By Rick Glaze

Strength in the stock market on Friday helped stem the downtrend but was not enough to pull the major indexes into positive territory for the week.

The Nasdaq slid 2 percent while the S&P 500 sustained a 1.8 percent loss and the Dow Jones industrial average edged lower by 2.1 percent. The small cap index, the S&P 600, also showed strength late but lost 2.2 percent for the week.

Hurricane Rita blasted into Houston and the Texas coast Saturday morning. The 120 mph winds found a ghost town as residents had staged an orderly but tedious evacuation. Preparation, practice drills and organization made a stark contrast to the chaos in New Orleans.

Oil refineries are expected to be back online shortly.

The biggest danger is that media sensationalizing and politicians grandstanding will lead to changes in national policy that don’t reflect the actual fundamentals in the economy.

The lack of refining capacity and domestic oil and gas production is a fundamental problem that is not related to the short-term effects of this hurricane season. Energy policy needs to be addressed not out of fear or with a knee-jerk response but with a long-term perspective.

“Hard-headed finance for soft-hearted goals” is how the World Bank describes itself. Located in Washington, D.C., the bank was started as an aid and reconstruction effort after World War II. France was the first borrower with a 40-year loan of $250,000.

Today, most of the annual $22 billion for loans and grants, is borrowed with the bank as guarantor and with contributor nations funding the rest.

The U.S contributes about $1 billion per year, has a 14 percent voting share in governance and policy decisions and appoints the president.

In addition to humanitarian objectives, the bank fosters economic growth in underdeveloped countries.

Rick Glaze is the president of Glaze Capital Management of Los Altos and is a registered representative of and offers securities through First Allied Securities Inc.