Dr. Jeff Masters gives us the latest on monster hurricane Ike …

Ike's long-term fate has two main possibilities:1) Ike may hit eastern Cuba, as forecast by the latest (12Z, 8am EDT) runs of the GFDL and ECMWF models, and a number of ensemble members of the latest 12Z GFS model (Figure 2). A hit on Cuba would severely disrupt the storm, weakening it to a Category 1 or 2. Ike could then move on into the Gulf of Mexico and re-intensify, as forecast by the ECMWF model.2) Ike may plow through the Bahamas and come very close to South Florida (the consensus of the HWRF, NOGAPS, and GFS models). A trough of low pressure may then pull Ike to north. This turn to the north might occur over Florida, or over the western Bahamas, within 200 miles of the Florida coast. In the latter case, North Carolina might

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There really isn't much on the financial calendar to move stocks in either direction.

Fewer than 20 companies are scheduled to report. The only S&P 500 member on the calendar is Campbell Soup (CPB).

Upcoming economic data will include August retail sales and preliminary September consumer confidence numbers. Given the lackluster August numbers recently given by retailers, I'm not expecting either report to be particularly optimistic.

The week's economic schedule includes: Monday: July consumer credit Tuesday: July pending home sales, July wholesale inventories Wednesday: Weekly crude inventories Thursday: July trade deficit, August import and export prices, weekly initial jobless claims Friday: August Producer Price Index, August retail sales, preliminary September University of Michigan consumer sentiment, July business inventories

The Federal Reserve's website does not list any upcoming speeches.

The weather remains a wildcard with Hurricane Ike heading towards the Bahamas. If the storm should pass into the Gulf of Mexico, oil futures could

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(P.S: Sorry for any disturbances the advertisements above may have caused you)If late-2004 and early-2005 are remembered for the corporate debacles of CAO, Citiraya and ACCS, the later part of 2005 will be remembered for the attention that centered on oil and refining. The catalyst was Hurricane Katrina, which was the worst-ever storm to hit the Gulf of Mexico and caused extensive damage to the refining facilities in the region, exposing the deep global capacity crunch in refining capacity.Katrina formed over the Bahamas in late August 2005 and due to the unpreparedness of the authorities, caused severe destruction along the Gulf of Mexico coast from central Florida to Texas in the form of a Category 5 storm, with the most severe loss of life and property damage occurring in New Orleans. Of more interest to oil traders was the damage to ...