On the latest July 2008 economic figures

Consumer price index number up for the month of June 1.1% alone! -- No wonder that is a headline number! Glad the U.S. market is up over one percent today anyway. I am normally bullish and optimistic, but these are trying times.

In the last 12 months, the price index has risen 5 percent, the biggest annual jump since May 1991...In June, inflation accelerated at nearly twice the rate in May...

The increase in the index largely stemmed from the record high price of crude oil, which has pushed up the price of gasoline by more than 10 percent last month alone. Energy prices rose by 6.6 percent and transportation costs accelerated by 3.8 percent.

Housing fuels and utilities cost 1.8 percent more in June than in May, and the cost of shelter also increased, by 0.5 percent.

Prices also rose for the cost of food (0.8 percent), tobacco (1.5 percent), and owners equivalent rent (0.3 percent).

But: “Manufacturing continues to underperform the general economy,”

and: “the bottom line is that U.S. workers are falling farther and farther behind.”

There was at least some good news:

...the Fed chairman [Bernanke], has repeatedly said the nation does not face the runaway price gains of the 1970s.
In a separate report on Wednesday, the Fed said that industrial production rose 0.5 percent in June after slipping 0.2 percent in May, beating economists’ expectations.

Production increased among automobile and electronics manufacturers. Utilities, particularly those that provide electric power, also saw a rise in production. Capacity utilization ticked up slightly, to 79.9 percent from 79.6 percent in May.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/business/17econ.html

Commercial lending distress has arrived, as we read all about the (probably suicidal) death of a commerical lender in an article in the Wall Street Journal:

Investors "entrusted Mr. Coles with some $727 million of their money because of his track record of high returns and oft-repeated mantra that the company had "never lost a dime of principal for investors."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121617220846656637.html?mod=hps_us_pageone

A few weeks ago, I happened to have the good luck to speak to Brian Sullivan, the business news anchor formerly of Bloomberg, lately of Fox Business, in a restaurant. He advised me in person to buy those REIT stocks and do nothing with them for five years. This is not any secret, as he has said the same on television. It also makes a lot of long term sense.

Where's an investor to turn in the short term? These are very tough economic times, and being invested is key. "Nothing proferred, nothing gained", or lost, sometimes. It is difficult to know where to safely invest. I always want a good return, 10% at least, 25% is better, but doubling the money or more is my goal. As Erin Burnett on CNBC has often said, "there is an awful lot of money out there trying to find a good home". Let's be optimistic.

For more daily chart education, I often check out bearish Tim Knight's Slope of Hope blog http://www.slopeofhope.com/.
Being a bull, I usually just read, and want the chart to go the opposite way. I learn a lot there.

This article in the Wall Street Journal a few days ago ended with some wise advice:

Yes, index funds outperform in bull markets. They may even outperform in other markets over the very long term. But it's at times like this that the phrase "risk-adjusted returns" starts to sound appealing. If markets this volatile do not throw out some great opportunities, it would be a first.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121579241132546193.html?mod=wsjcrmain

It's always a good time to invest, and the precious metals look mighty shiny now! I recommend the Vanguard Precious Metals Fund VGPMX (unfortunately, now closed) and Fidelity Investments Select Gold Fund FSAGX until after the presidential election in November in these uncertain economic times, but in long-term tax-deferred retirement accounts. I have been investing in IRAs and 401Ks since 401Ks were invented in tax-deferred mutual funds with low expense ratios. I hope to provide further information on fund families and express my favorite web research addresses later.

There are some great fund families with new funds for shorting, from ProShares, Rydex and Direxion Funds, but "buyer beware" as they need constant vigilance and might be only for those constantly monitoring their funds and able to buy and sell. These last fund families are recommended for professionals. I will recommend some of these on another post.