I expect stocks to stage a relatively brief and shallow rebound starting Monday, and then resume their slide. The market is extremely oversold right now, and unless there are forces acting on stocks that are very unusual - such as the liquidation of a major hedge fund or brokerage - there just has to be some sort of bounce in the near term.

Looking out a little farther though, just keep in mind that we find ourselves in a historic period of deleveraging - the likes of which are rarely seen outside of depressions. Banks, brokerages, companies and individuals are in the process of shedding debt and things bought with debt, and the process is just going to take a long time and push stock prices a lot lower.

Our road map for the past few months has been pretty clear: With a global recession brewing and energy prices rising, it simply makes sense to be short industries and sectors dependent on buoyant economic growth and to be long energy producers and service providers.

EOG Resources (EOG) recently announced that they will be hosting their second-quarter conference call on Wednesday, July 30 at 8 a.m. Central Time. If you're interested in tuning in visit their website at www.eogresources.com in order to catch the live webcast. Right now EOG is one of the few stocks that I recommend to my Trader's Advantage subscribers as a buy in this volatile market.

Why are we still moving down? In other words, why can't the Fed just fix this thing like it has so many times in the past? We need to understand the Fed's action through the prism of the dollar. For the first time in the postwar era, our central bankers are fighting a two-front war. On the one hand, they must cut interest rates to a level at which home mortgages become so affordable that the depressed residential construction market can get back on its feet and where small businesses can borrow cheaply and expand their operations and do more hiring. On the other hand, central bankers must not cut rates so low as to do more damage to the dollar, as that has the effect of pushing commodity prices higher and also hurting the economies of our global trading partners.

In that context, the Fed did the right thing yesterday by keeping rates at 2%. With inflation at around 4%, the real cost of money today is virtually zero. So the bankers' renewed focus on trying to get commodity inflation to simmer down is the correct call. I was encouraged that the vote was 9-1 because that shows that the Fed is united in its decision, and will give some comfort to the markets by informing them that a strong hand is guiding the way. At a time when the financial markets are still dysfunctional, we need a sense that the folks in charge have a plan. The Fed didn't raise rates to defend the dollar, but they didn't cut rates to just pander to Congress either. That's a big positive.

Ultimately, I think the Fed is going to have to swallow its pride on inflation and cut rates to 1.5%. That's what it will take to really revive housing by pushing long-term mortgages to around 5%. That will also be the level at which financial institutions will have a large enough spread between the cost of money and their lending rates to create a "carry trade" that provides the big profits necessary to offset all their mortgage losses.

In the meantime, I'm still advising my Trader's Advantage subscribers to remain skeptical of financials and homebuilders, while recommending to them several stocks to short in order to profit from this downturn market. If you're interested in learning more about my advice for surviving today's market I'd be happy to have you stop by for a visit. Every Wednesday I post a weekly issue filled with market news, as well as my stock recommendations and advice. You'll also find that I'm a fan of flash alerts for those over-the-top days, where you just need a little extra advice to get you through.

To tell you the truth, unlike some investors, I have no qualms about suggesting that my subscribers short stocks in order to make a profit--especially when the market behaves badly. And let's face it: Today's market isn't exactly the picture of perfection (to say the least).

This is especially true when stocks continue to act like they want to go down hard this week, validating our skeptical posture toward corporate earnings trends. With trading volume low and financial shares dropping into a hole, you can almost sense institutional investors walking away from major companies. For me, though, this is a very exciting environment to be in. Negative scenarios amongst major companies provide plenty of opportunities for growth within my subscribers' Trader's Advantage portfolios. That's why almost every week I'm offering them yet another new, exciting company in which they can short a stock and make out like a bandit in a very short amount of time.

If you're looking for proof on the benefits of shorting stocks, then let me tell you about one of my favorite examples of how to benefit from a falling sector. Just this past Wednesday, I updated my subscribers on the fact that my short recommendation, Aircastle (AYR) an aircraft lessor, stopped out. With this stop, my Trader's Advantage subscribers were left with a 17.6% profit. This nice profit was pocketed away in just a week. If you think that's incredible, then you won't even believe this next nugget of information: This was the second time in a row that I suggested my subscribers short AYR. I just couldn't help but immediately recommend it again under a new stop and target after it brought my subscribers in a very nice 11% profit the first time around. This just goes to show that if you set emotions aside (which is always a wise choice when investing), then you can truly learn to profit from the market's current falling sectors. Sure, the optimists may consider this taking pleasure from others' pain, but to me and several other savvy investors, it's a fact of life. Business is business, and often that's what practicing smart investing comes down to.

Sure, there's always a time, stock and/or sector to buy in. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against holding on to a stock for the long haul with the faith that it'll go up, but I do realize that this is not always the right direction to head in while investing if you want to walk away with on overall profit. And who doesn't love profit?

While facing a volatile market, which has become the norm these days, do more than just optimistically buy stocks, instead exercise your option to short. In my opinion, it's your ticket to avoiding unnecessary risks.

Here at Trader's Advantage we thrive in an environment full of volatility. With uneven expectations among bulls and bears creating an ever rising and falling market, my subscribers and I are in heaven. The best part about the current environment is that several indexes and sectors are in well defined uptrends. I always go out of my way to make sure that my subscribers latch onto these uptrends as they come along and get out with two fistfuls of profit before these trends begin to head south. This allows us to have both long and short positions with confidence, a condition that reduces our overall risk.

In most presidential election years, June and July are typically very strong for the market as hope swells for both parties' candidates, and the mud hasn't begun slinging in earnest. Usually the good vibes would have already begun, so the lack of a positive overtone in the market so far is a bit surprising, and perhaps a touch disturbing. I wouldn't count the bulls out quite yet, but with volatility rising - a condition almost always associated with market weakness - let's just say that buyers have a lot of work to do.

This past week I advised my subscribers on exactly which stocks will do the heavy lifting for them. After all, who wants to spend their every waking minute glued to their computer screen in order to watch the market rise and fall along with the rest of their portfolio? By following my guidance, my subscribers are able to live their lives in relative ease knowing that their portfolios are being taken care with the help of my careful planning, observation and continuous technical analysis.

When selling is extreme, as it was in November, January and March, an index or individual stock can get progressively more oversold, but this at least tells an investor when to be ready for a potential final wash out. With careful weekly advice as well as plenty of charts that I use as helpful visual aides, I'm always ready to alert my subscribers of when it's time to get out as well as to buy in. By constantly keeping a close eye on the market and passing my finds on to my subscribers, we're always ready to use the market's uptrends and downtrends to our advantage.

If you're interested in learning how to make your own portfolio do all of the heavy lifting so that you are brought in plentiful amounts of profit no matter what the market environment, sign up for Trader's Advantage today! I can't wait to share with you all of the stocks and uptrends I've found for my subscribers in order to provide you with profit that will survive any amount of volatility.

Arcelor Mittal (MT) is the Luxembourg-based behemoth that is the world's largest steel producer, boasting nearly three times the production capacity of the next largest producer. It has led the consolidation of the world steel industry over the past few years and has leading global market shares in automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging products.

Unlike many smaller players in the steel industry, MT is largely self sufficient with its own iron ore production. The company currently fulfills 50% of its own raw material, and it plans to further its vertical integration to reach the 75% threshold by 2010. Arcelor Mittal also plans to replicate its European distribution network, which completely dominates the continent's markets, and create a supply chain network in North America that will blow its smaller peers out of the water. And while both of these strengths in MT's business model are significant, they are really only complements to its manufacturing power.

With operations in more than 60 countries and steel mills on four continents, MT has become the largest steel producer in the world by both volume and sales. Its mills -- including 64 integrated, mini-mill and integrated mini-mill steel-making facilities -- produce about 138 million tons of long and flat steel annually. The company also operates iron mines, coal mines and coke plants that support its steel making operations in locations around the world. And initiatives to expand and gain new access to iron ore sources in Liberia, Ukraine and Senegal are slated to help the company reach its goal of a 75% self-sufficiency level in the next two years.

On top of having a firm grasp on the steel industry, Arcelor Mittal has benefited over the past couple years from the growing demand for steel in emerging nation -- steel prices have risen steadily, as have the shares of small and large producers, alike. Credit Suisse analysts believe that steel prices are heading even higher, citing the fact that global inventory has remained low while demand has outpaced supply in each of the past six years. And since MT's sales growth has been following steel prices up, healthy earnings growth is projected across all of the company's international operations for 2008.

Stocks were all over the map last week, as a terrible jobs report clashed with a new effort by the Federal Reserve to provide liquidity to banks. The moves provided ammunition for both bulls and bears.

The market got off to a poor start last Friday as a result of news that companies had slashed payrolls way, way more than most economists had expected. Jobs are the absolute foundation of the economy, and make everything else happen. When payrolls are rising and wages are higher, consumers buy stuff and corporate earnings swell. When payrolls are falling and wages are stagnant or falling, consumers stop buying stuff and companies suffer. It's really that simple.

That is why the jobs report is considered the king of economic reports and is so heavily scrutinized by federal officials, economists and investors. So what do we see in this one?
Well, I looked it up and down and had a really hard time finding anything positive. It looks very similar to reports that were put out near the start of prior recessions.

The loss in February of 63,000 jobs followed the loss of 22,000 jobs in January. Those increments sound small in an economy with tens of millions of jobs, but it's the change in direction that is important. It's also important to observe that as part of today's report, December's gain was revised downward by 41,000.

Capital goods jobs were the hardest hit, which is a shame because that's part of the real meat of the economy. Construction companies shed 39,000 jobs and manufacturing concerns shed 52,000 jobs. Retailers dumped 34,000 jobs, finance companies dumped 12,000 jobs and professional services companies (e.g. accountants, lawyers and consultants) dumped 20,000 jobs. The job losses were very uniform throughout those sectors, so it wasn't just a few companies with problems. It's endemic.

Lately when stocks have traded unevenly, natural gas has kept up its pace in the plus column, even by surging over $9 last week. And I wouldn't be surprised to see prices go above $10 by the time the move is over, potentially lifting funds such as U.S. Natural Gas Fund (UNG).

What's behind the sprint in gas? It's pretty simple, really. Just the old story about supply and demand. Analysts say that the United States needs at least 10,000 megawatts of new power capacity per year to keep up with a 2% annual increase in the demand for electricity. In response, you may recall that a couple of years ago, there was a movement afoot to build a lot of new electricity plants in the United States powered by so-called "clean" coal and nuclear power. But this move hasn't worked out the way that the advocates of those two fuels had planned, as environmentalists and other special-interest groups have blocked efforts to develop these plants at every turn. It seems that coal-burning plants create a lot of carbon that must be offset in ways that are prohibitively expensive.

So instead, utilities have returned to natural gas, a clean-burning fuel that no one seems to complain about as much. Plus, it is plentiful in North America and is more popular than other alternatives like wind, solar and ocean power. Utilities are supportive of the shift to natural gas, because natural gas plants are easier to build, emit less carbon per unit of energy and generally slip under the radar. Even environmentalists know that they need to plug in their latte machines somehow, so they like this alternative power source, too. And now the latest figures suggest something like 7,800 new megawatts of gas-powered electricity came online last year, and at least 10,000 more megawatts will be lit up in each of the next 10 years.

As demand for natural gas strengthens in the next few years, you can bet that the prices will rise. Right now, though, the cost of natural gas had fallen quite a bit since the spike to $15 per million British thermal units, or BTUs, that followed Hurricane Katrina. By the middle of last year, the price rock-bottomed at $6, and now it is climbing back up.

If you read the labels of products that you purchased the last time you swung through Home Depot, you would probably find that RPM International (RPM) is on at least one of them. The Ohio-based specialty chemicals manufacturer has diversified product lines that include high-quality specialty paints, protective coatings and roofing systems, sealants, adhesives and specialty chemicals for both industrial and consumer markets.

Its industrial products made up about two-thirds of the company's $3.3 billion in sales last year. These products have a much larger customer base than its consumer division's products, which are sold primarily in North America. Marketing efforts in 149 countries has kept the industrial division from feeling the woes in the U.S. real estate market, and demand for many of its non-residential industrial products has remained high throughout the housing bust. Some of RPM's well-known industrial brands include Dryvit insulation finishing systems, Tremco roofing systems, Alumanation roofing coatings, Stonhard commercial floor coatings, Kop-Coat industrial lumber treatments and Euco concrete admixtures.

On the other hand, the company's consumer segment manufactures and markets do-it-yourself products that focus on home improvement, automotive maintenance and leisure. These are the products that you find at your hardware store that have well-known brand names in very unglamorous applications. They are sold under labels such as Rust-Oleum and Stops-Rust, DAP caulks and sealants, Zinsser primer-sealers, Perma-White mildew-proof paint and Wolman deck coatings. And while you might assume that this is a bad time to be selling products so closely tied to housing, the division has actually posted strong sales growth on its maintenance and repair products. Most of their applications are somewhat insulated from slowing new-construction starts as people focus on fixing up their current homes rather than buying new ones.

RPM's second-quarter sales and net income reached record levels on increasing strength from its industrial segment. Overall sales grew 11.9% to $906 million from the $809 million that it reported in the same period last year, and net income increased 3.6% to a record of $54.9 million. Sales in the industrial segment rose 14.5% to $605.2 million from $528.6 million, while its consumer unit also posted healthy organic growth of 7.0%.

RPM's management said that the results "reflect the impact of new products; the diversity of RPM's end-use markets, many of which are driven by maintenance and repair spending; good expense controls and strong international growth in virtually all of the company's industrial businesses." Management also told investors to expect sales and earnings growth for the year to be in the range of 8% to 10% based on first-half performance and its business outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2008. While that's not exactly spectacular, it would be two to three times better than U.S. GDP growth.

CH Robinson Worldwide (CHRW), a transportation logistics provider, was up almost 4 % in January. CHRW is a Minnesota-based freight forwarder that offers third-party logistics solutions and supply chain management. With 214 branch offices spread across Europe, Asia and North and South America, the transportation broker connected over 25,000 shipping customers with 45,000 different carriers in 2006. And unlike many asset-based trucking companies, which have seen revenues drop with declines in freight shipping, CHRW has actually kept its revenue growing at double-digit rates as demand for its brokerage services has kept its margins strong.

About 87% of the company's net income is generated by pairing shipping demanders with carriers looking to utilize excess supply. C.H. Robinson buys cargo space from freight carriers in bulk and provides customs brokerage. CHRW focuses primarily on ground shipping. Motor freight accounts for around 90% of its profits while its intermodal, air and ocean freight businesses each account for about 2% to 4% of gross profits annually. Beyond plain brokerage services, its margins have gained strength through its supply chain management business, which helps companies create a seamless customized distribution process for each client.

In addition, produce sourcing and delivery makes up about 9% of CHRW's consolidated revenues. This is the business that got the firm started in 1905, and it has continued to grow its operations steadily while brokerage services have taken over as the star earnings driver. After acquiring the FoodSource group entities in 2005, CHRW had increased its sourcing capabilities and gained a renewed focus in transporting the fresh produce it buys. Its branded produce, labeled The Fresh 1, is sold to large multi-store grocery retailers, restaurant chains, produce wholesalers and foodservice distributors.

The remaining 4% of revenues come from the company's T-Chek Systems subsidiary, which provides information services for trucking companies. Larger carriers and truck stop chains pay to access the proprietary information system for management information, sales and fuel cost data, fund transfers, and invoicing of fuel, cash advances and other fees. Fuel cards correlate with T-Chek's expansive network to connect truckers and their managers with C.H. Robinson's routing services and provide an integrated business operation on the road.