The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 51 degrees and overcast here in Upstate NY. The rain is predicted to last through Sunday and the temperature is allegedly going into the 70s today in spite of the rain. Such is life, fortunately my outdoor performance on Sunday will be moved indoors in case of rain.

  At 8:50 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil is down. The market is poised to open in a mixed position.

  Jobless claims for the last week have ticked up to 344,000. That's not good but it might not effect investors too much. First quarter reports have not been stellar but they've been good enough to keep the market reasonably fluffy and even in the range of setting new records for the DOW. Thoughts of an impending economic collapse are highly over exaggerated.

CNN: Stocks: New records in sight?

"(Earnings) haven't been very strong, but they've been good enough to assuage people's fears..."

Most of the major European markets were closed for a holiday Thursday...