Stock Market Blog -Aug 12th

Stocks continued the rally this week, although at a slower pace and with light volume. Bonds dropped as stocks rallied. Gold rallied a bit too. Next week we get earnings from a few more DOW companies. Corn prices continue to hit record highs as drought conditions persist.

PCLN dropped more than $100 after reporting earnings.

New all time highs:    CVX, STX,
All time lows: 
Pops: DF
Drops:  MNST PCLN

Next week: Economic reports   ...Options expiration

Earnings reports:   Among companies reporting next week are: 
CSCO, DE, DLTR, GRPN, HD, TGT, WMT

Market Commentary

Last week's comment: "we could see 1400 on the SPX before long. Where we go from there is anyone's guess, but if we take out the April high of 1422, we could go much higher" -looks like we're heading for the 1422 level. Don't forget Options expiration this week -another reason the market will probably hold up.
The VIX is now below 15, a level which could indicate some downside in the market in the near future.

Bonds dropped again, and still looks attractive (TLT).

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -up-channel still intact
OptionsMakeSense -trade with low cost and high probabilities

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil rallied, closing near $92.87
Natural Gas pulled back, closing near $2.77
Gold was up, closing near $1620
The 30 year Bond dropped again, closing near $148.84
The US Dollar was up a bit, closing near 82.63

NEWS:Is this the rally?
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Stocks May Climb in These Dog Days of Summer
Will a Strong Dollar Finally Be Good Sign for Stocks?
Banks Stealing Our Wealth and Our Sovereignty
Why Are Investors Fleeing Equities? Hint: It’s Not the Computers

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9 Reasons Facebook Will Crash
Hard landing for China as factory prices fall and deflation looms