A Warning About Operating Heavy Equipment While Sipping Drinks with Umbrellas

It’s August and the lazy days of summer are now fully upon us. It’s really hot outside, half of the office is on vacation, the July Fed meeting is in our review mirror and trading volume is lighter. When everyone is on vacation, very little tends to happen in corporate offices and in the dens of some investment advisors and managers as well. It’s usually that way for at least the first few weeks of the month, before parents need to begin preparing for the school year. That said, increasingly in today’s ever-connected world, even while we sip drinks with little umbrellas, investment market participants always have the global economy and markets at the focus of at least the corner of their eyes. This year it seems investors have even more reason to pay attention as we approach the liftoff to Fed interest rate hikes. As a result, the lazy days of summer could be volatile times today, because incomplete information could be dangerous for half-focused investors. See more of this story about the lazy days of summer here.

Sector Security	8-3-15 Midday
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE: SPY)	-0.5%
SPDR Dow Jones (NYSE: DIA)	-0.6%
PowerShares QQQ (Nasdaq: QQQ)	-0.2%
iShares Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM)	-0.7%
Vanguard Total Stock Market (NYSE: VTI)	-0.3%
iPath S&P 500 VIX (NYSE: VXX)	-0.9%
PowerShares DB US Dollar Bullish (NYSE: UUP)	+0.2%

Automaker Shares	8-3-15 Midday
Ford (NYSE: F)	+1.1%
General Motors (NYSE: GM)	+0.3%
Toyota (NYSE: TM)	-0.1%
Honda Motors (NYSE: HMC)	+2.0%
Fiat Chrysler (NYSE: FCAU)	+2.4%
Volkswagen AG (OTC: VLKAY)	+0.4%
Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA)	-2.1%

Energy Shares	8-3-15 Midday
United States Oil (NYSE: USO)	-3.4%
iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil (NYSE: OIL)	-3.9%
Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLE)	-1.8%
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas E&P (NYSE: XOP)	-2.5%
Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM)	-1.8%

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.