The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 6 degrees and sunny here in Upstate NY. The frigid cold continues but with no wind and the sun out, being outside is doable. We are about to enter the year of the Yang Wood Horse. I am not a big astrology buff at all but I find this article to be pleasing and helpful - 2014 – The Year of the Yang Wood Horse. Check it out I encourage you to read it. It's very optimistic and explains a lot of the doldrums of the past 2 years. In fact according to the article the last 2 years were the hardest of a 60 year cycle.

  At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are moderately lower and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.

  Today is the big day. Investors expect to hear the Fed announce a further tapering of quantitative easing. Meanwhile the developing countries are responding to the eventual drying up of easy liquidity by raising their key interest rates. India has pushed the rate up to 8%. Imagine what that rate would due in the USA. This is allegedly a short term policy move to provoke a more disciplined approach to their economies. Investors are responding favorably to this move.

CNN: Stocks: Losing momentum ahead of Fed

...expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to reduce the pace of its monetary stimulus, which has supported the flow of cash into developing economies.

The Federal Reserve will announce its latest policy moves at 2 p.m. ET.