Big Ben spoke and the markets reacted as the Dow rose 90 points on better volume but still light.  The advance/declines were better than 2 to 1 positive.  It wasn't exactly a broad based rally in my opinion but we'll take it.  The question is what happens when the Fed meets next month?  If they don't do anything, how will the markets react?  If they do something, then what is left to do?  Plenty of questions as usual in this game.  The technicals still remain oversold on the stock indices so there is plenty of room to move higher in my opinion.  But anything can happen.  We still need to get through 1420 with good volume on the S&P 500 to start the next leg up.  That's a guess as usual.  GE was up a touch and the volume was light.  I actually had a brief thought of getting some September calls here today but did not.  I'll reconsider this idea over the weekend.  Gold had a good day after Bernankes speech as the US dollar fell.  The precious metal futures rose $30 and a bit more in the aftermarket.  The XAU gained 7 points.  ABX up 1 3/8, GG rose 1 5/8 and NEM led the way higher by 2 1/8.  Volume was good for a holiday Friday to confirm the move up.  We are right back to the 170 level on the XAU that has contained the gold shares up until now.  It looks like we could break through next week if the momentum higher continues.  ABX closed above the $38 level for the week.  We'll see if it can build on that with some volume.  My October ABX calls gained some ground today.  Mentally I'm feeling OK.  All the players should be back next week so I'd expect things to start to pick up for the markets.  I'm still a believer in higher prices going forward for the stock indexes.  However the market as usual will go where it wants.  I might add a trade in GE next week for September.  I'll try and figure that out this weekend.  Gold has broken out to the upside in my opinion but the next question is how far will it go?  I'll have to check the resistance levels over the weekend.  You don't want to leave a lot of profit on the table but you don't want to get greedy either.  It's never easy in the game.  Plenty to ponder and an extra day this weekend to think on things.  For now it's a Friday afternoon in the late summer.  Time for a rest.