S. Federal Reserve will be in the spotlight again this week - and not because of those speaking engagements that seem to help whipsaw investor emotions. Tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday, central bank Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will meet with his fellow policymakers on the interest-rate setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). After one of the most aggressive rate-cutting campaigns in its history - a stretch that’s seen the Fed pare its benchmark Federal Funds rate from 5.25% in mid-September all the way down to 2.0% today - most experts believe the central bank’s next move will be to take interest rates higher to blunt inflation. But few of these Fed-watchers are willing to predict that the increase will be made now, or even in August, although the interest-rate-futures market is ...

The Masters haven't mentioned Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ONXX) in a long time, since our 100%+ gain with our Master Picks Newsletter.  Barron's is jumping on the bandwagon now that shares are down to $33.  Can Nexavar, Onyx's cancer drug take the company and stock back into the spotlight? Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ:ONXX) cancer drug has bright potential in treating several forms of the disease and could raise the biotech company's shares, according to a report on Sunday in Barron's (Paid portion only, thus no link provided). With sales of its drug Nexavar, now approved to treat kidney and liver cancer, expected to hit $1 billion next year, Barron's said one health-care investor is looking for earnings of $1.93 per share, and valuing the stock at $65 to $75 per share....

By William Patalon lll Investors better keep an eye on bonds this week. While the stock market may be more fun to follow, fixed income is often a stronger gauge of investor expectations of the economy, future U.S. Federal Reserve policy, and inflation. With the consumer price index (CPI) safely in the books for another month, economists can now turn their focus to wholesale inflation with the release of the May producer price index (PPI). Economists, mistakenly, often disregard the energy component of this data each month and focus mainly on the so-called “core” releases - which excludes “volatile food and energy prices.” While food and energy prices often suffer from month-to-month volatility based on seasonal factors, they cannot be overlooked these days as they continue to have significant impact on the global economy. Also, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH) can’t seem ...

I was recently interviewed by Mert Erkal (Search for Blogging) for the April 2008 edition of Bloghology. The questions and answers are republished below.

Mert Erkal: Prieur, please tell us about an investment professional’s life especially when alarm bells are ringing for global economy.

Prieur du Plessis: The investment environment is notoriously dynamic (or, perhaps, volatile) in the sense that different political, economic and a myriad other variables are forever changing and influencing the course of financial markets – sometimes irrationally, at least on the face of it.

An investor’s unique “investment personality” plays an important role in the way he/she copes with

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