Amid the Turbulence, Infrastructure and Basic Materials Provide Long-Term Growth

Last week was not pretty,with the Dow Industrials closing under12,000, down 464 points or 3.8% for the week. The financials hadanother tumble, setting a week-long negative tone with a decline of4.7%. Oil, another wet blanket for equity bulls, had a wild week (toinclude hitting an all-time high) before settling almost unchangedabove $134. Are the markets going lower?

I have long been bearish on the financial and the consumerdiscretionary sectors, though I am no longer significantly short. (Inretrospect, I probably should have waited longer before covering someof those positions!) As the financials continue to get abused, is nowthe time to buy? From my perspective, the answer remains no -- thereremain too many unknowns, leaving significant downside risk. There maybe a "pop," but betting on that is more of a gamble than an investment.Financials will no doubt continue