Weekly Market Commentary for 8/15/08

From last week's wild swings - to a narrowing range, poised for a breakout.  The market has something for everyone.

The mystery of where the markets are heading continues, reminding me of physicist Niels Bohr’s quotation: “Tomorrow is going to be wonderful, because tonight I do not understand anything.” Echoing that is 84-year old Richard Russell, “Very frankly, I can’t come to a firm conclusion as to whether we’re dealing with a bull or a bear market. Sometimes you just have to wait and allow the market to tell its story. Remember, we may be in a hurry, but the market never is.” (Hat tip: Prieur du Plessis)

Small-Cap and Tech are showing some leadership.  As it hits its June highs, the Russell 2000 Index is performing better than the other US Equity Indices.  The NASDAQ Index is performing well also, though it is sitting just under its June highs.  In contrast, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones are still lagging.

Here is a chart of the Dow.  Notice that price sits right at the resistance line and the 50-Day Moving Average.

Here are a few of the posts I found interesting this week:

• S&P Languishing, but less than these previously high fliers (Infectious Greed)
• What Does Obama imply for the markets and the economy? (Kudlow)
• Ten Market Rules to Remember (Big Picture)
• Thoughts on Trading Stress and Emotion (TraderFeed)
• Short-Selling Restriction Experiment Set to End (NYTimes)
• The Dilemma facing Thoughtful Investors (A Dash of Insight)
• What is a Recession - and why we may not get there? (NBER)
• Down 97%: Tax Trouble Coming For States & Cities (Big Picture)
• Wall Street hiring again -- but in India (ClusterStock)
• Starbucks needs a jolt (Covel)
• What happens if you list your house for $1? (Zillow, Big Picture)

And, a little bit extra:

• Hot Gadget: Amazon's electronic book viewer, Kindle, gaining in popularity (ZDnet, Bloomberg)
• Amazon Kindle version 2.0 due out in October, in time for holiday sales (InfoWorld)