The Market On Friday

  Good morning and welcome to the weekend. It is a frigid 11 degrees and sunny here in Upstate NY. I am relieved to feel winter back, for a while I thought we were going directly to interstitial spring like we did last year. The forecast is still showing 40 degree temps this weekend. I just returned from an early morning trail hike and I was bundled in layers for it, well prepared as it were. It's a very exhilarating way to start the morning. I recommend it, if you live in these parts get into the winter.

  At 8:00 a.m. E.T. future are ever so slightly up and th eprice of oil per barrel is down per barrel. The DOW is poised to sputter open in the flat area.

  One must presume that so far fourth quarter earnings season has been a hit. The DOW is perched at a lofty 13,551.00, that's a strong number. Investors heard good news out of China with that country's economy showing even more growth and growth is the name of the game in a world of shrinking resources. Yeah, I know, it doesn't make any sense but that is how our economy works in a nutshell.

CNN: Stocks: Investors step back

...China posted stronger than expected growth figures...

Investors are still by and large focused on earnings.