Wednesday

Today, industrial stocks strengthened, but the broader stock market's gains were reined in after the Federal Reservc'es beige book report raised new concern about consumer spending. We know that the U.S. economy continued to stabilize in July and August, but soft spending amid a weak job market suggested that recovery will remain subdued. The Fed said that manufacturing had improved in most areas as the broader economy continued to steady this summer. Also, the Fed flagged concern about the health of consumer spending, which accounts for most demand in the U.S. economy. In general, we are seeing that investors are remaining cautious. DJIA -49.88 S&P 500 +7.98 NASDAQ +22.62

Tuesday

Today stocks and commodities rose and the dollar declined as investors returned from a holiday weekend willing to add some risk to their portfolios. Also, metal prices jumped. Oil and other commodities were helped by a selloff in the U.S. currency. Some investors had feared that a pick-up in trading activity after the Labor Day holiday could force stocks downward, but markets were resilient as the pace of activity picked up. We saw a good day today in our markets and globally. DJIA +56.07 S&P 500 +8.99 NASDAQ +18.99

Fabulous Friday

Today, we are seeing more people hitting the malls and retail stores. However, if this is true, look at the unemployment rate. Employers cut jobs in August at the slowest pace in a year, but a jump in the unemployment rate to a 26-year-high of 9.7% reinforced worries that a weak labor market could weigh on consumer spending and the vigor of the economic recovery. This seems a bit contradictory. Nonetheless, today was a good day in our markets. DJIA +96.66 S&P 500 +13.16 NASDAQ +35.58

Thursday

Today, a late jump in financial stocks helped push broad market benchmarks higher, even thought uncertainty ahead of a key jobs report led some investors to seek safety in gold. We snapped a four day losing streak! Overall, trading volume was low today, and September has been a bad month for stocks historically. Gold futures neared $1000 a troy ounce in today's trading. We hope to see a better September than in previous years. DJIA +63.94 S&P 500 +8.49 NASDAQ +16.13

Tuesday Blues

Today, Ford's US sales rose, while GM and Chrysler sales drop. Also, stocks opened a bleak month for markets with a financials led selloff today. Financials led stocks' August rally because investors grew increasingly confident that the economy had moved past the worst. However, now fears are setting in that the rally may have gotten ahead of fundamentals. Yesterday, Disney bought Marvel Comics! So, now when you go to Disney World, you can see Superman! DJIA -185.68 S&P 500 -22.58 NASDAQ -40.17