The Market On Friday

At 6:50 a.m. futures are slightly down, the dollar is up against the yen, euro, and pound, and the price of oil is down.

Finance reform is in the spotlight and indications are that the bill will be weak and watered down. This does not surprise us.

What can we say, the market has been having a fit. Many of us are concerned that this is the beginning of something ugly.

CNN: Stocks set for shaky start

Lawmakers eventually agreed on a weakened version of the provision that would allow banks to make traditional trades of contracts. But banks that want to engage in riskier trades would be required to spin off the divisions that trade derivatives contracts into affiliates in two years.


The dollar was up versus the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.


U.S. light crude oil for August delivery fell 43 cents to $76.08 a barrel.

CNN: When will you get to retire?

In the late 1960s, men in Spain spent less than 10 years in retirement; now they spend more than 20, according to data compiled by the OECD and the Economist. In France, the time in retirement has risen from 10 years to almost 25. The jump in the United States is also large but not as drastic: from just under 10 years to roughly 18.