Wall Street Roundup: Break in the clouds. The big short.

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Gold: Trading now at $1,751 per ounce, up 2.2% from Monday. Dow Jones industrial average: Trading now at 10,937.83 , up 1.2% from Monday.

Break in the clouds. The long downward slide of stocks appears to have at least temporarily reversed itself as investors look forward to the Federal Reserve meeting today and whatever promises of stimulus it might bring.

Blame game. People from all sides of the political spectrum are claiming credit for having called the recent market rout, and are spreading the blame for having caused it. Meantime, many insiders are seeing a chance to buy stocks on the cheap.

The big short. Someone reportedly bet nearly $1 billion that the U.S. credit rating would be downgraded, and may have made close to $10 billion because it happened -- but who was it?

Secret committee. A look at the guarded committee of thinkers at Standard & Poor’s who made the decision to downgrade the United States’ credit rating last Friday.

Falling faces. One blog records for posterity all those crestfallen traders with their hands on their faces as stock markets fall.

-- Nathaniel Popper in New York

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