So let me get this straight. Stocks rallied several times over the past year or so whenever it looked like the economy was weak and the Fed was going to remain dovish and simulative. Now some Fed leaders says the economy is so strong we need to seriously consider raising rates to cool it off, and stocks rally on that news too? Just for the sake of discussion, is there any plausible scenario that could actually send stocks lower? Of course, it's not like we haven't seen this situation before, where bad news is good and good news is even better. Some of the market's best rallies have unfurled simply because the majority of the trading crowd refused to see any downside. All those situations ended badly to some degree, but the market sure was red hot until reality set in. If you don't know what I'm talking about, late Wednesday the minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting were published. As it turns out, not only has the dovish view continued to wane, some of the Fed's Open Market Committee members believe we need to see an increase in interest rates... soon. The market got dunked immediately after the news was released, as fears of a less accommodative Federal Reserve could in turn mean crimped economic growth. After having had about 15 minutes to think about it though, the masses decided a Fed that was starting to lean in the direction of seeing too much strong growth was a good sign for everyone. Just for the sake of clarity, this hawkish view was NOT the majority opinion. Most FOMC members are content to wait for more clarity before rocking the current boat any more than it has to be rocked. Still... Our take: The last thing this economy needs is anything to crimp its growth. While we certainly understand the dissenting point of view that it's better to nip overheated expansion in the bud than late it race out of control first, it doesn't seem likely we're going to see growth race out of control anytime soon. As one piece of evidence to that end we only have to go back to yesterday's inflation levels. The consumer inflation rate now stands right around 2.0%, down from 2.1% in June. If the consumer was really in a position to spend too rapidly, we'd see far more inflation than we're seeing. We're also going to say, despite the progress we've seen on the unemployment front over the past three years, the jobs scenario is still too discouraging to take the economy completely off of life support. You may recall how a while back the Federal Reserve firmly implied an unemployment rate of around 6.0% would be an ideal level at which it could start (or continue) tapering its easing. Well folks, we're basically there, but the current unemployment rate of 6.2% feels a little misleading. There are a bunch of unemployed people not being counted in that figure, and many the people who are working are either underpaid, underemployed, or both. Total middle class incomes are still relatively tepid. The point is, although the calls for higher interest rates were probably mostly for posturing purposes and less necessary than even just a few members of the FOMC suggested, even mentioning the idea could bring more trouble than benefit. Investors didn't see it this way today. Investors, in fact, LOVED the idea that the economy was so strong we need to start trying to cool it off. I'm telling you though, the market mob can be fickle, often deciding it doesn't want what it thought it wanted once it finally got what it asked for. Sorry about the rant, but it had to be voiced. We'll get off the high-horse now and get down to business. Keep It In Perspective We just logged day three of the breakout effort, and though the progress was decent, we can't help but wonder if we're at least going to hit a temporary wall here. For that matter, we can't help but wonder if the temporary wall will become a more permanent one. Let's just start at the beginning with a look at the S&P 500. Yes, the large cap index advanced 0.25% to close at 1986.51 after hitting a high of 1988.57. That peak level is awfully close to the June peak around 1991. Is it possible the profit-takers have been planning to lock in gains there this whole time? As for the NASDAQ, this is where things get interesting. Broadly speaking, the NASDAQ leads the market both higher and lower. While the modest loss isn't a death blow for the NASDAQ Composite (it closed just a hair under breakeven levels on Wednesday), it's a curious lack of participation in an otherwise bullish effort. We also get the feeling the VXN is trying to reverse its downtrend - it's just waiting for the right opportunity. That's potentially bearish for the NASDAQ Composite at a point when it can't afford to have any vulnerabilities. There's still a distinct lack of volume behind whatever bullishness the market was able to muster today. As much as we feel stocks are overvalued here, and despite a couple of red flags that started waving today (never even mind the fact September is usually a tough month for the market), we don't want to over-react to any weakness within the next few days. Stocks have been rallying pretty well for the past two weeks, and they deserve a break. If they happen to take one here, we can't assume the worst. The indices will need to slide back under their 20-day and 50-day moving average lines before we can say with any confidence the meltdown is underway again. Until then, the S&P 500 is still in the hunt for a break above 2000. It probably doesn't need to be said, but just in case, navigating the market right now is a day-to-day venture. That's why we encourage you to check in every day. It's just the environment we're in. Here's How to Trade Apple Are you guys and gals getting psyched up about the upcoming launch of the iPhone 6? Traders are already jockeying to get into Apple (AAPL) shares in front of the event, and if this release is anything like the last few have been, the volatility is only going to get wilder as the official launch approaches. Heck, speculation can get downright rampant with Apple shares. I guess that's why I've never traded AAPL, for myself or for you all. It just always felt like a coin toss rather than a strategic entry into a position. You know what though? I'm not even going to be clever about how I say it - John Monroe over at the Elite Opportunity published a proverbial roadmap in today's EO newsletter, explaining exactly how you'd want to handle Apple if you feel like you have to trade it. I can't give you any more details than that. I can tell you, however, John gives firm price targets, ideal entry points, and looks at the stock in the near-term timeframe I know so many of you like to trade. If you just don't know what to do with AAPL but you know you want to do something with it before iPhone mania is in full stride, I strongly suggest you use the free two-week trail offer right now. This may well be one of the best trade setups you see for weeks. Here's how, or cut and paste this link: https://www.smallcapnetwork.com/?vmpd_ckstr[click_track]=Newsletter&vmpd_ckstr_redirect=/pages/SCNEO/v1/