The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 13 degrees and cloudy here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The forecast is continuing to describe next week as the break in the extremely cold relentless weather we've had around here right through February. I have been slow getting out of the starting gate this morning. Colds and sore throats are floating around in my house and I am feeling the symptoms as well. Blah...

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

  Is it just me or does the news really seem to be getting crazier and crazier with each passing day. I'm all for getting Jihadi John indeed. I suspect the consensus out there is that Morgan Stanley is getting off on the super cheap for its role in destabilizing the economy back in 2007. $2.6 B for helping to wreck the lives of millions upon millions of people globally, sounds pretty cheap to me, it's a cheap fine. A real fine fine would be dismantling the entire bank, distributing all the assets to all of us, and throwing the top tier execs in jail for a lifetime or two.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open

Shares in Morgan Stanley (MS) could be on the move Thursday after it agreed to pay $2.6 billion to settle a case over mortgage-backed securities.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to approve new rules Thursday that -- depending on which side you believe -- either ensure a fair Internet or smother it with unnecessary regulation.