Near term support lies in the 1,040 area.  If that is violated then the next downside target would be the June lows near 1,010.

The big winners will be, marketing and advertisers. The losers, besides of course privacy, may include Loopt. Now Loopt was early on to this check in with your friends and had a good product. Then they tried to make it better, but made a supermarket of products. If you want rewards (I guess like badges on 4SQ) you download Loopt Star. If you want to chat with your friends you need Loopt Mix on your phone. And of course a whole different product for Ipad (http://about.loopt.com/) .

This is messy and they lost most people to the all in one place. An upgrade should be in the original app, people are not going to grab 5 or 6 things when one will work (read Facebook). I got Loopt because a friend had it and I think I used it once. I just re-downloaded it last night when I was thinking about the future of Loopt, even my friend who used it all the time in the past has not updated since May. She loved the way Loopt worked and used it to post to Facebook a lot. Now ZERO.

I may not be the “target” audience for Loopt,4Sq, etc but I am a little bit of a gadget geek and love to try things. I am however in New York City, the hub of people of all ages trying different things. And although most people are terrified of the privacy issues, truth is you can just shut them off anytime or “check in off the grid”, people in NYC are used to cameras and etc – we know people see our every move–again check in off the grid.

I have been asking anyone,  even that under 30 group, if anyone uses Loopt. The answers were all simular-NO

Sorry, but unless something crazy happens, like Google buying Loopt I thing Loopt is going the way of Geocity.

Next support level on the S&P is really 1040 area (small at 1046). This should be tested tomorrow, but since it is an odd week with vacation and new MTA Metro North schedules on everyone’s mind we may rally!

Things on tap for tues:
9am Case Shiller index looking for 3.1%
9:45am Chicago PMI, looking for 57.5
10am Consumer Confidence (the only AM number that matters) looking for 50.7-51
2pm the FOMC Minutes- expect some market movements then right back to 1:59 trading area.

Apple has changed the playing field, and I as sure Dell, et al are pissed that the IPAD is the beginning of the end of laptops-actually I have no idea why anyone would ever buy a laptop now-that market is dead, just somepeople will be late to realize  it.

All this competition actually helps Apple and their products, for when they come out early next year with the IPAD 2.0 it will once again raise the bar and make everyone work harder to compete. –quick areticle I saw below on Samsung’s Galaxy Pad–you be the judge.

Samsung Galaxy Pad Tablet to Challenge Apple`s iPad

By: Nathan Eddy

While Apple may be enjoying brisk sales of its touch screen iPad tablet, with more than 3 million of the devices sold since the launch earlier this year, Samsung is gearing up to debut a rival of its own, in a form factor that sits neatly between the iPad and Apple’s popular iPhone smartphone. Images and information leaked onto the Web and released via Samsung’s corporate Web site, details about the device have begun to emerge, including Google’s Android operating system and features including 3G and WiFi, a 16:10 screen ratio, a SDHC memory expandability, and a DMB tuner for TV viewing and something the iPad lacks—a front-facing camera for video calling.

The latest Internet rumor suggests the tablet will be available to CDMA carriers and will debut sometime in early September, though Samsung has yet to officially confirm a specific date. Adding to the Tab rumors is a report from technology blog OLED-Display.net, which claims to have found listings for official Samsung Tab accessories, including a leather bag, charging station, keyboard, USB cable adapter and earphones.

Apple’s iPad, in comparison, is 0.5 inches thin and weighs 1.5 pounds, sports a 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen multi-touch display and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life. The iPad starts at $499; Samsung has not yet released a price for the Galaxy Tab, but is expected to do so at a press conference on Sept. 2 at the IFA Expo in Berlin. True to form, Apple has scheduled a press conference the day before, where the company is expected to unveil versions of its revamped iPod Nano digital music player.

While the current hype is focused on Samsung, some reports suggest the iPad will still dominate the tablet market into 2012. An August reportfrom IT research firm iSuppli predicted that while the iPad would face competition from HP, Lenovo, RIM, Google and others, the tablet won’t face a “viable competitor” until 2011. The firm said Apple’s complete integration of hardware, software, operating system and applications is a major piece of what makes the device a standout.

“Companies are quickly developing products that match or exceed some of the surface hardware specifications of the Apple iPad. But it’s still unlikely that any of the competitors will be able to equal the overall performance experience of the iPad,” said iSuppli director of monitor research Rhoda Alexander. “If recent history is any lesson, it will take some time for these companies to get their products to market, longer for them to offer necessary software support and infrastructure, and an even lengthier period to begin to rival the overall user experience Apple is able to deliver.”

A July reportfrom a Barclays Capital analyst said Apple would sell about 20 million iPads in 2011, negatively affecting lower-cost notebooks as well as the netbook market. Other analysts have also suggested growth for the tablet PC market, with research firm IDC estimating that worldwide media tablet shipments would total 46 million units in 2014. “IDC expects consumer demand for media tablets to be strongly driven by the number and variety of compatible third-party apps for content and devices,” analyst Susan Kevorkian wrote in a May statement.

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Samsung-Galaxy-Pad-Tablet-to-Challenge-Apples-iPad-564075/

Will your latte cost you more?? Well of course it will, just like the trade a few years ago in oil brought the cost at the pump upto $5 or $6 a gallon- our now $3ish is a win compared to that. The true reason is the lack of investments that can give you a good return. The commodities are the place EVERYONE is running to now- GOLD, COPPER, OIL, NAT GAS- all the crowded trade. We are not at the .com or housing bubble level yet; but it could be in the cards.

In the meantime, stock up on your beans! !

Coffee Futures Are Near a 13-Year High

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Coffee futures remain close to a 13-year high, as tight supplies and the prospect of dry weather hurting next year’s Brazilian crop have sent roasters scrambling to secure beans. 

Roasters are looking for top-quality arabica coffee beans, and supplies from Colombia—the largest producer of the beans—and Central America won’t begin hitting the market in earnest until November and December. Brazil is on pace to harvest a record crop this year, though global demand is also strengthening. 

View Full Image 

Getty ImagesSupplies from Colombia won’t hit the market until November. Here, bean pickers in Colombia in January.

December coffee futures reached a 13-year high of $1.8865 a pound last Monday, as speculative investors jumped into a market that already was rising as coffee roasters fretted over inadequate supplies. Prices then dived the next day as investors questioned the steep gains and as Brazil’s possibly record-setting crop eased supply fears. 

Since then, the market has gradually clawed its way back. On Friday, coffee for nearby September delivery on ICE Futures U.S. gained 4.2% to $1.7705 a pound. 

Rallying prices have forced U.S. roasters J.M. Smucker Co., maker of Folgers coffee, and Kraft Foods Inc., maker of Maxwell House, to raise prices by 9% to 10%. The world’s largest coffeehouse retailer, Starbucks Corp., said it will absorb increased costs of four cents a share due mainly to the high coffee values and didn’t plan to raise retail prices. 

Supply concerns are centered on Colombia’s output, which was cut 30% last year by adverse weather that also reduced Central American supplies. Coffee production in these areas is expected to rebound this year, though supplies will remain tight until later this fall. 

In the meantime, roasters continue to whittle down stockpiles. Coffee stocks in ICE-approved warehouses have shrunk 35% since the beginning of the year, and global exports were down 14% in June to 7.8 million of 132-pound bags. A year earlier, exports totaled 18.5 million, according to the London-based International Coffee Organization. 

Despite a large crop in Brazil, near-term supplies will be just enough to meet demand, keeping prices high, said Nestor Osorio, executive director of ICO. 

The success of Brazil’s second crop may hinge on whether dry weather and higher-than-normal temperatures persist, brokers said. 

Dry conditions stress coffee bushes, actually helping to boost flowering. But rains are then needed to develop the fruit after the flowering period, said Judy Ganes-Chase, coffee analyst and president of J Ganes Consulting in Katonah, N.Y. 

“If it’s just dry … then it’s not going to be an issue,” she said. “What’s bad is when you get heavy rains and then it turns dry and stays dry.” She added that the hot, dry weather is so far not a concern for Brazil’s coffee growers. 

Brazil’s main coffee-growing regions are likely to see mainly hot, dry weather until heavy rains reappear in October, Celso Oliveira, a meteorologist at private weather service Somar, said Friday.