The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 8 degrees and hazy sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. It looks like we are in for a stretch of extremely cold temperatures after today. Get out the extra layers.

  At 9:00 a.m. futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is up, the market is poised to open higher.

  Mixed news from the Fed yesterday. The good news is that there is demonstrable evidence that the US economy is improving and job growth appears to be steady. The bad news is that interest rate hikes are soon to follow. So, grab that cheap re-fi while you can.

Reuters: Fed upbeat on U.S. economy, cites strong job gains

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said the U.S. economy was expanding "at a solid pace" with strong job gains in a signal that the central bank remains on track with its plans to raise interest rates this year.

Reuters: U.S. jobless claims drop sharply to near 15-year low

...unemployment benefits dropped 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 265,000 for the week ended Jan. 24...