The Market On Friday

Good morning and welcome to the weekend. Another week has literally flown by. Why does the perception of time passing seem to speed up as we get older?

At 8:20 a.m. futures are modestly up and the price of oil per barrel is up.

It is "quadruple witching" day on Wall Street. This occurs four times a year and is regarded as a day of potentially strong volatility. CNN has a decent explanation and its posted below.

One minor comment - the voices which are predicting a double dip recession are not as dominant as they were a few months ago. This does not mean that it will not occur, but it appears that there is a glimmer of movement towards stagnant to mild economic growth. Employment is still the main problem and until there is real job growth, problems will continue to reverberate in many sectors. The unfortunate outlook however is that the job loss level may be something that is not an aberration but the new reality.

CNN: Tech stock rally seen at the open

...bracing for a potentially volatile trading day as traders adjust their portfolios during so-called "quadruple witching."


The term refers to the phenomenon that takes place four times a year when several derivatives contracts expire at the same time -- those tied to market index futures, market index options, stock options and stock futures. It often leads to a massive surge in trading as professional investors adjust their portfolios.


The government's main inflation gauge and a report on consumer sentiment are on the agenda Friday.