The Weekly Report for July 14th - July 18th, 2008

July 13, 2008- Market Summary
The broad market indexes were sent lower again as market participants focused their concerns on tensions in the Middle East and the effects that record-high oil prices will have on the economy. The breakdown that was triggered on the charts of the major indexes continued to dominate the direction. The story of the week was that the recent declines have sent the major indexes into bear market territory, which means that they have moved lower by more than 20% since making a high in October.

The ongoing weakness in the financial sector that was shown by the price movement in Lehman Brothers Holdings (NYSE:LEH), Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) and Fannie Mae. (NYSE:FNM) is definitely not helping the bulls, not to mention that the sharp drop in these stocks have helped send the Dow below the 11,000 mark for the first time since 2006. Traders will likely remain on edge as we head into earnings season. Many investors are hoping that the results from the major companies will be better than expected and will trigger a bounce higher. For now, the best bet might be to wait patiently on the sidelines.

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