The Market On Monday

Good morning. It is 31 degrees and cloudy here in Upstate NY. Allegedly we are looking at temperatures in the 30s and 40s through the week. That is back to the unusually milder temperatures we never experience around these parts in January. The roads are all perfectly clear from the weekend's snow and bitter cold, the lawns are covered in snow. It looks like winter out there.

At 8:20 a.m. futures are modestly higher, the dollar is mostly down against major world currencies, and oil is up in price per barrel. Right now the markets are set to open higher.

Investors will get their first look at the fourth quarter GDP on Friday. That data will be very telling but given the improved economic outlook one might make a guess that the numbers will be slightly better than expected.

Otherwise we are back to the concerns about the Eurozone debt crisis and in particular Greece. Greece is out of order. The concern is that the country will not be able to repay some major debt on March 20. So the time around the first day of spring is loaded with world economy implications.

Notice that Bush administration and especially VP Cheney favorite Halliburton is going great guns. Personally I would never invest a penny in that company.

CNN: Stocks: Greece's debt talks in focus

...officials have yet to announce a deal to scale back the nation's (Greece) overwhelming debt load.


The Federal Reserve starts a two-day meeting on Tuesday...


...Halliburton released quarterly results that beat the Street on both earnings and revenue...