Time for Coal --- ACI

ACI (Arch Coal Inc.)

ACI engages in mining, processing, and marketing bituminous and sub-bituminous coal with low sulfur content in the eastern and western United States.

Its closing price, as of 7/19/06, is $37.37. It will release its earning on Friday, 7/21/06.

Its options are very active. It seems a lot of people are betting it up. It is good for short and mid-term investors.

My suggestion: Buy (7.5)

Weekly Review (7/10/06-7/14/06)

Focus on Individual Stock

What a terrible week! The Dow ended the week down 351.52, or 3.17 percent, finishing at 10,739.35. The S&P 500 lost 29.28, or 2.31 percent, to close at 1,236.20. The NASDAQ dropped 92.71, or 4.35 percent, to end at 2,037.35.

The violence in the Mid-East was worsened over the weekend. Its worries have spread cross the global market and driven the oil price climbing. At the latest news, the crude oil prices once reached $78 a Barrel in Asia already.

I wonder the event is not a simple conflict between Israel and Lebanon. It is a strategically design. It is the battle between Israel (and US) and Iran (and Syria). The real military target action will be --- Israel Air Force bombing Iran’s nuclear spots.

If my assumption is true, the tension in Mid-East would take a while to settle, and will deeply impact the US stock market. Needless to say, the US market will be cloudy.

On another hand, because the earning season should give us some OK news, there will be some opportunities for individual stocks.

The pressure will keep push on the market this week, but I expect it will have a mild bounce at later of this week.