The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 68 degrees and cloudy here in Upstate NY. We've had a nice reprieve from the oppressive heat and humidity of the last few weeks. It looks like the new prince and Weiner's latest dalliance have knocked Zimmerman off the top of the headlines. We are moving on or at least the news would have us believe this is so. We have become used to the idea that we can only play with tragedy for so long as the depth of the tragedy indicates how long it remains the top story. We abide in the logic of the news media and its decision to allow a story to linger in our minds for only so long. Are we manipulated? Yes we are.

  At 8:10 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is slightly lower. The market is poised to open slightly higher.

  Two pieces of positive news are inspiring this morning's small rally. First, Apple has shown its second quarter profits to be better than expected. This is a big deal because Apple is a huge deal. Apple is a top two corporate giant at this point and this positive earnings news rises above all other news like a new English prince baby above a murderer set free. Second, the eurozone is showing small signs of lifting out of its intractable economic stagnation with better than expected corporate news from that region. One plus one equals today's opening morning rally.

CNN: Stocks: Apple earnings lift spirits

Apple...reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations...

European markets were all moving up in morning trading after the latest eurozone purchasing managers' index showed the region was stabilizing. Manufacturing output grew for the first time since February 2012...