Well, I am back from vacation!

Well it has been a while since I have posted as I have just returned from a nice long vacation!  Lots of stuff has been happening in the world, both financially and otherwise.

First, Michael Phelps has achieved his goal of the 8 gold medals - I saw most of them during vacation - an amazing feat.  I also was able to really test out the iPhone as I didn't get great WiFi connectivity in the hotel room (too far from an antenna I guess).  The 3G really worked well for checking emails and posting small messages, I highly recommend it for those who have been waiting.  I have had no trouble with the AT&T service (I was with Verizon) in my local area, and had better coverage area on vacation than I would have had with Verizon.

Well, the financial markets were in another roller coaster pattern, with fears/signs of inflation, credit worries in the financial sector, oil dips to $113 and I still can't get my local pumps below $3.89 a gallon!!!  Russia and the Republic of Georgia are in a mini war - this adds instability to overseas investments, specifically in emerging markets funds.  Some analyst feel we are only halfway through the credit crisis and financial institution failure, one even going so far as to say that Merrill Lynch could fail.   The dollar, which had been on an incredible run, is seeing some profit taking early this week, but I project it will continue to make moves against foreign currencies.  Retailers are suffering weaknesses this weak as you are juggling back-to-school purchases with a worry about what consumers are going to be willing to spend for the upcoming holiday season.  Many analysts feel that retailers will have to offer huge discounts (read little markup/profit margin) to get people to start spending early.  Will it be enough???  We will have to see!

The markets had some success for a few days as some reported 2nd quarter earnings numbers were okay in some tech stocks, however, now there seems to be worry about the third quarter numbers, so things are still shaky.  I still think you can bottom feed on individual financial company stocks, but this is risky business.  If you guess right, you will be highly rewarded!  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appear ready to be recapitalized by the U.S. Treasury, so we will have to stay tuned for that.

For those of you thinking about buying a small car in the year end clearance times,  for good gas mileage, here is a list of the most affordable --- the "Top Ten Rides for the 2008 Model Year", all under $15,000 MSRP:

Honda Fit

Hyundai Elantra GLS

Suzuki Reno

Nissan Versa S

Kia Spectra LX

Smart fortwo

Toyota Yaris

Kia Rio

Hyundai Accent GS

Chevrolet Aveo 5 SVM