Welcome To September!

After the most volatile week in nearly five years, the week was capped off by the worst jobs report since August 2003. The only real debate that lingers now is how much the Fed is going to cut (Fed funds futures suggest .50 basis point cut), not whether they will cut when or before the Fed meets on the 18th.

Given the ups and downs of the week (see market data for the past 7 days), investors are now contemplating whether the Fed has been too late to act and if the recession now beckons. Bad news and rumors filled the air as more than a few bears anticipate large-scale blowups from homebuilders and financials while everyone else is looking for any sort of sign that the U.S. consumer is pulling back the purse strings. Welcome to September everyone!

For the week, the S&P 500 fell -1.4%, the Dow lost -1.8%, Nasdaq -1.1%, and the Russell 2000 -2.1%. Top performing sectors this week were silver, gold, drugs, dairy products, mail order, radio broadcasting, biotech, oil & gas, music & video stores, internet information providers, scientific and technical instruments, and security software. Leading the way lower were home improvement stores, recreational vehicles, homebuilders, retail, rubber & plastics, office supplies, trucking, and outsourcing.

Notable stock winners were ALAB, CRDC, SA, CSUN, DROOY, VOL, NTO, ASTSF, DRL, CLWR, APLX, GOLD, REFR, SILC, POZN, JRJC, SMBL, DEEP, ALNY, SLXP, and BVN. Notable stock losers were KKD, ENZ, NFI, SCON, JADE, HSII, LFG, ODP, OSIS, JSDA, OSIS, SMOD, MWRK, MTEX, FIRE, MHO, CBG, CHINA, KFY, KFRC, MTEX, AMSWA, TSA, and PSPT.

Until Monday, have a wonderful weekend and be sure to get plenty of rest. I think we're going to need it!