I'm back at it after the holiday and the unofficial start to fall. Activity always picks up on Wall Street this time of year as hedge fund managers leave the Hamptons and come back to work. We'll likely see volume pick up among other things. I'm still expecting to see some weakness heading into fall, and have a few stocks I'd love to pick up.

I saw this headline out about the Senate having to raise the debt ceiling. This is dangerous territory. The dangers of excess debt are very troublesome. You can look throughout history and individuals, corporations, and governments that take on extreme levels of debt well, lets just say its doesn't end well. Here's the news story on this (From The Hill):

The Senate must move legislation to raise the federal debt limit beyond
$12.1 trillion by mid-October, a move viewed as necessary despite protests about
the record levels of red ink.The move will highlight the nation's record debt,
which has been central to Republican attacks against Democratic congressional
leaders and President Barack Obama. The year's deficit is expected to hit a
record $1.6 trillion.

Democrats in control of Congress, including then-Sen. Obama (Ill.), blasted
President George W. Bush for failing to contain spending when he oversaw
increased deficits and raised the debt ceiling. "Washington is shifting the
burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren,"
Obama said in a 2006 floor speech that preceded a Senate vote to extend the debt
limit. "America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership."Obama later
joined his Democratic colleagues in voting en bloc against raising the debt
increase.Now Obama is asking Congress to raise the debt ceiling, something
lawmakers are almost certain to do despite misgivings about the federal debt.

The ceiling already has been hiked three times in the past two years, and
the House took action earlier this year to raise the ceiling to $13 trillion.
Congress has little choice. Failing to raise the cap could lead the nation to
default in mid-October, when the debt is expected to exceed its limit, Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner has said.