Folks, many years ago Mark Haines, the late, great CNBC anchor, gave me the nickname the Optimistic Armenian. I bring that up because as I look at the continuation of Friday’s rally early on in today’s session, I’m seeing a lot to be optimistic about. Last week I told you that if we were able [...]

Folks, I love it when we start out a week in the green. Though we may find out that the markets are a little illiquid today due to the Columbus Day holiday, everything is on fire early in the session. If you’re looking for the reason behind this bounce, look no further than Europe. Although [...]

Folks, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher spoke to CNBC this morning. When asked about whether the FOMC will continue to experiment with monetary policy, he responded, “Whatever we do has to have a complementary side, a fiscal policy that channels it properly.” That’s right: without the help of legislators and the Obama administration, there simply [...]

Folks, today is the first day of both the last week of the month and the last week of the 3rd quarter. In addition to the normal end-of-month activity, a great deal of OTC options and listed options activity comes due and goes off on Friday—it’s almost like a second expiration. The action and volatility [...]