I wanted to start off with a current sense of the markets are doing, and then discuss possible opportunities. Despite government comments that inflation is not a concern, there have been rising commodity prices since July. I have included charts for the CRB commodity index, showing what raw materials have been doing. Also, you will note charts for gold, which often goes up in a poor market, as investors flee to value. Cotton has also been rising in part to poor weather in India, and additionally, rising demand. Click on any chart for a larger view.
While stock prices rose in early July, they declined throughout August. Refer to the chart of the S&P 500, which I use as a representation of the overall market, rather than the Dow 30.
Regarding current opportunities, I am looking at Apple (AAPL), Bidu.com (BIDU) and the leveraged ETF's for the Nasdaq and S&P, which are QLD and BGU respectively. The market has risen a great deal since the start of September, so I would be looking for a small pullback as a buying opportunity.
