Investors are starting to panic. But if the market deterioration accelerates, the opportunity to buy into Asia will be comparable to that of 2001. Back then, I recommended Asian stocks to only a handful of investors who cared to listen. Luckily, the recommendations played out quite well, and I’m expecting the same outcome this time around.

All three major indexes posted weekly declines. The Nasdaq Composite was the biggest loser, down 2.1 percent. The S&P 500 lost 1.3 percent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.5 percent. It was also a brutal first half. The Dow slipped 14.4 percent, the Nasdaq gave up 13.8 percent and the S&P 500 shed 12.8 percent.

Markets north of the border are closed Tuesday in observance of Canada Day, a federal holiday marking the joining of the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867.

This is what I continually harp on: Nanotech isn’t just one thing; it’s an enabling technology that has the ability to change the way we do almost everything, from the mundane to the esoteric.

With the leading indexes of the US stock market heading to one of the worst Junes since The Great Depression, it’s getting harder to bird-dog for stocks that won’t just come apart but will actually do something for us.

Dominion Resources is the latest utility to announce a major plan for negawatt investment. Negawatts are basically saved megawatts; that’s investment made to enhance conservation and save power companies from having to build new megawatt capacity. One negawatt equals one saved megawatt.

With oil cruising above $140 per barrel and natural gas at its highest levels since late 2005, it’s hard to imagine that there could be any energy-related sectors that aren’t flying higher.

US equities plummeted this week as analysts downgraded financials and weakness appeared in the tech sector.

Once upon a time, BCE reluctantly assumed the lead role in the largest potential income trust conversion ever. Now, in a demonstration of ubiquity redolent of Woody Allen’s Zelig, it’s the star of the biggest potential leveraged buyout (LBO) in history.

With summer just beginning, I’m forecasting plenty of activity for July and August grain and soybean markets.