US Stocks staged a rally yesterday after the Federal Reserve's Beige Book painted a more optimistic picture of the US economy soothing worries about the possible impact of the slowdown in China on the US economy.

The Chinese stock market will be closed for the next 2 days for their annual military parade and commemoration of World War II's end, so for 2 trading sessions American stocks won't be exposed to the Chinese market which so many consider toxic.  This could tell us whether this sell off has been a brief market gut check, or a longer-lasting correction.

The Fed's Beige Book said several district banks reported increasing wage pressure caused by labor market tightening.  There are also indications that the strong dollar and the drop in oil prices were depressing some economic activity which could argue for the Fed holding off raising interest rates at their September 16th-17th policy meeting.

As Apple prepares to launch its newest iPhones next week the company's biggest challenge is how they top their own success.  The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus reignited sales at the company and brought them record profits.  Most analysts don't believe there will be any growth in iPhone sales next year and since the iPhone is 2/3 of Apples sales the company is going to have to find other ways to keep growing.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment claims last week rose by 12,000 to 282,000 which is the highest level since June.  Still new claims have had the longest run under 300k since 2000.