Stock Market Blog -Sep 2nd

The market waited all week for the Fed speech on Friday, then it turned out to be a non-event! Meanwhile Bond futures kept slowly creeping up all week, peaking on Friday. Gold also rallied. The NASDAQ has been mostly flat for the past two weeks (QQQ), though we did see a small rise in the VIX. Next Friday we get the monthly unemployment report. Meanwhile, FB and GRPN hit all time lows this week.

*** Our national debt is now over $16 gazillion dollars! (see debt clock on the left)

New all time highs:   AMZN, BUD, CCI, COST, ESRX, FBHS, PVH, REGN, RGLD, STZ, UA, XLV
All time lows: FB, GRPN
Pops:  P, WLP
Drops:  BPT, CIEN

Next week: Economic reports  (markets are closed on Monday)

Earnings reports:   Among companies reporting next week are: CPB
The big event next week will be the monthly jobs report on Friday. Also look out for news from Europe.

Market Commentary

September is usually a month that investors view with caution, and this year is no different. The market is currently poised near a top (compared to last April's top), so we could see a reversal. However anything is possible, so it wouldn't surprise me to see the rally continue as well.

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 -still struggling at this double top from April
OptionsMakeSense -VXX sample trade

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil dropped a bit, closing near $96.47
Natural Gas was up, closing near $2.80
Gold rallied again, closing near $1685
The 30 year Bond rallied again, closing near $150.50
The US Dollar dropped a bit, closing near 81.22

NEWS:
Stocks: Europe and jobs front and center
Is Wall Street on the Cusp of the Next Great Rally?
Too Soon to Unfriend Facebook?
Summertime Blues: Slowdown Spreading Around World
The Euro Crisis Is Back From Vacation
China’s Growing Economic Crisis