The Market On Monday

Good morning. At 6:15 a.m. it is 45 degrees and sunny here in Upstate NY. I'm starting out earlier than usual with a slightly more busy day ahead of me. I hope you had a good weekend. We finally got the garden to the state where we did some planting on Sunday. The new garden is 20 feet by 20 feet, easily the largest garden I've ever had. Over the weekend we roto-tilled it several times, added moo doo to the soil and hoed it in, then we parceled up the plot into 16 equal spaces. Also I extended the posts of the fencing a few feet with some strips of wood then ran a heavy twine across the very top. We have to go to extra lengths to keep the high jumping deer out of the garden. It feels great having it out there now.

This morning futures are significantly down, the price of oil is down per barrel, and the dollar is mixed against major world currencies. The market is poised to drop at the opening bell. Last week's sell off appears to be continuing.

Investors are wondering what to make of the major elections in Europe, especially with the election of Hollande in France. France and Germany are central players in the economy of the eurozone and Hollande's socialist background throws a wild card into the system. The French are rightfully not buying into the austerity meme that is wrongfully being implemented in many countries in Europe. Austerity will not work and not only that austerity will assist in the rise of nationalistic sub groups, Europe has a history of that and it's not very pleasant.

Two things occurred last week in the employment sector that were at odds. First the weekly first time layoff numbers were among the best yet. Second, the government's report of job creation in April was among the worst yet. That is a conflict. Needless to say investors are very anxious to see how this week's first time layoff numbers will look. Was April an aberration, or not, etc etc.

Corporate results continue to come through in the better than expected area and it is being suggested that the turbulence in housing, employment, and Europe, when mixed with good corporate reports will result in a market that moves sideways. As always, we shall see.

CNN: 'Jitters' from Europe

In France, socialist Francois Hollande defeated president Nicolas Sarkozy, raising questions about the future of austerity throughout Europe.


...Hollande pledging tax hikes on the rich.


...expects the stock market to get through the economic and corporate news lull by largely moving sideways.