The Day Ahead: September 30, 2008

Joseph Brusuelas
Chief Economist
Merk Hard Currency Fund
Sep 30, 2008

Market Movers:

• The failure of the TARP on the floor of the House of Representatives has moved action towards overnight trading in Asia and early morning action in Europe. With the credit markets currently jammed up, volatility should be expected to shape the overnight action and the direction of US markets in early morning trading Tuesday.

• News flow will provide direction for the markets as Congress dithers over what action to take to stem the tide of the growing crisis. It does appear that the plan in its current form, or in another, will not be resubmitted to House until Thursday at the earliest.

• Look for possible Treasury or Fed announcements during the pre-market hours. Traders have priced in a full fifty basis point cut in the federal funds rate. While we do not think it a likely event, overt concerns in the market regarding the fragility of the financial system and the economic fallout of the credit panic, it cannot be completely discounted.

• Lingering concern over the condition of the US banking system and growing concern of the status of the financial sector in Europe should be the major economic factors that drive pricing action during the day.

• Macro data will see the July Case Schiller estimate of price action in the housing sector and the September Chicago PMI and Consumer Confidence reports. ISCS same store sales estimate and the Redbook survey will provide information on the condition of the retail sector and the appetite for retail goods among the public. These data will be second order questions during the upcoming trading day.

• The US Treasury will conduct a four-week bill auction at 1:00 PM and settle a two year and five year note.

Joseph Brusuelas
Chief Economist
Merk Investments
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Joseph Brusuelas is Chief Economist at Merk Investments.

The Merk Hard Currency Fund is a fund that seeks to profit from a potential decline in the dollar. To learn more about the Fund, or to subscribe to our free newsletter, please visit www.merkfund.com.

The Merk Hard Currency Fund is a no-load mutual fund that invests in a basket of hard currencies from countries with strong monetary policies assembled to protect against the depreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies. The Fund may serve as a valuable diversification component as it seeks to protect against a decline in the dollar while potentially mitigating stock market, credit and interest risks-with the ease of investing in a mutual fund.

The Fund may be appropriate for you if you are pursuing a long-term goal with a hard currency component to your portfolio; are willing to tolerate the risks associated with investments in foreign currencies; or are looking for a way to potentially mitigate downside risk in or profit from a secular bear market. For more information on the Fund and to download a prospectus, please visit www.merkfund.com.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks and charges and expenses of the Merk Hard Currency Fund carefully before investing. This and other information is in the prospectus, a copy of which may be obtained by visiting the Fund's website at www.merkfund.com or calling 866-MERK FUND. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.

The Fund primarily invests in foreign currencies and as such, changes in currency exchange rates will affect the value of what the Fund owns and the price of the Fund's shares. Investing in foreign instruments bears a greater risk than investing in domestic instruments for reasons such as volatility of currency exchange rates and, in some cases, limited geographic focus, political and economic instability, and relatively illiquid markets. The Fund is subject to interest rate risk which is the risk that debt securities in the Fund's portfolio will decline in value because of increases in market interest rates. As a non-diversified fund, the Fund will be subject to more investment risk and potential for volatility than a diversified fund because its portfolio may, at times, focus on a limited number of issuers. The Fund may also invest in derivative securities which can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of risk. For a more complete discussion of these and other Fund risks please refer to the Fund's prospectus.

The views in this article were those of Joseph Brusuelas as of the newsletter's publication date and may not reflect his views at any time thereafter. These views and opinions should not be construed as investment advice nor considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy shares of any securities mentioned herein.

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