More Snow For Sierra Nevada,Charlotte Bobcats Warm

The Sierra Nevada range is looking for more snow this weekend.Up to a foot more will add to the several feet of snow pack already received recently.Snow will also sweep across Idaho and into Western Montana and Northwestern Wyoming,while the Great Lakes will register up to a foot of lake effect snow.
The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic were mainly clear and cold Friday night,with the lowest nighttime temperatures of the season expected in some areas.
The Charlotte Bobcats were warmed up Friday night by their 99-89 victory over the Houston Rockets,who were playing without their legendary big man,Yao Ming.Yao is injured and will probably be out for at least a few more weeks.
Chase Budinger led the Rockets with 19 points and 18 rebounds;the Bobcats were carried by Gerald Wallace with his 21 points and 14 rebounds,as well as Boris Diaw and his 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bobcats,6-10,shucked a 2-game losing streak,but the Rockets,4-11,have dropped 5 of the last 6 now.
The market was mixed this week as it fretted over European debt and Korean tension,while feeling more confident in consumer spending.The Dow fell 111.55 for the week,and the S&P stumbled 10.33.The tech-rich NASDAQ climbed 16.44.
The stock futures were uniformly negative Friday evening,given the geopolitical uncertainty,with substantial drops in all three index futures,and bond futures responded with a move upward.

Thunder Prevail,Market Even

The Oklahoma City Thunder handled the Boston Celtics 89-84 Friday night before a very loud crowd at TD Garden in Boston.The Thunder couldn't make a basket as the game wound down,missing their last 14 shots,but their foul shooting was sharp.Russell Westbrook,who led the Thunder with 31 points,said that OKC also defended like they did all last year,and so they closed down the game.Kevin Garnett scored 16 points for Boston.
Brisk conditions brace the Northern Plains like the OKC defense this weekend.Bismarck will be 21F Saturday,and Billings will have a high of 19,with snow in both locations,as well as in the Sierra Nevada range.Seattle could see snow Saturday night,and snow showers may brush the Northeast.
After falling off a cliff,the market managed to recover its equilibrium this week,closing on a flat note for the week,with the S&P up 0.04.Worries about European debt had resurfaced,and China took measures to cool off its economy,constraining any progress traders had hoped to achieve.
Positive manufacturing numbers from the Mid-Atlantic region helped the market end on an even keel.Hewlett Packard's earnings report after the closing bell on Monday is an early milestone for next week's action.The S&P futures were up 0.50 this evening,and bond futures were in the green as well.
Hewlett Packard(HPQ)

Jazz Ablaze,Texas Snow

The Utah Jazz continued their inspirational run,taking their fourth straight win of the week as they nudged the Atlanta Hawks 90-86 at Philips Arena in Atlanta Friday night.In all the games,the Jazz won after trailing by double digits.
Deron Williams silenced the Atlanta crowd of 17,069 with his 24 points,10 assists and 5 rebounds;Andrei Kirilenko added his 14 points,12 rebounds and 2 assists to the Jazz's effort.For the Hawks,Josh Smith contributed 20 points,13 rebounds and 5 assists.
At Target Center is Minneapolis,Kevin Love powered the Timberwolves' 112-103 win over the New York Knicks,which left the Knicks with a 3-6 record,having lost 4 straight.Minnesota is 3-7.
Raymond Felton led the Knicks with 22 points,3 rebounds and 8 assists.
Amarillo,Texas was feeling as cold as the Knicks this morning when they experienced thunder snow.The churning of ice crystals in clouds generated thunder and lightning along with snowflakes.Ski season is well underway in Colorado,with Breckenridge Resort reporting 8 degrees F and calling for more snow this weekend.The interior Northeast will be at freezing or slightly below tonight.
The market,troubled by Cisco's poor outlook and worries about Chinese inflation and European debt,had a lackluster week.The furures didn't look any better,with the Dow futures down 90.00 and the NASDAQ falling 38.75,while the S&P futures were flat.
Cisco Systems(CSCO)

Knicks Look Sharp Now

The New York Knicks slammed the Washington Wizards 112-91 at Madison Square Garden Friday night,lifting their record to 3-2.Loud organ music accompanied the Knicks in cavernous MSG.
Toney Douglas led the Knicks' scoring with 19 points,while Andray Blatche notched 22 for the Wizards.Sharp 3-point shooting helped New York,but D.C. was hindered by 22 turnovers that led to 25 Knicks points.
The Knicks won only 27 games in 2007,but appear to be well on the way out of that basement.
The market has also made its way out of the basement,having erased all the losses of the financial crisis.It has completely recovered to the level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008..The labor market is looking a little better as well,with 151,000 jobs being created last month-the first increase since April.
The Appalachian Mountains are looking for 2-4 inches of snow this weekend as cold air meets Great Lakes moisture and spills southward.The market is waiting for earnings reports from Cisco,Disney and Macy's next week,but little else.The S&P futures were flat this evening,while bond futures rose.
Madison Square Garden Inc.(MSG)

Heat Dominate Magic

On a glittering night in Miami,the Miami Heat were dominating the Orlando Magic 79-55at the end of the third period.Dwayne Wade led the scoring with 26 points,having hit several 3-point shots,while team mates LeBron James and Chris Bosh scored 13 and 9 points respectively.
West of Boulder,Colorado,residents were feeling actual heat.They were evacuated because of wildfires driven by warm wind.Two fires had consumed 130 acres,driving 170 from their homes.
Back east,two tropical storms churned in the Atlantic.Shary was beginning to shear Northeast,away from the U.S.,while Tomas looked more dangerous,being more likely to intensify in the Caribbean.
The market was subdued on Friday,as investors contemplated a week of big events ahead of them.Tuesday brings the midterm election,and Wednesday the Federal Reserve could issue the parameters of more asset purchases to stimulate the economy,which is only growing at a 2% clip.Next Friday,the big employment numbers are released by the Labor Department.
Stock futures were indecisive this evening,with the Dow futures up,but the NASDAQ down and the S&P flat.Bond futures fell.
Update:The final score was Miami 96,Orlando 70.Wade finished with 26 points,and James and Bosh scored 15 and 11 respectively.Dwight Howard led Orlando's scoring with 15 points.

Earnings Season Going Well,Texas Wins

Wall Street responded favorably to good earnings reports from most companies that have reported so far.Eighty percent have beaten profit estimates,while 75% have shown revenue increases as well.The market was up all round this week,with the Dow gaining 0.6;the S&P also 0.6;and the NASDAQ 0.4.Next week,a third of the largest companies will be reporting on their earnings as the quarterly ritual continues.
Wintry conditions continue their presence in pockets of the lower 48,with snow levels falling to just under 4,000 feet in mountain passes of the Pacific Northwest,snow coating Northern Maine and brushing the Adirondacks as well.A frost advisory was up in the Mid-Atlantic region,even though Saturday was expected to be mild.
The S&P futures were up 5.0 this evening as optimism about earnings season,the mid-term elections and Federal Reserve policy continued to prevail.The Dow futures rose 7.0,while the NASDAQ futures added 24.0 and bond futures also ascended.
The Texas Rangers' spirits rose as well,as they creamed the New York Yankees 6-1 for their first American League Championship in Arlington,Texas.