The Week Ahead: The commemorative events surrounding the anniversary of 9/11 five years ago will be the dominating theme for Monday and the week. Beyond Monday though is Tuesday's July's trade deficit numbers. On Thursday, three important economic reports are released: import prices, weekly jobless claims, and August retail sales. Then, Friday's August CPI will give further evidence to the pace of inflation and its impact on Fed policy later this month.

Stocks to Watch: Shares of McDonald's (MCD) are breaking higher after it began a swap offer with Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) offering .92 class B Chipotle shares for each MCD. Schlumberger (SLB) was upgraded based on valuation and could be forming a bottom ideally near 54 especially as the price of oil nears $65 a barrel. Finally, Borders Group (BGP) was upgraded and Barnes and Noble (BKS) was downgraded although both appear headed higher on daily charts.

Special Note: Giving additional fuel to the most volatile part of the year this fall will be the kick off of the 2006 election campaign season. With the current unpopularity of the republican majority in both the House and Senate, much change is likely this November. This is noteworthy since a shift to a democratic majority could slow or halt spending on much of the pro-business, pro-war policies of the republican party and thus crimp corporate profits. A defensive investment posture going forward should prove to be a prudent strategy.

Commentary provided by Barry Ward, Registered Principal, NobleTrading.com. Inc.

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