The Market On New Years Eve

On New Years Eve and with futures mixed, the market is poised to be as volatile as ever today. Bottomline - the DOW closes somewhere in the 8000s and it will take some time before the massive devaluation starts reversing.

What can we say, we are in the midst of the worst recession in our lifetime.

I read one optimistic Reuters report last night, where a noted investor was saying that 6 to 8 months prior to the releasing of data that is at long last positive, the market starts climbing. The implication was that January could see some reversal of fortune.

Hey, anything to help lift the mood.

Still a new bloody Middle East Israeli - Palestinian War is shaping up. Israel is poised to begin a ground offensive into the Gaza where they will proceed to flatten the countryside and many Palestinians. The world seems to feel this is just fine. We suspect this will not be the end of that conflict no matter how many Palestinians are killed, and no matter how much of the Gaza is annihilated.

So we are about to begin a new year while 1.5 million people are being warred on. Regardless of how you feel about who is justified and who is not justified in this conflict, remember that all parties are human beings and they suffer from the same fear and pain that we experience. Also, this is war, which is the cruelest of the cruel. The images of people weeping over the lifeless body of their 4 year old daughter are real and profoundly disturbing.

Reuters: Stock index futures mixed ahead of last 2008 session

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Wednesday, ahead of the last trading session of what has been a torrid year for stock markets worldwide.