Thoughts, Themes & Theories

• New trading season, same old worries

• Traders are ready for a September to remember

• Welcome back to the jungle!

• The economy is slow no matter how you slice it

• Investors' concerns about a slowing global economy are trumping their worries about the troubled financial system

• Auto makers in the U.S. again reported weak monthly sales

• Despite lower oil prices, little relief for consumers

• What's up with the bonds?

• Here comes Frannie?

• How the Fed can fix the world

• What's another $30 billion down the drain?

• Now that summer is behind us, the performance race to the end of the year will begin. For what it is worth, the hedgies are well-motivated

• The hedge fund industry's favorite trade

• According to Bloomberg, WDCI has overtaken LEAG in viewers per day

• How Jamie Dimon manages risk

• A number of prominent value investors have unloaded their stakes in beaten down financials, booking hefty losses in the process

• According to Fitch Reports, $29 billion of option adjustable rate mortgages issued between 2004 and 2007 reset in 2009 and $67 billion reset in 2010. The potential average payment increase is estimated to be 63%.

• More bottom calling in the housing market

• Housing stabilization will lead the overall recovery

• Fundamentals of real estate market bottoms

• So, with that in mind, let's take a look at investor sentiment in the home builders

• The death of the credit card economy?

• "Recent sector behavior has shown signs of rotation, rather than trending, which is consistent with continued weak money flow readings." - Dr. Brett Steenbarger

• How to play the bull countertrend rally

• Three sectors that will lead next bull market

• Many wealthy investors shift to cash

• Did you know that individual ownership of US stocks has fallen to a record low?

• Capitulation watch continues

• "Clearly, the Year of the Rat has lived up to its name since Rats have a tendency to be opportunistic with an eye for a bargain, but are unwilling to pay too much for anything." - Jeffrey Saut

• "We've suffered through a curious bout of bottom-calling in the last six weeks, but price action still doesn't point to the final demise of this bear market." - Alan Farley

• Rough market conditions keep IPOs on the sidelines

• Indeed, greed and fear rule the markets

• Move over S&P 500 - an investment benchmark for the masses

• The big reduction in overall short-interest looks like a global bet that funds will flow to the US and that the dollar will continue to gain while the oil price falls

• A golden cross for the U.S. dollar

• Economists who say economic conditions can be used to explain the outcome of almost every presidential election since at least the 1950s are perplexed

• The psychology of oil prices

• Commodities derailed

• Energy is the place to look for value

• Oil at $80 a barrel?

• A tiny windmill for your roof?

• Light shines on solar-energy stocks

• Hedges in flight

• Thoughts from across the pond

• 50 stocks set to shine in September

• The weakest U.S. banks

• What's on Harry's death list?

• Morningstar recommends six cheap stocks to short

• A stock screen you can run on your own for finding market leaders

• The earnings calendar is quiet this week

• Looking for a few moving average crossovers?

• If you find a trend, plan for its reversal

• To cope with recent volatility, you may want to gravitate toward using weekly charts

• "Trading bigger positions in a bad trading market is ill advised. In markets that move in percentage points and turn on a dime, we should be trading smaller." - Eric Bolling

• With buybacks, look before you leap

• What George Kleinman learned this year trading commodities

• Jeff White on some quick-hit trading

• Study Harvard's Endowment for investing tips

• CXO offers a few ways to evaluate trading advisory services

• Think you're a trader? IRS may disagree

• For mutual fund lovers - 9 essential fund facts

• How to find the right ETF for your portfolio

• Jim Lowell's top ETF picks

• A quick retail ETF checkup

• A hard assets ETF based on Jim Rogers’ Index launced today

• Exchange traded notes or ETNs are starting to catch on

• As of today, the most overbought and oversold U.S. ETFs

• You may not make a whole lot of money, but you can still save a little

• Some banks are hurting so badly for funds that they are offering terrific deals to ordinary depositors

• But, be careful with new REX agreements

• Time to explore the world of master limited partnerships?

• Do you use use SogoTrade? If so, let me know what you think

• Which airlines are most likely to lose your luggage?

• 20 tech habits to improve your life

• Recommended readings for our times

• SaneBull's live stock market monitor

• No time to think?

• Things you don't say to your wife

• "If you want happiness for an hour--take a nap. If you want happiness for a day--go fishing. If you want happiness for a month--get married. If you want happiness for a year--inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime--help someone else." - Joel Osteen