The Market On Thursday

Good morning. It is 37 degrees and overcast here in Upstate NY. Just reading the headlines is about as close as I get to the GOP debate. These people are booing contraception. Which century is it anyhow? The authoritarian mind is a unique entity. No one makes people use contraception, no one makes people become gay and then get 'gay' married, and if you don't want to have an abortion you don't have to get one. But what the authoritarian wants everyone must have. Try explaining that little blip to an authoritarian, the light bulb stays off doesn't even rise to fizzle dim.

At 8:15 a.m. futures are slightly higher, the dollar is down against all world currencies, and the price of oil is up, its skyrocketing. Inflation is creeping in.

Investors are very pleased to see that huge world economic mover Germany is reporting better than expected economic growth in the last month. This is a big deal. The eurozone can fall to pieces and it looks like it is and will continue to fall to pieces, but if Germany can maintain, a lot of power goes with that. Its simply because Germany is a top 5 world economy. It's a case of bigger is better, much better in fact.

CNN: Economic optimism to boost stocks

...investors were encouraged after a reading on Germany's business conditions rose for a fourth straight month in February -- the highest level since July...


...the European Commission forecasts that the eurozone will likely face a mild recession in 2012, thanks to negative growth in Greece, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Slovenia and Belgium.


Oil for April delivery rose 16 cents to $106.44 a barrel.