Stocks Rally into the close....

Dow +143
Nas +21
S&P +15 to 1177

Gold sells off again -5.12% TO 1172

Levels to watch are 1200 on the S&P and 1125 in Gold.

Ouch!!! I don't even want to think about where they inject this....

Allergan (AGN +2.4%) announces FDA approval for its BOTOX solution to urinary incontinence for patients with neurological conditions. Shares started trading higher yesterday in advance of today's announcement.  AGN is currently up 1.86 to 77.48

RIMM looks to compete more with iPhone....

Research In Motion (RIMM) is up 2.9% after reports that the QNX phones it's introducing early next year will run apps made for Android (GOOG). At 250K apps, the Android Market is roughly six times the size of RIM's own app store.

Considering RIMM is down to $28 from a high of $70 in February, it might be time to get back in.  Looking at the chart below you can see the stock has put in a nice bottom, a break above $30 would be very positive.

Bernanke to try to flatten the yield curve...

Many expect Bernanke to give support on Friday to a version of "Operation Twist," a '50s-era program to flatten the yield curve. If that happens, long-term Treasury buyers could be looking at lower returns going forward. Risk-averse investors have poured billions into Treasury funds this year, widening the spread between long-term Treasurys and corporate debt.

Amazon to use Kindle as ad tool....

Amazon (AMZN -1.1%) launches daily deals on Kindle ebooks, adding to the firm's presence in the online coupon space as an investor in LivingSocial.

Fertilizer play with a nice dividend...

Terra Nitrogen (TNH) is on a serious roll...check out this nice chart.  Add in a 8.84% dividend and this looks like a good one...

ATPG Oil and Gas might be worth a play....

Shares of ATP Oil & Gas (ATPG +6.2%) get a boost this morning, after the driller says it has successfully brought online the well at its Telemark Hub location in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico after a 16 month delay.

ATPG currently trades at 10.82.  It traded above $22 a share before the BP spill and subsequent ban on offshore drilling was instituted.

Just a thought....

What if we have an earthquake aftershock at the same time we get Hurricane Irene??? 

How cool would that be???

Update on Hurricane Irene...

Hurricane Irene intensified into a Category 3 hurricane (the threshold for major hurricane classification) Wednesday morning.  Irene will likely then strengthen into a powerful Category 4 hurricane during its dangerous assault on the Bahamas into Thursday.

After leaving the Bahamas, Irene will take aim at the North Carolina Outer Banks and New England this weekend. Florida and Georgia will be spared in the process.

Dominion Power Back up and Running...

Shares of Dominion Resources (D +1.5%) gain after the firm says the North Anna Power Station is no longer relying on back-up generators following the 5.8-magnitude earthquake.

Technology Picks....

24/7 Wall St. picks 12 big techs trading at steep market discounts while also sporting solid financial fundamentals: AMAT, CSC, GLW, DELL, HPQ, INTC, KLAC, LRCX, MSFT, MU, SNDK, WDC.

Today's Upgrades and Downgrades...

These are some of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations seen from Wall Street research calls this Wednesday morning.

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) Reiterated Buy as Value at Zacks; Cut to Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) Maintained Underperform as Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Elan Corporation (NYSE: ELN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) Started as Outperform at Baird.
NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ: NDAQ) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) Raised to Sector Perform at RBC.
Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Sanmina-SCI Corp. (NASDAQ: SANM) Cut to Underperform at RBC.
Saks Incorporated (NYSE: SKS) Raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
United States Steel Corp. (NYSE: X) Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley.
VIVIUS Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) Reiterated Buy and $9 target at BofA/ML

So you want to short Gold???

This might be the way to play it:  GLL - the Double Short Gold ETF

Gold selling off again....

Gold down to $1774.70 per ounce.  Note how quickly the selloff can be in this.  If/when it does break down below $1700, look for an acceleration downward as gold "investors" panic out.

Market shakes off poor start.....

Dow +102
Nas +21
S&P +11

Banks, Oils and Tech now leading the market higher.

A key reversal so far in Bank of America stock.  The stock is up 0.54 to $8.54.  

I'm really liking Mastercard here....

During last quarter, Berkshire Hathaway increased its position in MasterCard (NYSE: MA ) , by a whopping 88%. Many believe that the move stems from financial-stock bull Todd Combs, a young investor whom Buffett has tapped to manage some of the company's money. Combs may be one of the candidates to succeed Buffett as well.


The stock is currently up 4 points this morning to $326.

15 Minutes in....

The market is shaking off premarket negativity and has just turned positive.

Dow +3
Nas +1
S&P +1

Banks leading the market higher...

More on Mortgage Applications....

Applications for home purchases dropped 5.7% to the lowest level since December 1996. Volatile markets and "rampant uncertainty regarding the economy kept prospective homebuyers on the sidelines," the Mortgage Bankers Association says.

Premarket Movers....

Gainers:

AVGO +11%. RENN +12%. ATPG +10%. ELN +5%. CPST +4%.

Losers:
 
PSUN -22%. UTHR -21%. HSOL -10%. TCAP -8%. AEO -7%. HGSI -7%. BUD -4%. TTM -4%. LPL -4%. BCS -4%. AUO -3%. STD -3%.

CVS Caremark to buyback another $4B of stock....

CVS Caremark (CVS) announces a $4B stock buyback program on top of an earlier $2B buyback. The drugstore operator says it will repurchase at least $1B in stock by the end of the year. Shares +2.1% premarket.

Stocks ignore negative reports....

Investors paid no mind to two weak reports Tuesday:

July new-home sales fell 0.7% to an annual rate of 298,000 units. Sales fell to a five-month low and missed expectations for 310,000 units.

The Richmond Fed's manufacturing index tumbled to -10 in August from -1 in July. That was the lowest reading since June 2009.

When stocks dismiss bad news, that shows strength.

Earnings Due Today...

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO). Expected to report Q2 earnings of 11 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S

• Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT). Expected to report Q3 earnings of 33 cents a share

• Express Inc. (EXPR). Expected to report Q2 earnings of 15 cents a share

• Guess Inc. (GES). Expected to report Q2 earnings of 81 cents a share

• Heico Corp. (HEI). Expected to report Q3 earnings of 40 cents a share

• Semtech Corp. (SMTC). Expected to report Q2 earnings of 48 cents a share

• Solera Holdings Inc. (SLH). Expected to report Q4 earnings of 60 cents a share

This can't be bad for Boeing....

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL). The company is expected to order 100 Boeing Co (BA) extended-range 737 planes as it looks to replace older aircraft with more fuel-efficient models, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday. The order could be valued at up to $8.6 billion based on average prices.

Toll Brothers Q3 profit rises; narrows Fiscal Year outlook...

The luxury builder posted a higher quarterly profit, helped by a rise in orders, but narrowed its home delivery outlook for the year as it expects the housing sector to remain in a fragile state due to weak consumer confidence.

Hansen breaks out....

Hansen Natural (HANS) cleared a third-stage, lopsided cup-with-handle base in more than double its average trade. The distributor of Monster Energy drinks closed at an all-time high and is 3% above an 82.10 buy point.

This from IBD's morning commentary on yesterday's action:

"The major indexes soared broadly Tuesday, giving the market a hopeful sign.

The Nasdaq bolted 4.3%, the S&P 500 3.4% and the NYSE composite 3.3%. All closed right at their session highs. Volume rose on both major exchanges.

Tuesday's big gains along with the higher volume constituted a follow-through, a confirmation signal for the market rally that started Aug. 9.

Although it's historically a bullish sign for the market, a follow-through signal is not the holy grail. So don't start buying stocks with both hands.  The market still faces some question marks."

IBD changed their outlook to "Market in confirmed uptrend."

Futures Lower as Japan Debt is Downgraded....

Stock Futures are lower this morning following Moody's downgrade of Japanese Debt rating overnight.  Dow Futures are 101 points lower.

Moody's cuts Japan rating, blames politics


Moody's Investors Service cut its rating on Japan's government debt by one notch to Aa3, blaming a build-up of debt since the 2009 global recession and revolving-door political leadership that has hampered effective economic strategies.