The Market On Friday

Good morning and welcome to the weekend. It is 36 degrees and sunny here in Upstate NY. I have had a busy morning. Dog walking, chores, errands, I'm ready to go back to sleep. Yet the day calls and demands more. So we'll rev it up and get it moving.

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

The last few days have seen the the direction of the market reversing from early morning trends. Yesterday it was all about strong US economic indicators overcoming distress about Greece.

Here's one thing that I personally do not understand. The DOW is poised to cross 13,000, now that is a very strong and high number. Yet we keep reading that the economy is just beginning to recover and that a period of better growth and job opportunity is coming, or so they hope. If this last statement has any value then what does this mean in terms of the DOW and the rest of the indexes. Does this mean investors are expecting to see the DOW rise to 16,000? See my point. The DOW is already at a high number, yet the recovery is just taking hold. I just don't get it other than throwing it into the Wall Street/Main Street disconnect.

CNN: Investors on edge awaiting Greek bailout

Investors are optimistic that European finance ministers will sign off on Greece's latest economic reform proposal when they meet Monday.


Markets will be closed Monday for Presidents' Day.


The government is due to release inflation data for January...