Wegelin bank to pull out of US

Swiss private bank Wegelin announced on Tuesday that it is to stop doing business in the United States.

The St Gallen-based bank, Switzerland's oldest, said the decision had been taken in response to stricter measures introduced in the US against tax dodgers and planned changes to estate tax, which would make some non-US citizens liable to tax if they inherited US securities.

In a letter to investors it said Swiss banks were likely to find themselves in an untenable position, as they would be expected to know which clients were liable to pay US tax – "an impossible undertaking", given the lack of clear definitions in the matter.

The danger of inadvertently making false declarations to the US tax authorities will be too great, it explained.

It added that it believes the US overestimates its attraction as a financial centre, and is advising its clients to get out of all US securities.

The decision comes a week after US tax authorities reached a deal with the Swiss government which will see bank UBS hand over details of almost 4,500 suspected tax cheats.

U.S. deals on clunkers aid imports, results say

Toyota, Hyundai improve the most

WASHINGTON -- Detroit automakers were out-clunked by foreign makes, which improved their market share through the U.S. government's cash-for-clunkers program, according to final results released Wednesday.

According to federal officials, dealers submitted 690,114 deals under the program, claiming $2.877 billion -- just under the $3 billion set aside by Congress for the plan. While the plan successfully boosted U.S. auto sales from their deepest decline in four decades, its hangover could depress sales for the remainder of the year.

General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC accounted for 38.6% of sales under the program, compared with their market share of 45.3% through July of this year.

Meanwhile, Asian automakers outperformed, with Toyota Motor Co. and Hyundai making the largest market share gains. Chrysler's share of 6.6% left it trailing Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai.

While the original cash-for-clunkers proposal would have limited the $3,500 or $4,500 vouchers to U.S.-made vehicles, the provision was dropped to get the plan through Congress. The vouchers were designed to favor trading older trucks for newer cars -- resulting in a 9.2 m.p.g. increase on average between clunkers and new models.

The top 10 vehicles purchased under the program were, in order, the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Ford Focus FWD, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Versa, Toyota Prius, Honda Accord, Honda Fit and Ford Escape FWD.

The Obama administration cheered the program, saying it created or saved 21,000 jobs this year and boosted the U.S. economy for the remainder of the year. The program closed to customers Monday night and to dealers Tuesday evening.

BY JUSTIN HYDE

6 Ways to Fend Off Debt Collectors

You owe money, and a debt collector is calling you night and day. Or maybe you don't owe money, and a debt collector is calling you night and day. Collectors are applying the thumbscrews -- often illegally -- as recent complaints to the Federal Trade Commission bear out.

But the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects you from abusive and annoying practices on the part of third-party collection agencies -- companies that buy debts from creditors and attempt to collect on them -- and collection attorneys. The law does not cover collection attempts made by creditors (but some state laws do). Virtually every state prohibits serious harassment no matter who does the collecting. (To learn the law in your state, visit www.privacyrights.org.)

Here are six steps to take when a collection agency hassles you.

1. Get the facts. In its first letter, the collection agency must provide you with the name of the creditor, the amount of the initial debt, a breakdown of penalties and interest, and an explanation of your rights. If the collection agency calls rather than writes, get the details on the phone and remind the caller that you are entitled to the written information within five days.

Ask for an address and a phone number so you can follow up if necessary, and start a file that includes a record of every call and a copy of every document involved in the claim.

2. Set the record straight. If you don't recognize the debt, or know you're being dunned in error, write a letter disputing the claim to both the collection agency and the creditor. Include details, dates and copies of any supporting paperwork, and send the letters by certified mail, with a request for a receipt, within 30 days of the first written notice. The burden is on the agency to make its case -- say, by providing a copy of the creditor's judgment. If it doesn't, you're in the clear, for now. Agencies sometimes sell their accounts to other collectors. Be prepared to fight the claim all over again.

3. Hang up on harassment. Collection agencies are prohibited from calling you between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. and from using abusive or threatening language. If you don't want to be called or contacted at all, write to the agency and say so. It must abide by your terms, although it can send one more notice telling you how it will proceed. If your lawyer writes the letter, the agency must communicate only with him or her.

4. Agree on a plan. If the debt is yours, work with the agency to come up with a realistic plan for paying it back. "Don't promise something you cannot do," says Robert Markoff, of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys. Debt collectors would rather adjust the terms of repayment than face future defaults, he says. "They want payments that come in like clockwork, so they can move on to the next case." Fail to come to terms and you could end up in court; lose there and the agency wins the right to put a lien on your property (certain property is exempt) or have your wages garnished.

5. Tell the authorities. Still have a problem? Complain to the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov), which enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your complaint, added to others, can help it identify and pursue the most egregious bad guys, although it probably won't help get your case resolved. Also contact your state attorney general's office. Depending on state law, that office may be willing and able to pursue your case.

6. Sue the bums. You can sue a collection agency that flouts the federal law and collect statutory damages of up to $1,000, plus real damages and attorney's fees. Many lawyers will take your case on a contingency basis or charge a fee of, say, $25 to $100, says Robert Hobbs, of the National Consumer Law Center. Some will also represent you in serious cases involving collectors who are not covered by the federal law. To find a lawyer in your area, go to www.naca.net.

by Jane Bennett Clark, Senior Associate Editor

Quarantine or 30 day jail for refusing the toxic vaccine

Check this link ..... http://bit.ly/8ACb0

Real US unemployment rate at 16 pct: Fed official

The real US unemployment rate is 16 percent if persons who have dropped out of the labor pool and those working less than they would like are counted, a Federal Reserve official said Wednesday.

"If one considers the people who would like a job but have stopped looking -- so-called discouraged workers -- and those who are working fewer hours than they want, the unemployment rate would move from the official 9.4 percent to 16 percent, said Atlanta Fed chief Dennis Lockhart.

He underscored that he was expressing his own views, which did "do not necessarily reflect those of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee," the policy-setting body of the central bank.

Lockhart pointed out in a speech to a chamber of commerce in Chattanooga, Tennessee that those two categories of people are not taken into account in the Labor Department's monthly report on the unemployment rate. The official July jobless rate was 9.4 percent.

Lockhart, who heads the Atlanta, Georgia, division of the Fed, is the first central bank official to acknowledge the depth of unemployment amid the worst US recession since the Great Depression.

Lockhart said the US economy was improving but "still fragile," and the beginning stages of a sluggish recovery were underway.

"My forecast for a slow recovery implies a protracted period of high unemployment," he said, adding that it would be difficult to stimulate jobs through additional public spending.

"Further fiscal stimulus has been mentioned, but the full effects of the first stimulus package are not yet clear, and the concern over adding to the federal deficit and the resulting national debt is warranted," he said.

President Barack Obama's administration has resisted calls for more public spending, arguing that the 787-billion-dollar stimulus passed in February needs time to work its way through the economy.

Lockhart noted that construction and manufacturing had been particularly hard hit in the recession that began in December 2007 and predicted some jobs were gone for good.

Prior to the recession, he said, construction and manufacturing combined accounted for slightly more than 15 percent of employment. But during the recession, their job losses made up more than 40 percent of all US job losses.

"In my view, it is unlikely that we will see a return of jobs lost in certain sectors, such as manufacturing," he said.

"In a similar vein, the recession has been so deep in construction that a reallocation of workers is likely to happen -- even if not permanent."

Payroll employment has fallen by 6.7 million since the recession began.

Builder Toll Brothers reports $472.3 million loss

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Luxury home builder Toll Brothers /quotes/comstock/13*!tol/quotes/nls/tol (TOL 23.14, +0.83, +3.72%) said it lost $472.3 million, or $2.93 a share in the fiscal third quarter to July 31, compared to a $29.3 million, or 18 cents a share, loss in the prior year's third quarter. Toll said it was hurt by non-cash federal and state deferred tax asset valuation allowances of $439.4 million, and non-cash pre-tax write-downs totaling $115.0 million. Excluding write-downs, the company's pre-tax earnings were $3.7 million. Revenue fell to $461 million from $796.7 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a loss of $1.41 a share. "While our FY 2009 third-quarter results reflect continuing challenging housing market conditions, we do see signs for optimism," said Robert I. Toll, chairman and chief executive officer.

U.S. stock futures inch higher; GDP may be revised lower

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- US stock inched up today in a market that's struggling to make a new push higher but isn't yielding ground either.

S&P 500 futures rose 1.5 points to 1,028.30 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up three-quarters of a point to 1,637.20. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 8 points.

The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose for the seventh session in a row on Wednesday -- though only by 4 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each rose fractionally, advancing for the sixth time in seven sessions, helped by upbeat data from the housing market.

Citigroup's currency strategists said the market is languishing at the moment.

"Despite robust headline data releases, markets moved broadly sideways. This is a reflection of the 'hard' data failing to keep up with expectations-based measures and a sign of market fatigue with the risk rally," they said in a note to clients.

Weekly jobless claims and a second report on second-quarter GDP will be released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.

Economists polled by MarketWatch expect claims to slip to 565,000 and the second-quarter GDP to be revised lower to show a 1.5% contraction from a 1% contraction that the government previously estimated.

The Citi strategists also expect a 1.5% contraction.

"Higher-frequency data since the release suggest a lower value for investment in residential and non-residential structures while the contribution from inventory changes is also likely to fall substantially," they said.

Overseas, the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.7% as a Chinese government council expressed concerns about overcapacity in some industries, leading some to conclude that there will be restrictions in areas like steel and cement production.

美國‧長眠公墓伴兩遇刺兄長‧愛德華8月29日安葬‧總統致悼辭

（麻省‧海恩尼斯港）病逝的美國參議員愛德華．肯尼迪，週六（8月29日）將安葬在阿靈頓國家公墓、長眠在他兩個不幸遇刺身亡的哥哥旁邊。

受腦癌折磨一年多的愛德華週三（8月26日）病逝，家屬宣佈將在美東時間週六為他舉行葬禮。

美國總統奧巴馬週三下令全美公家機構及場所降半旗，向病故的參議員愛德華．肯尼迪致哀。圖為華府國會山府前的所有美國國旗都下降一半，哀悼在推動美國歷史發展有貢獻的愛德華。 （圖：美聯社）

一名政府官員透露，正在麻省度假的美國總統奧巴馬將會出席。一直視愛德華為朋友及政治導師的奧巴馬，屆時會在彌撒中致悼辭。

開放供民眾瞻仰遺容

不過，奧巴馬並不會出席週六在阿靈頓公墓舉行的下葬儀式。出席葬禮後，奧巴馬將再返回東岸的麻省馬撒葡萄園島，在那裡度過他最後一天假期。

美國只有2個前總統葬在阿靈頓國家公墓，一個是1930年去世的塔夫脫，一個就是愛德華的哥哥約翰肯尼迪。愛德華因為具備退役軍人及民意代表的身份，可以安葬阿靈頓國家公墓。

肯尼迪家族將在美東時間今日（週四，8月27日），把愛德華移靈到波士頓的肯尼迪總統圖書館，然後在週五（8月28日）開放民眾瞻仰遺容。

政府大樓降半旗5天

奧巴馬週三上午下令，全美政府大樓降半旗5天致哀。

奧巴馬並再度發表聲明，推崇愛德華是美國近代最偉大的參議員之一，也是為民主服務最有成就的美國人之一。

奧巴馬說：“過去半個世紀，接近所有有關美國人的民權、醫療、經濟福利的重大法案，都是出自愛德華的努力，都烙著他的名字。”

他還說，愛德華的同義字就是民主黨。聲明稱：“隨著愛德華的病逝，美國歷史上重要的一個章結已經結束。”

兩黨擱歧見向愛德華致敬

被譽為“參議院雄師”的愛德華‧肯尼迪離世，海內外政界都深表惋惜和難過，而他的死亦令鬥爭激烈的民主、共和兩黨暫時放下政治歧見，一同向這位政壇元老致敬。

愛德華是民主黨人，生前經常在議事廳內就各項大事小務與共和黨議員針鋒相對、唇鎗舌劍；但他溘然長逝，連共和黨議員也感到哀傷。

總統奧巴馬給予愛德華高度評價，形容他是“美國歷史上最高效率的一位參議員”。隸屬共和黨的前總統布什也對他讚譽有加。

去年角逐副總統失敗的阿拉斯加前任女州長佩林，也在她的Facebook網頁上留言說：“他相信我們的國家，為自己的信念奮勇戰鬥。”

美政壇四大家族剩一
布什家族獨撐大局

美國政壇有四大家族，亞當斯家族、羅斯福家族、肯尼迪家族和布什家族，亞當斯和羅斯福家族後人早已淡出政壇，隨著肯尼迪家族最後一位顯赫人物愛德華病逝，美國政壇名門望族只剩下布什家族，來自草根階層的克林頓家族也足以左右政壇大局。

布什家族20世紀初在美國崛起，上任總統布什的曾祖父塞繆爾曾出任克利夫蘭聯邦儲備銀行成員，祖父普雷斯科特是參議員，父親老布什是前任總統，弟弟、前佛州州長傑布也有機會成為家族第3位總統。

克林頓非出自名門望族，憑個人努力和才能當選總統，妻子希拉里去年選總統一度是大熱，雖然最後敗選了，希拉里現任國務卿，克林頓仍能左右大局，他早前就突訪朝鮮帶回兩名美國女記者。他曾讚女兒切爾西是“天才政治家”，她能代母一圓女總統的夢嗎？

由於沒有突出的接班人，隨著愛德華．肯尼迪的病逝，美國最偉大的肯氏政治王朝正式落幕。

肯尼迪家族風光無法重振

愛德華的兒子帕特里克雖是羅德島聯邦眾議員，是目前惟一擔任公職的肯尼迪後代。不過，與父親及伯父比較，帕特里克的影響力不大。

肯尼迪的獨女卡羅琳，今年1月已宣佈放棄競逐，獲委出任國務卿的希拉里空下的紐約州參議員職缺。

而羅伯特的長女凱瑟琳，曾當過馬里蘭州副州長，但2002年競逐州長失敗。

他的長子約瑟夫本有政治抱負，因他的私人問題而破滅，肯尼迪家族的風光看來無法在第3代重振。

新加坡‧轉戰烏節路‧按摩女當街讓人驗胸

（新加坡）按摩女入侵烏節路，竟當街讓顧客驗貨！

牛車水按摩業競爭激烈，有不少中國按摩女，紛紛轉戰烏節路，與泰國女和越南妹爭地盤。

烏節路一帶的商家反映，這些近期涌入的中國按摩女郎，為了拉客出盡法寶，她們專門向遊客下手，除了當街攔截外，竟然掀開上衣，讓他們當場驗看胸部。

由於在附近出入的客人多數都是外國旅客和生意人，按摩女郎都專挑這些人下手。

一名在那裡開店超過30年的理發師說，她曾經目睹按摩女搭訕一群外國遊客，使出渾身解數。

原本已經穿著性感，露出半邊酥胸的她們，竟然挨近男遊客的身邊，索性將低胸上衣一把往下扯，露出整個胸部給客人看，結果她們大膽的行為卻嚇跑男士們。

理發師說︰“最近有很多中國按摩女，她們看起來都很年輕，有些看起來不過20歲，青春穿著低胸裝的按摩女，正忙著遊說男客。有身材，作風十分大膽。”

新加坡‧野蠻女友當街耍狠‧高跟鞋砸男友下體

（新加坡）野蠻女友當街耍狠，高跟鞋猛砸男友下體！

一名20多歲女郎，長發披肩樣子清秀，卻把豪華車子停在路旁後，當場脫下高跟鞋，猛砸男友下體，還以鞋跟摑打男友的臉，最後甚至用手捏男友下體，發狠手法讓人看得目瞪口呆。

视频显示这位女子不断用鞋跟攻击画面中的男人。（图/OMY)

有人看到這個令人咋舌的一幕，連忙拍下影像，上載到OMY網站，不久就在網絡上流傳開來，引起網友嘩然。

這段長達31秒的影像顯示，女郎與男友站在停車場的小路上，女郎靠在豪華轎車上，手持高跟鞋指責面前的男友。

女郎越說越氣，竟然連續3次猛砸男友的下體，痛得男友彎腰喊痛，頻頻用手遮掩下體。

眼看男友一直護著下體，女郎更是生氣，拿著高跟鞋往男友臉上啪連續摑打4次。

男友不敢反抗挨打

男友吃痛，卻又不敢反抗，雙手撫住臉沒幾秒又被女友喝止，只好站在原地挨打。

畫面顯示，女郎出手不輕，幾度讓男友整個人都跳起來，面露痛苦。

儘管如此，男友在整個過程中完全沒有反抗，只是時不時護著臉，之後又擔心女友再次襲擊他的下體，於是雙手再次交叉胯下，非常忙碌，顯得狼狽不堪。

網友看到這個影像，紛紛指責女郎猶如電視情節里的“野蠻女友”，有網友直接把矛頭指向其男友，指他站在那裡挨打挨罵，簡直丟盡男人的尊嚴，是個不折不扣的窩囊廢。

新加坡‧引進無傷口手術‧腋窩開孔除甲狀腺腫瘤

（新加坡）新加坡已引進一種“無傷口”手術，醫生在腋窩開刀用超音波手術刀也能把甲狀腺腫瘤取出。不過，在腋下開刀有它的局限，腫瘤不能太大，大約在3到4公分以內，因此不適合甲狀腺亢進的病人。

據醫生說，這種手術的效果和風險都跟傳統的手術差不多，但因為頸項不留疤痕，所以更受歡迎。

國大醫院普通外科顧問醫生陳思光透露，過去4年來，共有約40個病人動了這種手術，他們多是女性，年齡介於20到50歲，腫瘤都屬良性。

陳醫生說，這種手術跟在頸項開口不同，它是在腋窩下開3個孔，一個大孔供內窺鏡進入，2個小孔供超音波手術刀進入切除腫瘤。

這種超音波手術刀可以一邊切除血管一邊封鎖血管，切除的腫瘤從大孔拿出來。

手術時間是一個半到兩個小時，比傳統的開頸手術稍長。

甲狀腺切除術有一定的風險，比如損傷神經或副甲狀腺，但陳醫生說，這些風險非常小，無論在頸項或者腋下開刀風險都差不多。

不過，在腋下開刀有它的局限，腫瘤不能太大，大約在3到4公分以內，因此不適合甲狀腺亢進（俗稱大頸泡）的病人。

甲狀腺是長在喉嚨後面的內分泌腺體，緊貼氣管。陳醫生說，無論是良性或惡性的甲狀腺腫瘤都可能越長越大，並且壓住氣管和食道，如果變大了要取出會變得困難。

巴西‧557人死全球最多

（巴西‧聖保羅）巴西衛生部表示，巴西的A型流感死亡人數已躍居全球最多。

巴西至今已累積了557宗A型流感死亡病例，比全球排名第二的美國還要多出35宗病例。阿根廷的A型流感死亡病例目前也已經增至439宗，是全球第3多死亡病例的國家。

另外，日本今日（週四，8月27日）再證實兩宗死亡病例，使日本A型流感死亡病例增至5宗。

新增的兩名死者是一名74歲的老婦和一名30餘歲的男子。

韓學生每天量體溫在韓國，官員週四稱，韓國所有中小學的學生每天必須測量體溫，以遏止A型流感蔓延。

由於韓國的暑假將在本週結束，韓國衛生部已經傳令所有學校加強防範A型流感病毒。

韓國至今已累積了逾3300宗A型流感確診病例，當中包括926名學生。其中2名流感患者於8月病逝。

歐洲零售銷售連15個月下滑 失業拖累

（中央社台北27日綜合外電報導）由於失業攀升拖累消費支出，歐洲8月份零售銷售第15個月下滑。

彭博對1千名以上採購經理人所做調查顯示，8月份歐元區銷售指數經季調後，自7月47.38降至47.1。這項指數自去年6月以來即在50以下，意味景氣衰退。

大和證券SMBC歐洲公司經濟師艾里斯（ColinEllis）表示：「歐元區失業已進一步攀升，勢必影響家庭支出，而改善中的消費信心仍相當脆弱。」

他說：「問題在一旦財政激勵措施減弱，何者將用以作為經濟成長激勵之用。」

歐元區兩大經濟體德國與法國第二季因政府矢言祭出數以十億計資金以對抗景氣衰退而意外回復成長，包括舊車換新車補助。這項獎勵將在年底截止。

今天報告顯示，法國零售指數8月營收下滑情況減緩，德國變動幅度不大。歐元區第三大經濟體義大利的降幅為3個受調查國家中最大。

土銀工會:董事長王耀興不支持公開釋股

（中央社記者高照芬台北27日電）土地銀行工會今天出具董事長王耀興「土銀不釋股，若有違反，本人將辭去董事長」的親筆承諾書，說明王耀興也不支持土銀公開釋股立場。

行政院編列新台幣1000億元的莫拉克風災重建經費，財政部計畫釋出土地銀行40%股權，籌措近400億元的災後重建經費。

土銀工會連續兩天到立法院抗議，工會強調，財政部計劃釋股籌資 400億元，按土銀目前每年盈餘繳庫80億元，5年盈餘就可達成；對外舉債若按 2%計息，每年只要 8億元，政府不能「假救災之名」，行賤賣土銀之實。

土銀工會理事長蔡桂華指出，土地銀行是100%公股，也是全國人民的資產，工會堅決反對政府「假救災之名，行圖利財團、陸資之實」。

土銀工會要求政府應以低率（無息）賑災貸款400億元，籌措災區重建財源，比照921地震由銀行概括承受受災戶貸款，土銀維持國營，有效執行國家利益、社會責任、公共政策等各項任務。

President John F Kennedy Secret Society Speech version 2

Check this link ...... http://bit.ly/K6XcN

GERALD CELENTE ON FINANCIAL NEWSHOUR - AUGUST 21, 2009

Peter Schiff on aljazeera Riz Khan Global recession 24 Aug 09

Check this link ..... http://bit.ly/9erAC

Stocks led by four wounded horsemen

Struggling financial firms Citi, BofA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are dominating late summer Wall Street trading. Uh-oh. Who says speculation is dead?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- They say you can't trust the government. Don't tell that to Wall Street traders.

A bizarre trend has emerged during these hazy, lazy days of late summer. Overall market volume is unsurprisingly wafer-thin, but a big chunk of trading has been in just four financial companies that have received a healthy dose of support from Washington in order to make it through the credit crisis.

For the past few days, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) (which taxpayers now own a third of), mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) (which were placed under government conservatorship last September) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) (which has needed $45 billion in bailout funds) have been far and away the most actively traded stocks on the New York Stock Exchange.

In fact, these four wounded horsemen of the financial sector comprised 40% of the overall trading volume on the NYSE on Tuesday. These stocks haven't just been active, they've been surging.

This is kind of scary. It suggests that the late-summer portion of the almost six-month long market rally is being fueled more by speculation and momentum, not real optimism about a potential recovery in the financial sector and the overall economy.

"Anecdotally, I don't know anyone that really loves the market but it continues to go up," said John Norris, managing director of wealth management with Oakworth Capital Bank in Birmingham, Ala. "Whenever you have a concentration in a small group of stocks, it's worrisome. Perhaps it could be a sign that this rally is set to peter out."

Sure, there are legitimate reasons to be a little more excited about the outlook for the economy and markets. It does seem like the housing market may finally have hit bottom. Business spending appears to be picking up.

Nonetheless, experts said it would be more encouraging if the rally moved beyond this Gang of Four.

"People are taking more risk, which is a positive. And you can't fight the tape. But this rally is too selective," said Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services, a Sacramento, Calif.-based investment advisory firm. "The broader the rally, the more support it's going to have."

What's more, it's reasonable to worry that the market has simply done a 180 from last fall and earlier this year. After the Lehman Brothers' collapse, traders ignored anything that wasn't a sign of the impending apocalypse. Now, investors seem to be dismissing any news that suggests a recovery won't be robust.

Consumers still are reluctant to take out their wallets for anything but essentials -- or government-subsidized new cars.

And while Fannie, Freddie and the big banks probably no longer need to have a priest sitting by their deathbeds getting ready to read them their last rites, they're far from being healthy just yet.

"You have to scratch your head a little bit. All this volume has been in four huge financials that really have stunk," Norris said. "But there is nothing out there to suggest huge spike in economic activity. We're getting way ahead of ourselves."

Of course, many of the investors that are buying Citi, BofA, Fannie and Freddie probably aren't doing so based on any notion that they're going to all report strong financial results in the near-term. It's a speculative bet that the worst is at least over.

0:00 /3:09Flirting with a double dip

You could argue that all four stocks were oversold earlier this year and are now just returning back to some semblance of a fair price. That may be true. But momentum has driven the stocks up so much in light (not to mention volatile) trading.

"This rally is starting to get me very concerned. We've gotten the bounce that would be appropriate given how far things fell after last fall. Financials were mercilessly destroyed," said Gary Hager, founder and chief executive officer of Integrated Wealth Management, a financial planning firm based in Edison, N.J. "But things are starting to get out of hand and some of them have run up too far."

So you can't help but worry about what happens once more traders return from vacation. If investors decide enough is enough with this "cash for trash" rally and seek to lock in gains, these stocks could be in for a bloodletting. Momentum works both ways after all.

"I think you're seeing people buy with their left hand but their right hand is on the sell button waiting to get out. So if the market falls there could be little support on the down side," Springer said.

However, not everybody thinks that the financials, or the broader market, are doomed for another big plunge this fall.

Hager said that while he expects some sort of sell-off, there still is enough cash on the sidelines that could limit the pain. He added that "too many good things are starting to happen" in the economy to lead to another massive correction.

Eric Ross, director of U.S. research for Canaccord Adams, an investment bank, agreed. He said people cannot underestimate how important an improvement in housing will be for the financial services industry and broader economy.

Given that housing is what led us into this recession, Ross said that better home sales and prices should lead to a more stable banking sector. And if lenders can get back on track, that will go a long way toward fixing the problems in the economy.

Finally, Ross said that even though many experts (including him) believe that some pause in the market rally is inevitable, it's almost impossible to try and pinpoint when the pullback would start. In other words, stocks could continue heading higher despite the complaints about how frothy the market is.

"I don't think there's a rational investor out there who doesn't realize this market is overbought. But it could be overbought for months and months and months," Ross said.

Talkback: Will stocks continue to surge after Labor Day or is another big plunge looming this fall? Share your comments below.

By Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large

Congressman Ron Paul in Action

These images were created in response to the call to all artist ad posted on the Daily Paul website.

Make Ron Paul a Super-Hero! Pow! Splat!

Calling all artists, cartoonists, photoshop experts!

We need people with artistic talent to come up with various images of Ron Paul as a Super-Hero. A poster, a comic book, a video cartoon of Ron Paul flying around DC, wearing his 'R3VOLution Cape', swooping down and socking Ben Bernanke: "Pow! Splat!" Dazed, Bernanke can only utter, "What th-- ?"

Ron said it himself: "I am the Champion of the Constitution." So that's a hook. Maybe his costume could look a bit like Uncle Sam's: Red, White and Blue, and he flies around and, like Superman, fighting for "The Constitution, Personal Liberty and Free Markets!". more : http://www.dailypaul.com/node/102896