With US markets closing early so people can recoup from getting up at 4:00 AM to gather up even more material goods, trading was on the light side.  Still, stocks managed to revert to their old bullish ways, gaining back most of what they lost yesterday.  As is often the case, NY moved forward after mostly strong trading in overseas markets.  The Asia Dow rose 0.22%, with Australia a notable exception to the higher prices.  In Europe, UK equities were down slightly, but all other major exchanges closed higher.  The odd result: STOXX 600 down 0.13%, but the Europe Dow up 0.81%.

Richard’s Comments

The other night at a Chinese restaurant, I ran into an old friend. He asked me, "Russell, I read your site just about every day, and I have a question; how do you know what to write about each day?"

I told him, "Easy, I write about what I'm worried about."

My friend answered, "Does that give you enough to write about each and every day?"

I responded, "Are you kidding? I write about roughly 10% of the items I worry about. You see, I'm a champion worrier. I worry about stuff even before it really becomes worrisome."

by Jon S. Strebler

There’s a lot to be said in favor of the old KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) adage, even as that gets harder and harder to do. It seems like no matter what field one considers, the amount of knowledge keeps increasing much faster than our ability (or desire?) to keep up. I looked up the latest on this idea, and here’s the story:

By Matthew Kerkhoff

This economy may not be perfect, but it’s the only one we’ve got, so let’s be thankful for the many positive developments we’re seeing both here in the states and across the globe. This week, as you sit down with loved ones, take a moment to appreciate how good things truly are right now.

Not only is the U.S. economy growing at the fastest rate in years, we’re seeing healthy developments in many areas around the world. For the first time since the great recession, one can utter the words “synchronized global recovery” without being seen as a total nut case.