Friends It was a pretty interesting day in the markets despite the somewhat quiet day for stocks in general. First off this morning we got an ADP private payroll number (298,000) that was significantly higher than anyone could have guessed. That raises expectations...

Friends As the politicians and the media wrestle over the House's proposed health care plan details, market participants seem unsure of just what to do with stocks. Are prices too high to buy? Is a major correction due at any moment? There seems to be a lot...

Friends The bears marshalled their forces and had the bulls backing off a bit in early trading. But as the trading session wore on, the bulls began to hold their ground and the market averages were able to erase most of the early damage. Of course, politics continue...

Friends Stocks experienced a very quiet trading session today as traders seemed a bit confused by various statements from Fed officials. It seemed like traders couldn't decide just what stand to take. So many are poised for a downturn ("we have to pullback at some...

Friends Stocks can go down! Hard to believe I know, but with today's action it appears to actually be true. After yesterday's raucous rally in the aftermath of the Trump speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, it really isn't a surprise that things...

Friends President Trump delivered a standard, cookie cutter type address to Congress last night (and did a good job delivering it), and the stock market loved it. There was some fear going into the speech that fireworks could erupt and a bad taste could be left in...

Friends Traders appeared tentative before the "State of the Union" address tonight, as stocks drifted slightly in negative territory, with very little conviction. Interestingly, the economic data was decidedly positive as the Chicago PMI, the Richmond Fed...

Friends We are back to a full week of trading with February ending tomorrow and The President's "State of the Union" speech on Tuesday evening. That should be must see TV. On the economic front we get our second look at 4th quarter 2016 GDP tomorrow, along with...

Friends Stocks lingered in negative territory for just about the entire trading session, but the bulls came with a final push to move the market averages slightly into positive territory and register another record close.  After the run that we have had to the upside,...

Friends It was a very quiet day here in investment land. Volatility was virtually non-existent, while participation was muted. Some doubt about the realization of tax reform is beginning to creep into the equation. The Treasury Secretary is shooting for August and the...

Friends Today's FOMC minutes seemed to indicate that the Fed members may not have been quite as confident in the economy as had been disseminated by the Fed Chair and subsequent reports. From reading the minutes the FOMC does, indeed, want to raise rates this year,...

Friends Stocks went up today. I know it's a shock, but they really did. Of course, I am having a little fun, but this rally seems it's not easily going to be thwarted. Yes, market participants are expecting/hoping that deregulation and tax reform will help spur...

Friends Despite a raucous Presidential press conference, stocks had an extremely quiet day. Even an amazingly strong report out of the Philly Fed couldn't spur any buying interest, as market participants simply might be out of gas after a week of rising stock prices....

Friends Stocks continue to push higher today despite or because of a hotter than expected CPI number and a better than expected retail sales number. It was curious why retail sales had been soft given the increase in consumer confidence lately, but perhaps today's...

Friends Despite some tumult coming from the White House today, stocks continued to ascend to higher levels, as any selling over the past several trading sessions has been met with buyers. Janet Yellen's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee seemed to give...