"Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you're sure to succeed." - Abraham Lincoln

Morning News of Note:

• Refiners: Heard on the Street... Refiners' Shares Get Second Wind From Storm Not two weeks ago, shares of the nation's refiners looked poised for a breather after a long and profitable run. Then came Hurricane Katrina. The storm plowed through a key Gulf Coast refining center, cutting into supplies of gasoline and heating oil as demand for such products remained strong. Shares of San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp., the nation's largest refiner, have jumped 25% from before the storm to $111.47 yesterday as the flood waters that wreaked havoc from Louisiana to Mississippi also pushed refining margins into the stratosphere (Full Story) WSJ
• CHK: Chesapeake Energy-CHK analysts still positive on stock amid boom-BusinessWeek: Even after the jump of CHK shares from $18 in May to over $33 now, analysts such as Richard Wolfe of Zacks Investment Research are still positive on the stock, citing the company's "vast acreage, growing fleet of drilling rigs, dominant position in the U.S. mid-Continent and lack of Gulf operations" as reasons to be positive.
• INTC Mid-Q Update: Co notes operating results for the qtr to date consistent with outlook it gave in July. Co notes it has narrowed gross margin percentage with the expectation that the final results is likely to be slightly above 60%. Co notes its outlook is a little better than seasonal. During Q&A, co notes it is trying to communicate no real surprise in the revenue line. Co notes its mix is pretty much as the co expected in the beginning of the quarter. Co notes it does not see an inventory build right now. Co notes all different product lines are performing as expected. Demand inside this qtr has been reasonable as the co expected.
• US Economy: survey of 56 economists est 3Q GDP up 3.6% vs pre Katrina est up 4.2%, 4Q est 3.2% vs 3.6%, 1H06 est to 3.3% vs 3.1% -- WSJ

Market Comments: The market is higher after the open this morning, with housing and energy stocks leading the way. Chip stocks are in the red, as INTC's guidance was not bullish enough to lift the stock. But these stocks have all been doing well, so a pullback should be healthy.

Man, I am really feeling some pain in CHTT. If you have any insight on this stock, please post a comment. Other recent breakouts continue to fair well.

long CHTT, INTC