Cairo Chaos,Torrey Pines Brilliance

While a day of rage gripped the streets of Cairo,Egypt,flattening Wall Street,the PGA Tour was serenely underway Friday on the sunlit bluffs of Torrey Pines near La Jolla,California.American Bill Haas,winner of last year's Bob Hope Classic,topped the leaderboard with his -11,and Anthony Kim was second with a -9.Seven players shared the third spot at -8,including Phil Mickelson,who lives 20 minutes from the course,the longest on the tour.Tiger Woods was tied for twelfth with four others at -6.
The Mid-Atlantic region was far from that sunshine,still recovering from Wednesday's heavy rush hour snowfall,with many residents still without power under more gray skies and snow showers.A wintry mix is in the forecast for Tuesday into Wednesday.
The news from Egypt,together with disappointing earnings from Amazon,Microsoft and Ford,and generally overbought conditions,clipped the market's wings.They were slightly down on the week,with the S&P losing 0.6%.The Commodity Research Bureau Index was up 4.05,however.Next week will feature reports on employment,factory orders and auto sales.
The S&P futures were flat Friday evening,and bond futures prices rose.
Ford(F),Microsoft(MSFT),Amazon(AMZN)

Big GE Week,Knicks Cuffed

It was a big week for GE as the manufacturing titan reported a great Q4.GE had a big jump in orders and its first revenue increase in two years.It's a sign of rising capital expenditure and a recovering industrial base as companies purchase GE's broad range of big products.
The New York Knicks had a small Friday night in San Antonio as the Spurs dealt them a 101-92 loss at AT&T Center.The Spurs have the best record in the NBA at 37-6.Tony Parker shot 21 points with 13 assists for the victors on a pleasant Texas night.It was the Spurs' eighth straight win.For the Knicks,Danielo Gallinari shot 16 points,while Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and Raymond Felton 18,respectively.
The Mid-Atlantic region was partly cloudy and chilled into the teens or single digits Friday night,with Saturday night expected to fall likewise.
For the week,the Dow rose 84.46,while the S&P dropped 9.89 and the NASDAQ stumbled 65.76,or 2.4%.The S&P futures pointed up 3.50 Friday evening,and the 10 year bond futures yield rose as well.Next week,Caterpillar and American Express will report their earnings.
General Electric(GE),Caterpillar(CAT),American Express(AXP)

Nowitzki Almost Well;Earnings Season Starts Well

Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said he's close to coming back into the lineup-hopefully on the Mavs' current road trip.He missed his 9th straight game Friday because of a sprained knee.The Mavs lost to the San Antonio Spurs 101-89.Dallas owner billionaire Mark Cuban attended the game at San Antonio's at&t Center,but to no avail for his struggling team.
San Antonio has the best record in the NBA,at 34-6,and were led by Tony Parker's 18 points,while Dallas' Shawn Marion scored 14.Parker said we've been lucky with our health,but it's a little too early to talk about being a championship team.The Spurs have achieved 5 straight wins.
The east was achieving some mighty cold temperatures Friday night,as Harrisburg,Pennsylvania was dropping down to the teens Fahrenheit.A clipper system was to cross the Great Lakes Saturday afternoon,bringing lake effect snow showers to the area.
Wall Street notched multiyear highs this week,with the Dow up 1.0,the NASDAQ 1.9 and the S&P 1.7.Earnings season had launched on an uptrend for Alcoa,Intel and JP Morgan Chase.The S&P futures continued the optimism Friday evening with a substantial 8.1 of further gain as bond prices dropped.
Alcoa(AA),Intel(INTC),JP Morgan Chase(JPM)

Magic Still Winning;Wintry East

The Orlando Magic extended their winning streak to eight games Friday night,handing the Houston Rockets a 110-95 defeat at Amway Center in Orlando,the arena that was a blue box glowing in a reddish crisscross of streets.Brandon Bass and Jason Richardson led the Magic with 18 points each,while Dwight Howard contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds and Brian Anderson shot 16 from the bench-a true team effort.
Kevin Martin led the Rockets with 27 points.Houston continues to suffer from the loss of big man Yao Ming,whose tragic career may be coming to an end after a second season of serious injuries.
Motorists lost time in New York state as snow caused accidents across the Hudson Valley,while New Jerseyans praised their road crews for doing a better job of handling the wintry conditions this time around.Light snow will brush the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions on Saturday,and Winter Storm Watches are posted from Alabama to South Carolina with the potential for ice storms in the area.
Wall Street was unimpressed by the potential for job growth,disappointed in the slow pace of additions to the work force in December.Stocks were down slightly on Friday,and the S&P futures fell 2.40 in the evening,while Treasury futures rose in price.