The Market On Christmas Eve

  Good morning. It is 42 degrees, overcast, and drizzly here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The gray overcast days continue on here in the land of grayness. I like gray it's a good color. The weather logo is suggesting it goes up into the 50s later today. Well it's Christmas Eve. Workers are hoping to get let out early, children are as excited as hell, some adults are overwhelmed by memories of past holidays, yet we are all quite capable of feeling the intention of the holiday which is to bring forth the best of humanity, not the worst. So as they say, feel the love or at least feel the warmth.

  At 9:00 a.m. ET futures are higher and surprisingly the price of oil per barrel is up over $56. The market is poised to open higher.

  The market closes early today so there are only a few hours there to mess with the formula. Russia is on the brink of financial collapse, it's beyond collapse, more like financial extinction. Everyone is still wondering where the price of oil per barrel will fall to, and on the other hand some are already predicting a rise in oil prices by the Summer. Weekly first time layoff numbers are now down to 280,000 and the GOP must be worried as hell.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

The markets close early at 1 p.m. today.

...Standard & Poor's warned there's a 50% chance the nation's (Russia's) debt will be downgraded to junk.