The Market On Friday

  Good morning. It is 55 degrees and cloudy here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The cooler temperatures are starting to sneak in as we go deeper into the "ber" months. We see that - "Oscar Pistorius guilty of negligent killing of girlfriend". For a while there I was thinking he was going to do the O.J. shuffle. Something is very wrong with that dude.

  At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are slightly lower and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open lower.

  The big news surrounds all sorts of sanctions being imposed on Russia as a means to pressure the country to forge a peaceful solution with the Ukraine. The idea of hitting them where it hurts, in the pocketbook, is an old sturdy and yet decidedly useful method to correct undisciplined behavior. Kinky. Russia, naughty boy. Otherwise it's still a mild period in the market. Investors get to parse data on consumer sentiment (my favorite), and retail sales in August. It feels like it's all about treading water somehow.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

The European Union has announced tougher sanctions against Russia, preventing key energy and defense companies from raising finance in Europe.

The U.S. government said it would follow suit with another round of sanctions (on Russia) Friday...