Stocks closed lightly in the red on relatively light volumes while corporate credit spreads closed a little wider

Volatility was surprisingly low considering that little has actually changed in the macroeconomic context compared to the past couple of weeks.

Maybe players are simply exhausted (or the program traders are taking a break).

German GDP numbers were disappointing and point to the spread of the infection from the financial realm to that of the real economy.

The meeting between French President Sarkozy and German Chancellor Merkel produced little in the way of concrete steps but importantly, it left the door open for Eurobonds.

Eurobonds, continent wide bonds issued and guaranteed by a central authority, would ultimately mark an important step in the direction of the political and fiscal consolidation of the European continent.

Texas Governor Rick Perry continues to get flak from publications such as the NY Times leading one to believe that the liberal media must be genuinely worried about the strength of Perry's candidacy for the Presidency.

Perry hit the nail right on the head when he warned about the dangers of printing money.

The Roman Empire was not brought down by barbarian hordes; a proliferation of coinage was the primary cause.

Gold prices continue to rally closing at $1,789 an ounce; ultimately bad policy and the Federal printing presses are to blame for the run-up in Gold prices.

Treasury bonds continue to be relatively well bid as the European situation will take time to resolve and fears are surfacing over the Chinese economy.

Google's acquisition of Motorola was wrongly interpreted by some as Google's bid to become a competitor to phone operators.

Google's purchase is the logical step for a company that sees a future in a marriage between mobile phones, cloud computing, and software security.

It was another busy day in corporate bond new issues with many of the deals finding a receptive audience with investors.

The markets will probably continue to range-trade for the remainder of the month.

The next shoe to drop will likely not fall until after Labor Day.