No Blue Monday

What a great start to this mid-July week. Technology continues to churn, with the NASDAQ gaining over 1% on the day. The Dow and the S&P 500 posted respectable gains, as the economy appears to keep chugging. Oil prices fell, as producers breathed a sigh of relief over the outcome of Hurricane Dennis. Personally, we escaped damage at our little place in Fort Morgan, Alabama. I'm not crowing too much, though. It's still early! The only one crying today is Bernie Ebbers. He faces loss of wealth and loss of freedom this week. Ahh, the winds of justice. Dow +70.58 NASDAQ +22.55 S&P 500 +7.58

Friday-- Street Watching & Storm Watching

Unbelievable! One day after news of a terrorist attack in London, and Wall Street soars. The jobs report was OK, but, hey, it wasn't THAT good. I don't get it, other than business is on a roll and nothing can deter that now. That's good news for investors. Technology is still the winner, picking up 1.7%, with the big dogs adding 1.4%. Of course, I'm watching Hurricane Dennis and may be heading to Fort Morgan tomorrow to board up. This is getting old and so am I! Dow +146.85 1.4% NASDAQ +37.22 1.76% S&P 500 +13.99 1.15%

A Calmer End to the Day

The morning started wild with word of bombings in London. Before market opening in the U.S., futures were looking grim. The morning showed a 1/2% downturn, but by mid-afternoon, things had calmed down. I don't know if we're getting used to these events (that's a strange thought) or if we, as Americans, simply aren't as concerned about overseas problems. Regardless, our markets ended with an up day. Dow +31.61 NASDAQ +7.01 S&P 500 +2.93 Meanwhile, attentions turned back to the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Dennis (now a category 3) churns for the U.S. Check out its path. This event, closer to home, may cause more of a stir on Wall Street.

A Difficult Morning

Memories of 9/11 crossed my mind as I watched the news this morning on the London bombings. Tragedy on the world stage affects us all. I feel for the victims. I feel for the people in London living through a scary day. I'm angry with the people who commit these crimes. News of the event rocked financial markets, as well. The FTSE (the London Exchange) dropped 3%. The G8 Summit has been interrupted. Wall Street, surprisingly, has only fallen 1/2% on the news. I hold my breath, but I feel the resolve of people everywhere to overcome. I don't know who "they" are, but I know "they" will NOT win!

Monday... oh, no it's Wednesday

I took a long weekend to celebrate the 4th of July. Excuse my absence. This is my first day back. We had a great time on the beach, lots of boiled shrimp and lots of family time. We left just in time for the tropical storms to appear. Our time was unclouded, thank goodness. Now, we're holding our breaths... Dennis is threatening. Speaking of threatening, oil prices headed back up in celebration of the 4th, as well. Markets took a tumble in response. Dow -101.12 NASDAQ -10.10 S&P 500 -10.05 I'm wishing those threatening clouds away!