Stock Market update: Stock Market Blog -Dec 30th

The market sold off as the 'fiscal cliff' remained unresolved. Next week will be decision time. Meanwhile the Yen continued to drop vs. the US dollar.

In 2013 we can look forward to continued European financial issues, US debt issues, and possibly some signs of inflation as the Fed continues to print hundreds of billions of dollars. The economy could contract if taxes go up, and unemployment lingers.

New all time highs: ?
All time lows: ?
Pops:
Drops:

Next week: Economic reports
Markets will be closed all day Tuesday for New Years.

Market Commentary

The coming week will be an interesting one as the clock runs out on the 'fiscal cliff' issue, and as we start off the new year. The market will tell us where it wants to go next, so hang in there and wait for the next move. Options Volatility has increased, so maybe selling Iron Condors on the SPY or IWM might present some opportunites.

2012 -a rocky road, but still profitable

This week's charts:

Weekly Unemployment claims
S&P 500 ?...depends on the cliff, again!
OptionsMakeSense

Commodities/Futures (charts):
Crude Oil was up a bit, closing near $90.80
Natural Gas was mostly unchanged, closing near $3.47
Gold dropped again, closing near $1656
The 30 year Bond was up, closing near $148.38
The US Dollar was mostly unchanged, closing near 79.79