The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 25 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Snow is expected today and a period of extreme cold is due to come through later today. Cheer up Upper Hudson Valley-ites, take a look at these numbers. Upper Hudson Valley sunrise is 6:55 AM, and the sunset is at 5:22 PM, that's for today. If you add in the half hour daylight before and after those times, we are closing in on 12 hours of daylight real fast. The light is coming back.

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

  The big news of the morning is the agreed upon cease fire in the Ukraine. That act of peace is warming up the morning's investment activity. One thing I would like to point out is that Putin is not a particularly tall man, just look at him standing next to Merkel who seems like she could take him easily. One wonders if he has some sort of related overachieving inferiority. Weird dude, that's for sure. Don't get me wrong short is fine, I'm not all that tall, but I definitely don't want to start wars either.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

Leaders from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany have agreed on a ceasefire that's due to start Sunday. Those involved in the bloody conflict in Eastern Ukraine have agreed to pull back heavy weapons.