Monday Close

S&P 500 1,103.52 -.59%
NASDAQ 1,859.88 -1.04%

Leading Sectors
Broadcasting +1.03%
Homebuilders +.91%
Utilities +.31%

Lagging Sectors
Biotech -1.85%
Networking -2.31%
Airlines -4.01%

Other
Crude Oil 49.92 +.62%
Natural Gas 5.30 +.72%
Gold 410.40 -.07%
Base Metals 117.14 +.98%
U.S. Dollar 88.29 -.12%
10-Yr. T-note Yield 3.98% -.95%
VIX 14.62 +2.38%
Put/Call .97 +4.30%
NYSE Arms 1.60 +52.38%

After-hours Movers
AGIX +64.0% after saying its experimental drug for clogged arteries significantly reduced the amount of fatty plaque in blood vessels.
NSTK +4.7% on continued optimism over its nasal spray for obesity.
MCHX +8.3% after announcing agreements with two of the Internet's leading shopping services through its TrafficLeader subsidiary.
HGSI -5.4% after announcing that it intends to offer $200 million aggregate principal amount of convertible subordinated notes.
MCIP -5.1% after saying Leucadia National has sold its 5% stake for $20 million pretax profit.

Recommendations
Goldman Sachs reiterated Outperform on HOT, FD, HD, WAG, AGN, CAT and PPL.

After-hours News
U.S. stocks finished lower today on rising commodity prices and profit-taking. After the close, Apollo Management is the leading bidder for News Corp.'s Hughes Network Systems unit after offering $300 million, Dow Jones reported. Iraq and the International Monetary Fund likely will reach an agreement this week or next on a program aimed at rebuilding Iraq's economy, Goldman Sachs International Vice Chairman Hormats told CNBC. American Airlines dropped a $10 per round trip fare increase on most U.S. and U.S.-Canada flights after competitors declined to match the change on all routes, Bloomberg reported. Nextel Communications said it purchased 6 million of its own shares, and some shares of Nextel Partners, from Motorola, Bloomberg said. Orange-juice prices in NY surged the most in more than three years to a 15-month high on supply concerns after Hurricane Jeanne hit Florida, Bloomberg reported.

BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio finished slightly lower today as declines in my security longs offset gains in my homebuilding longs. I exited a few security-related longs in the afternoon as they hit stop-losses, thus leaving the Portfolio 25% net short. Volume was light today and the advance/decline line was poor. On the positive side, measures of investor anxiety are rising and interest rates continue to fall. I still expect homebuilders to reach all-time highs in the fourth quarter.