The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. It is 31 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The logo is indicating that precipitation of some kind is a possibility today. The slightly above freezing temperatures continue to melt away the snow from last week's storm as more and more of the ground is beginning to appear. Around here roughly 50% of the ground is peaking out from the snow. We are also almost in the depth of the least amount of light. The light starts to come back ever so slowly after the Winter Solstice this Sunday.

  At 9:00 a.m. ET futures are moderately lower and the price of oil per barrel continues to plunge. The market is poised to open lower.

  We are rapidly closing in on freak out mode as the price of oil slides now towards $50 per barrel. I'm sure someone out there has wrapped their mind around the implications of this major shift. I would suspect we see a further tightening of the credit and payment structures, give me the money. How ironic that this is all occurring as the depth of the Winter hits this part of the world. There must be a name for it - maybe something like the Siberian Complex.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

...markets are extremely fearful as oil prices fall off a cliff and Russia struggles to deal with a full-blown currency crisis.