The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. It is 3 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Our very extreme February weather continues although it might get slightly less cold today. Perhaps I can take the dog for a walk this afternoon, that is a walk that lasts more than 5 minutes. It's way too cold for a long dog walk. The forecast tends to always be wrong and the long range forecast is more wrong than that but there is presently the notion that it will get up to 50 degrees on Sunday. If through some miracle that actually happens, I will be out there in shorts and t-shirt, it will seem like a heat wave at this point.

  At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are slightly lower to flat and the price of oil per barrel is slightly higher trading near $53 a barrel. The market is poised to open in the flat area.

  We can only say that corporate returns have been good because the DOW went over 18K for the first time last week. That is an unheard of number. Notice that Transocean is planning to slash its dividend. When oil companies begin to slash their dividends, let's just say a lot of retirement plans go straight out the window. Hold onto your hats.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open

Watch trading in oil services company Transocean Tuesday. Trading volume could be higher than normal after the company announced its CEO is leaving and it's planning to slash its dividend payments.