Make Careful Buys as Market Beckons

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Oct. 10 at 11:36 a.m. EDT. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers.

No doubt about it, this is a tough market environment. The major averages have been trending lower since early August.

Sure, we've seen a few rallies over the past couple of months, but they haven't led to anything other than frustrating selloffs.

Just when folks start to believe in the bull, it wimps out. Blame it on hurricanes Katrina and Rita, high oil prices, rising rates, seasonality or whatever else you can think of. ...