The Market On Thursday

Good morning. It is very cold and super bright sunny here in Upstate NY. In this area March goes in like a lion and by early April the warmth takes hold.

At 8:25 a.m. futures are significantly up, the dollar is up against all currencies and oil is slightly down.

Oil is now over $100 per barrel. They are pointing to the revolution in Libya as the reason for this rise. The average gallon of gas is now $3.40. Funny how the economy starts sputtering along and now gas is getting more expensive. Isn't it just an amazing coincidence...

Jobs will be the big topic today and Friday. Any moment we get the first time unemployment numbers and tomorrow is the big enchilada with the government's report on jobs in January.

CNN: Stocks headed higher at open

"The premarkets are up because of the optimism that the jobs report is going to be good..."


Economists surveyed by CNNMoney expect that 192,000 jobs were created in February, with the unemployment rate rising to 9.1% from 9% in January.


Oil for April delivery slipped 66 cents to $101.57 a barrel.