The Market On Monday

Good morning. It is 25 degrees and sunny with a few clouds here in Upstate NY. Congratulations to all fans of Giants football. The Giants won in impressive fashion against a very comparable Patriots team. Both teams, in my limited understanding of the nuances of football, seemed very similar in approach, style, and ability. When all is said and done it was the Giants who had a little bit more grit and focus on this particular game.

At 8:10 a.m. futures are modestly down, the dollar is up against major world currencies, and the price of oil is down. Adding these three points together indicates that the market is poised to open lower.

Investors are back to focusing on the ongoing eurozone debt crisis with special worrying directed at how Greece will or will not pay its massive debt. There is talk of more austerity measures in Greece as the way for that country to secure loans and consequently not go into default. Austerity is, as you know, brutal in that it generally means that ordinary people like you and I will do without things like pensions and social safety nets while the wealthy individuals and corporations continue on their merry way scot-free. This is a presumed economic structure in the 'free world'. It is never questioned, it simply happens.

CNN: Stocks: All eyes on Greece

(The Greek government is) trying to reach a deal on austerity measures and financial reforms necessary for a €145 billion bailout package from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.


Meanwhile, investors will also continue to keep an eye on quarterly corporate results.