The market looks better than it did a month ago, yet the near-term outlook for most companies is probably worse,

We're not going to shoot skyward from here; we're going to creep, ... six months or so from now, we'll probably be looking down at where we were and say 'how'd we get up here?'

I think the Fed knows that a pause at the upcoming meeting would upset the market by sending the message that the Katrina impact is really bad.

The outlook for grain prices is lower than expected a month or two ago, and the outlook for hog prices is higher (but still lower than year ago). Both of these are positive trends for Smithfield's hog production operations, their biggest business.

Certainly, it looks like we are targeting $600 in the near term. It may happen in London overnight.

We have been and we remain in a very powerful bull market, ... in near term basis, the market has come long way in short period of time? and odds favor a bit of a time-out in the next week.