"Sucker's Rally"… or a True Reversal? 8/30/10

After trading down… and then sideways… for several days in a row, the market finally bounced for investors late last week.

However, while the rally was surely a welcome event for those of us who prefer to be long stocks, the fact that there was not much follow-through in today's trading session (in fact, the Dow Industrials were down over 100 points by the time the market closed) casts a significant amount of doubt on the "robustness" of last week's rally.

As it stands, I continue to believe that "prudence is the better part of valor" under current market conditions, and thus investors are encouraged to sick with the game plan that has been outlined over the past several issues of the newsletter.

Perhaps this viewpoint will change by the time the September issue is posted to the website next Sunday, but for now, subscribers are encouraged to just '"sit tight."

Here's to hoping for a positive turn of events as the week rolls on!

Stay tuned!

Past Commentary

Still Sagging 8/30/10

Volume Or No Volume, The Market Continues To Struggle 8/23/10

"Up Is Up”… but is the move sustainable? 8/9/10

The Market Looks Strong… Sort Of 8/2/10

Apple Gives Away Bumpers… But Will Stocks Remain Slumpers? 7/19/10

Spain Emerges Victorious; Bulls Gearing Up To Run On Wall Street? 7/12/10

The World Cup Continues To Impress, The Market Shows More Signs Of Stress 6/28/10

A Fizzling Rally… Or The Start Of Something Big? 6/21/10

Get Yer Vuvuzelas Out! 6/14/10

World Cup Fever Rises; The Market Sinks 6/7/10

BP’s Mess Gets Messier… And So Does The Market 5/24/10

If Only Stocks Were Doing As Well As Betty White! 5/17/10

Goldman Sachs Continues To Sag, But The Market Hangs Tough 5/3/10

Goldman Sachs And Google Leave Investors Saying “Gee…” 4/19/10

Mickelson Is Masterful… And So Is The Market 4/12/10

Butler, Michigan St, West Virginia, and Duke All Advance; So Does The Market 3/29/10

Market Trades Sideways; MannKind Gets Caught Up In FDA Confusion 3/15/10

Silver Medals For A Solid Gold Effort In Hockey 3/1/10

Curling Rocks!; The Market Curls 2/22/10

Doin’ The Mardi Gras Mambo On Wall Street 2/16/10

Who dat?!  The Saints Deliver… and The Market Slides 2/8/10

Lady Gaga Rocks The Grammys, Chip Stocks Rock The Market 2/1/10

Saints and Colts Advance, So Does The Market (and Apple reports another rippin’ quarter!) 1/25/10

Haiti Struggles, Massachusetts Votes… and IBM Rocks The House 1/19/10

A New Year, More New Highs 1/4/10

Protesters Rally In Iran, Stocks Rally In America 12/28/09

Gold Takes A Tumble… 12/7/09

Tiger Woods Has A Crash; The Market Continues To Avoid One 11/30/09

Obama Visits China, People Buy Houses… and The Market Holds Its Own 11/23/09

Still Sliding? 11/2/09

Healthcare Reform Slogs Forward, The Market Stumbles Backwards 10/26/09

How High Can We Go? (we’re talking stock market here, not balloon hoaxes) 10/19/09

The Olympics Go Elsewhere, The Market Bounces Today 10/5/09

Giants Nip The Cowboys, Stocks Get Nipped A Bit Too 9/21/09

Obama Talks To Wall Street, The Market Marches Higher 9/14/09

Obama Says “Stay In School,” The Market Says “Stay In Stocks” 9/9/09

More Of The Same 8/31/09

Beck Cries “Racist” While The Market Races Higher 8/24/09

Tiger Gets Tamed; So Do The Bulls 8/17/09

Swine Flu Heats Up, The Market Pauses To Catch Its Breath 8/10/09

Healthcare Reform Chugs Ahead; So Does The Market 7/27/09

Will The Solar Eclipse Result In An Eclipse Of Recent Highs As Well?  7/20/09

Romo Splits, Palin Quits, and Sotomayor Sits (prior to being seated, of course) 7/13/09

Time To Worry? 7/6/09

Mays and Michael Move On, The Market Moves Up 6/29/09

I Ran, You Ran, Who Will Run Iran? 6/22/09

Obama Pushes Healthcare Reform, Investors Push Stocks Lower 6/15/09

Apple’s Story Just Gets Better And Better (and the market’s health continues to improve as well!) 6/8/09

Goodbye General Motors, Hello Government Motors!  6/1/09

Housing Prices Slump, Stock Prices Jump 5/26/09

Pelosi and Biden Catch Some Heat; The Market Stays Hot As Well 5/18/09

Atlantis Blasts Off, Stocks Climbing Too 5/12/09

Stress Test Results Due Soon, But The Market Acts Well Regardless 5/5/09

Do Pigs Flu… er, Fly? (no, but they do get slaughtered) 4/27/09

Sun Finds A Buyer, The Market Finds Sellers 4/20/09

Hoops, Pirates, and Cuba – Obama’s On A Roll (and so is the market!) 4/13/09

Spartans and Tar Heels – Let’s Get Ready To Rumble! 4/6/09

Automakers’ Plans Come Up Short (But Michigan State Fans Still Have Something To Cheer About!) 3/30/09

March Madness Continues (both on the court and in the market)! 3/23/09

March Madness (not to be confused with AIG madness) Is Finally Here! 3/16/09

Stem Cells Don’t Stem The Selling 3/9/09

AIG Gets Another Handout… Tax-Payers (once again) Get The Bill  3/2/09

Getting Ready For A Tumble… Or Just A Major Test Of Nerves? 2/23/09

Plant And Krauss Rock At The Grammys (but will the market show a whole lot of love to investors this week?) 2/9/09

Steelers Roll, Retailers Tumble… and Chips/Bios Hang Tough 2/2/09

Cardinals and Steelers, Democrats and Republicans, Bulls and Bears… Battles Aplenty To Watch These Days! 1/26/09

Hope Rises, The Market Sinks 1/20/09

Gaza Gets Squeezed, Obama Gets Ready… and Another Post-Issue Monday Commentary Finally Gets Done! 1/13/09

Waiting To Learn How Madoff Made Off With $50 Billion  1/5/09

Tensions Flare In The Middle East, But The Market Has Yet To Catch Fire 12/29/08

Blagojevich Struggles, Obama Prepares, and Bush Reflects 12/22/08

There’s Something Rotten In The State Of Illinois; Bush Ducks Some Shoes 12/15/08 

Clinton Gets A New Job (now if we can just find a few million more for the rest of the country!) 12/1/08

“Car Pay” Diem (what will become of the automakers?!)  11/17/08

No Post-Election Rally For The Market 11/10/08

McCain Makes Last Minute Sprint, Obama Tries To Hold Steady… and The Market Just Waits 11/3/08

As We Head Into The Final Stretch, Both McCain And Obama Appear Confident  10/27/08

Obama Picks Up A Major Endorsement From Colin Powell; The Market Rallies Nicely 10/20/08

(For Now) McCain Is Fading While Obama and The Market Are Strong 10/13/08

The Market Continues To Slide As Candidates Prepare To Debate (will the real issues please stand up?)  10/6/08

No “Ms. Congeniality Award” For The Market Today!  9/29/08

Wall Street Gets A Handout (er, bailout), And Speaking Of Bailouts, Investors Bail Out Of Stocks 9/22/08

Financials Fall; So Does The Market 9/15/08

Your Tax Dollars At Work 9/8/08

One Veep Candidate Is Biden His Time; The Other Tries To Not Palin Comparison  9/2/08

Obama Picks Biden, The Clintons Pick a Fight, and McCain Fans The Flames 8/25/08

Phelps Rocks The House; NBC Drops The Ball On Bolt 8/18/08

The Market Goes For Gold; Gold Goes For The Gutter  8/11/08

Another Day In The Market Gulag 8/4/08

McCain Slips In The Polls; The Market Slips Too  7/28/08

Mac Sales Rock, But Apple’s Stock Falls 7/21/08

Bush Calls For Offshore Drilling; Investors Get Drilled (again) 7/14/08

Microsoft-Yahoo, GM, G8… You Name It, The Market Is Watching (and weakening) 7/7/08

España Takes The Crown, The Market Stays Down 6/30/08

Goodbye, Mr. Carlin – Your Humor And Insight Will Be Missed (All Seven Words And Then Some!)  6/23/08

Tiger Prevails… but What A Valiant Effort By Rocco!  6/16/08

It’s McCain and Obama – Let The Worrying Begin! 6/9/08

Clinton Hangs On, McCain Gears Up, and The Market Heads Lower 6/2/08

“Welcome To The Northern Plains Of Mars!” 5/27/08

Clinton Hangs On While Obama And McCain Gear Up For Battle 5/19/08

Obama Moves Back Into The Driver’s Seat 5/12/08

The Market Sinks On Cinco De Mayo 5/5/08

Top Picks Take Their Positions In NFL Draft; Top Picks Flying In The Stock Market Too  4/28/08

Pennsylvania Prepares To Share Its Thoughts On 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.  4/21/08

As The Market Approaches Its Own Amen Corner, Trevor Immelman Proves He’s The Master This Time Around 4/15/08

Memphis & Kansas, Bulls & Bears… Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!  4/7/08

March Madness Continues; The Government Continues To Tinker 3/31/08

March Madness Is Upon Us; What Will April Fool’s Day Bring? 3/24/08

Bear Stearns Encourages A Stern Bear  3/17/08

Spitzer To Call It Quits-er?  3/10/08

Wall Street Perks Up (but is the rally sustainable?)  2/25/08

Kosovo Goes Solo; The Market Goes So Low 2/19/08

McCain’s In The Fast Lane, Obama’s Making A Move  2/11/08

It Don’t Mean A Thing If You Don’t Get The Ring 2/4/08

Obama Rocks SC; Giants and Patriots Get Ready to Rumble! 1/28/08

Third Tynes A Charm For Giants Fans 1/21/08

Bending… But Still Not Broken 1/14/08

Ohio St. and LSU Get Ready to Rumble; Martek Rocks The House (aren't short-squeezes fun?!) 1/7/08

Stocks Limp Across The Finish Line As 2007 Comes To A Close 12/31/07

Happy Holidays!  12/24/07

Volatility Remains High (though, to be fair, so does the market as a whole!)  12/17/07

Celgene Tumbles, but The Market Acts Well 12/10/07

Evil Knievel Makes The Big Jump; The Markets Take Another Tumble 12/3/07

A Thanksgiving Hangover For The Market  11/26/07

Celgene Buys Pharmion (but the market tanks anyway!)  11/19/07

All Gave Some… Some Gave All (Thank you, veterans!) 11/12/07

The Patriots Continue to Dominate (and so do The Bulls) 11/5/07

Oil, Interest Rates, and Bears – Oh My!  10/29/07

Market Holds Its Ground After Friday’s Anniversary “Celebration” (Apple Rocks The House After The Close)  10/22/07

Cal Bears Lose Traction; Market Bears Try To Gain Some  10/15/07

USC Falls To Stanford (Cal Bears Ranked #2… grrrrr-ah – Go Bears!); The Market Continues To Climb 10/8/07

Dow 14,000… With Great Strength In Our Stocks As Well!  10/01/07

Cal Bears Win Again (Go Bears – Grr-rah!); Market Bears On A Losing Streak 9/24/07

Will The Fed Get An Emmy Award For Its Role In This Week’s Episode Of "The Market"?  9/17/07

Fantasy Football (er, the NFL regular season) Finally Gets Underway! 9/10/07

Cal Bears Win; Will Market Bears Also Find Victory?  9/3/07

Gonzales Is Gone-zo… and So Are The Buyers, It Seems (at least for today)  8/28/07

Kids Start Heading Back To School, Investors Ponder Last Week’s Lessons  8/20/07

Bernanke Joins The Panic Party; Karl Rove Gets Goin’ While The Gettin’s Still Good  8/13/07

Bear Stearns, Stern Bears, and A Whole Lot of Market Volatility All Make Headlines   8/6/07

The Tour de France Has Ended… Is The Maket’s Tumble Finished As Well?  7/30/07

Bush & Friends Continue To Sink; The Market Keeps on Rising  7/23/07

Dow 14,000 Just Around The Corner?  7/16/07

Roger Federer and The Market Both Continue To Impress 7/9/07

Market Fireworks for the Fourth of July 7/2/07

A Week of Weakness for Dow, Nasdaq, and Others… 6/25/07

Nate Pile makes his television debut on CNBC (so Monday’s Commentary got bumped to Tuesday!)  6/19/07

Will Colin Powell Buy A Vowel (an O-bama, to be more precise)?  6/11/07

Putin’s Puttin’ Pressure on The President (but does the stock market care?)  6/4/07

Market Thoughts on Memorial Day 5/28/07

Having a Whale of a Time in California; The Market Continues to Climb  5/21/07

Obama?  Giulliani? Clinton? Gingrich? Edwards?  Who has what it will take?  05/14/07

Disaster In Kansas; The Market Keeps Plugging Along 05/07/07

Dow Finally Clears 13,000…  and thus far holds it!  4/30/07

A Dow Close Above 13,000?  Not yet…  4/23/07

Bush and Cheney Still Struggling… but The Market Keeps on Truckin’ Anyway 4/16/07

Zach Johnson Dazzles Augusta While The Market Tries To Dazzle Investors  4/9/07

Market May Be Stabilizing; Washington D.C. Still a Mess 4/2/07

Stocks Rallying Despite Foolishness in Washington D.C.  (Whether Democrat or Republican, if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!) 3/26/07

March Madness Begins; Political Madness Continues… 3/19/07

Market Primed for Subprime Peril?  3/12/07

Down Goes The Dow, Up Goes An Eyebrow 3/5/07

Oscars, Oil Prices, and Anna Nicole Smith (who cares about Iraq?)  2/26/07

Britney Spears Shaves Her Head; Our Eye Brows Remain Intact  2/19/07

The Dixie Chicks Make Out Nicely Not Making Nice – The Market Cools Off Anyway 2/12/07

The Colts, Prince, and Another Week’s Worth of Corporate Earnings  2/5/07

Coming Up This Week:  Earnings, The Fed, and a Super Bowl! 1/29/07

State of the Union, Oil Prices, and Earnings –Where are the markets headed next? 1/22/07

Iraq, iPhones, and “I have a dream…”  – the I’s had it last week (so a motion must have carried somewhere, eh?) 1/15/07

Markets Finding Traction Ahead of Bush Speech?  1/8/07

Buying, Selling, and Buying the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 – all in the same day! 1/3/07

A Critical Time For Stocks 12/25/06

Watching The Numbers 12/18/06

Steady As She Goes, Cap'n 12/11/06