THE RAW AND LOWDOWN COMMENTARY

"The markets were higher in the early part of the session as investors welcomed a decline in crude oil futures, prompted by news that the government could release heating oil reserves to help combat higher heating costs as winter approaches. A barrel of light crude settled at $63.90, down $1.57, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Yet the specter of inflation quickly overcame any advances. Procter & Gamble Co.'s stock was downgraded due to higher raw material prices, and Clorox Co. blamed high energy costs for an expected earnings shortfall and increases in the retail prices of its products, which could exacerbate Wall Street's inflation fears.

Inflation concerns were heightened as Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Fisher said inflation was nearing the high end of the Fed's comfort zone -- a clear signal that the Fed will continue raising interest rates.

**Lexmark expects its net income to be 40 cents to 50 cents per share, excluding the estimated third-quarter impact of previously announced layoffs.
Net income for the third quarter last year was $1.17 per share.
As Business First reported in July, Lexmark plans to cut 275 jobs through the first half of 2006. Most of the layoffs took place in the third quarter of this year.
The third-quarter cost of the layoffs is expected to be about 5 cents per share.
The company had projected earnings of 95 cents to $1.05 per share.

***HOME BUILDER INSIDERS DUMP TO THE LEMMINGS (I hope you have figured out this game 99% of the time the public gets HAD!) THEY DUMPD as they want YOU to BUY????

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Insiders at some of the nation's leading publicly-held home builders have increased their sale of their company's stock, according to a published report.
The New York Times reported data from Thomson Financial that shows insiders at the 10 largest home builders by market value, including D. R. Horton (Research), KB Home (Research), Toll Brothers (Research) and M.D.C. Holdings (Research), have sold nearly 11 million shares, worth $952 million, so far this year. That is a huge jump from the 6.8 million shares, worth $658 million sold in all of 2004.
Many of the company's shares are trading at or near record highs, the paper reports, as continued strength in the new home market, fueled by low interest rates, has lifted earnings and sales. The paper said that officials at the home builders say the stock sales are not a signal that they believe the property boom is waning. Instead, most executives said that they were selling because they needed to diversify their personal wealth.
"The stock sales have nothing to do with the state of the market. It has everything to do with diversification," said Toll Brothers chief financial officer Joel Rassman, who has sold 105,000 shares worth $8.1 million. That is almost double the 60,600 shares he sold last year for about $4 million. He said the same is true for other Toll Brothers executives

**Hey guess what, YOU avg Joe made these insider bastards RICH! and they dont even have to list these options as expenses still???!!! WHERE is the puking outrage? AND THEIR CAP GAINS has been lowered, so YOU pay more.

Tax breaks to energy companies in new energy bill as you get hosed at pumps and they make record OBSCENE profits.

The market is treading on THIN ICE here folks, and the cost of energy is hitting home as you can seem CRUSHING profits and even effecting gold prouducers!

SO, it looks like rates are headed up, FED is seeing inflation, even as economy is taking body blows and the insiders jump ship like fleas on a dog.

RR said buy energy and gold, dont try to time market. WHY start an energy position at most ovebrought and bullish it could just about be? I warned some good traders NOT to go back into energy shares yesterday, as even XOM was declining today. BULLISHNESS must be corrected.

WHY buy the Utes as well? PUNY dividend, near historic highs.

What moved? (from CNN)
Blue chip gains were broad based, with 25 out of 30 Dow stocks declining.
Dow stock Exxon Mobil (down $2.03 to $60.46, Research) was the biggest loser, falling along with the broader oil sector. The Amex Oil (down 35.15 to 1,039.04, Charts) index lost 3 percent.
Other Dow losers included Alcoa (down $0.50 to $23.37, Research), McDonald's (down $0.91 to $32.96, Research) and United Technologies (down $1.17 to $50.53, Research).
Additionally, Microsoft (down $0.52 to $24.98, Research) eased more than two percent on a Wall Street Journal report that it has broken off negotiations with the four major music labels, throwing into question the company's plan to start a subscription-based music service to compete with Apple (up $26.48 to $40.95, Research)'s iTunes.
Toll Brothers (down $2.36 to $41.29, Research) led the list of homebuilders sliding after a report that insiders at some of the companies have increased their stock sales. The Dow Jones Home Construction (down $41.43 to $930.96, Research) index fell 3.8 percent.
A number of companies also issued profit warnings, as is typical in the first weeks of a new quarter.
Lexmark International (down $17.51 to $43.43, Research) slumped after warning that third-quarter profits would suffer amid lower revenue from laser and inkjet printer supplies. The computer printer manufacturer said that the weakness would likely stretch into the fourth quarter.
Clorox (down $0.81 to $53.77, Research) dipped after warning that fiscal second-quarter and full year earnings would miss forecasts, due to higher energy costs and the impact of the recent hurricanes.
Dow component Procter & Gamble (down $1.31 to $58.00, Research) slipped after Citigroup downgraded it to a "hold," citing higher raw material costs.
Market breadth turned negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners two to one on volume of 1.41 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers 3 to 2 on volume of 1.74 billion shares.


Duratek and I continue to tell it like it is.