The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 2 degrees and clear here in Upstate NY. The early frigid temperatures remain even though the weather logos promise something a little warmer. We see that Atlanta was in a state of collapse all over a few inches of snow that quickly became a massive ice skating rink on all major and minor roads. Friends and friends of friends are saying things like spending 8 hours going just a few miles, many had it much worse. Is there anyone out there who is a fan of the traffic jam? I didn't think so. Curious that traffic jams as a result of political mischief or incompetence are in the forefront of the news recently. We can allow our politicians to make vicious policy choices that serve corporate interests all of the time and put hard working people in a state of compromise, but screw around with easy driving accessibility and you are cooked.

  At 8:10 a.m. ET DOW futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher but recent trends demonstrably accentuate the ephemeral nature of that statement.

  Investors heard the bad news from the Fed yesterday - quantitative easing is coming to a slow and painful end. Peripheral developing markets have been hit especially hard by this reality and a sell off has ensued. Setting all of that aside for a moment, investors will be looking at more fourth quarter corporate reports today, actually a huge slew of them. In addition, we get another reading of the fourth quarter GDP and the weekly first time layoff numbers and we wonder how this can be since right about now everyone has lost their job...

CNN: Stocks: Investors hoping for a rebound

Investors were disappointed the central bank didn't address the recent turmoil in emerging markets.

The turmoil has prompted a flight from riskier assets, including stocks.