The Market On Friday

Good morning and welcome to the weekend. It is 33 degrees, raining, and slushy here in Upstate NY. We just got back from walking the new dog in the slushy streets. Everybody and the dog are soaked, and its nice to walk into a warm dry house. All feet got very soaked, lots of socks and shoes are hanging out drying off.

At 8:25 a.m. futures are slightly higher, the dollar is down against all major world currencies, and oil is up per barrel. The market is poised to open higher except...

In a very short time the government will release the first reading of the fourth quarter GDP. Needless to say, this is a big deal for the investment class and everybody's understanding of how the recovering economy is fairing.

A bad reading will tank the market today, an average reading will be unsettling, and a better than expected reading might cause a momentary release of fear and envy along with keeping the rapidly approaching DOW at 13K in sight.

CNN: Stocks: Investors await reading on U.S. growth

...the government's fourth-quarter GDP reading before the market open...


Anxiety continues to loom over Greece's ongoing negotiations with private-sector creditors in an attempt to reduce its debt burden.


Ford, aided by a one-time gain, posted 2011 profit of $20.2 billion -- its biggest since 1998.