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* Headlines are out that retail sales are the worst in four years. This reinforces what I've been writing about energy prices. Higher energy prices act like a tax on consumers. If folks are spending more at the pump, they're spending less at the stores, casinos, travel, movies, restaurants, etc. Investors who thought ahead, bailed on these stocks. Look at how they've performed, and then company announcements coming out revising numbers downwards.
* Higher energy prices are not inflationary, but contractionary. GDP projections are being revised downward from the 4% range to the mid-3% range. And you know how economic expansions love the mid-3% range. That's the Energizer Bunny GDP range for economic expansions. CPI out tomorrow! (Don't sleep in!)
* New TV Show: Bones. Did you watch it last night? It wasn't horrible, but it was, uh, boring and predictable. This is the one starring Emily Deschanel and former Angel star David Boreanaz. Not one single vampire in Bones, either. Not yet, anyways. I'm blaming CSI for this kind of show. Don't we have enough of 'em?
* Infants don't need no stinkin' Gatorade! Mom's milk richer in fat, energy after one year
* The Rolling Stones have a new one out, A Bigger Bang. Are you going to buy it? Eh, I think I've had enough of them.
* As far as energy prices go, the US has passed the peak usage period, and demand should slacken. Prices have already fallen quite a bit from their Hurricane Katrina highs. Advice for winter? Turn the thermostat down a few ticks, buy a few cheap sweatshirts, and set out blankets on the sofa for your TV watching.
* I heard Gary Kaltbaum interview Scott Bleier on his radio show yesterday. Scott is pretty conviced that we're at the end of the economic expansion. I disagree, but thought I'd mention it. He seems like a good guy.
* The Feds and Insurance companies are going to dump over $100B on the Gulf states. This comment ignores the human tragedy and suffering, and I don't want to slight that. But after disasters like this, there is an outpouring of money that will create quite a boom down there as people try to put back together their communities.
* Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 3, now filming! At least according to some entertainment show I was watching. The first two were entertaining enough, and certainly better than his War of the Worlds.
* Yes, I saw INXS last night. Uh, well, the blonde guy just because the other two guys are freaky and the woman doesn't seem right for the band, IMHO. I kind of like that song Trees, too. Although, I'm not sure the forest is going to give anybody the answers.
* September is historically a weak month for the stock market, and if there is excessive pessimism that leads to a selloff, I'll be there to take the opposite side of that bet. Yes, I'm already completely invested in the index, but I'd ratchet up my aggressivenes.