The narrative surrounding how big this week’s short-term rate cut will be…has suddenly changed significantly.  This might not be enough to soften the markets’ reactions to the upcoming announcement.

We’re still concerned that the chip stocks continue to lag (which they did again yesterday).  So, although the Fed rate decision next week will be key, the action in this group will still be extremely important going forward.  This group’s performance needs to improve.

A lot of different issues continue to be the focus for investors…with next week’s Fed rate decision at/near the top of the list.  However, the tech stocks are still THE key indicator for the broad stock market.  So, we will continue to watch it VERY closely as we move through September and October.

It was quite astonishing to hear so about many DIFFERENT headwinds that the financial sector is suddenly facing.  If these many different problems become bigger ones, it’s going to raise some serious questions about whether the U.S. economy will indeed see a soft landing.