By Peter Wechsle

When Halloween candy hits the store shelves you know that summer is just about gone and that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Soon it will be Monday Night Football and the World Series that now seems to creep into early November. Once July 4th hits I start getting anxious thinking the summer is just about over. Well… it’s almost over.

Lots of clients have been asking me how many people I’m having for Rosh Hashana this year and whether I made the briskets yet. Sit down… fasten your seat belts because I have big news.

No big dinner this year!

It’s the first time in many years that family and friends won’t be celebrating the Jewish New Year with yours truly, and here’s why. With a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday before the holiday and a wedding on Sunday, there just wouldn’t be enough time for me to do all the preparations. Besides, since it’s a family wedding (the bride is my cousin’s daughter but to me she’s like a favorite niece) the whole family will be together so I imagine by the end of the wedding and the Monday brunch all the family will have had enough of each other. You know how it is.

So for those keeping track, I guess the next big meal will be Thanksgiving. Let me know if you see any good turkey sales.

As for the world of finance, not much happens at the end of August. Most of Wall Street is on vacation so recent trading volume has been very low. On top of that, the markets are waiting to see if Congress can make any headway on anything once it returns.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that our esteemed elected representatives in Washington can pass a budget and a debt ceiling increase without shutting down the government. If so, I’m hoping the markets can continue along with no major “correction”. Don’t you just love that word? September should be a very interesting month in Congress—they have lots of work to do and only 12 working days to do it in.

In the meantime, corporate profits are holding up OK, but they’re not booming like they were earlier this year. Most businesses are hoping for a major tax cut. Don’t hold your breath. With there being so much division in the Republican party in Congress (there are basically three different Republican parties right now) and the Democrats not seeming to want to help any of the three very much (they call it payback… whatever), we’ll see what can actually get done. Stay tuned.

With a little luck we’ll have a nice weekend, so enjoy the shore, pool and the grill.

Peter