Rare October Snowfall Developing

Winter Storm Warnings are posted for the interior Northeast and Mid-Atlantic as a rare October nor'easter threatens the regions.Widespread power outages may occur as heavy snow coats leafy trees,bringing limbs down on power lines.Baltimore,Maryland has not had October snow since 1903.Upwards of a foot of snow could blanket the Appalachian Mountains,aggravating residents who are looking forward to Halloween on Monday.
Wall Street was not aggravated this week,hailing European leaders for devising a broad outline for handling the Euro debt crisis.Gains were muted on Friday,however,as traders soberly contemplated the U.S. deficit and the prospects for the Europeans now agreeing on details.
For the week,the broadly based S&P added 46.83 points,bringing it up 2.18% on the year.Large cap stocks are leading the way,with the Dow thirty up 5.65% on the year.
Scores were high at the Andalucia Masters at the Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande,Spain on Friday.Scotsman Richie Ramsay topped the leader board with a five under par 72.France's Gregory Havret and Spaniard Sergio Garcia shot a 71 and a 70,respectively,on the very hilly course.
Next week will be back loaded by the employment report on Friday.The Institute for Supply Management will also release important manufacturing data.The S&P futures were basically flat in response on Friday evening,barely declining at -0.13,while bond index futures rose.

Europe Still Drives Market

Wall Street's obsessive concern with the Euro debt crisis continued to shape results this week;nor is any change in the offing.Even though U.S. banks actually have only limited exposure to Europe,traders think they will suffer greatly from European failures.In the end,it's what traders perceive that determines market direction.
Optimism about the crisis was the prevailing wind by the end of the week as Euro-zone finance ministers approved of the next round of aid to Greece and a series of European Union summits will be held beginning Sunday.For the week,the Dow gained 1.41,while the NASDAQ lost 1.14 and the S&P rose 1.12.Decent earnings reports from Honeywell,GE and Microsoft also gave the broader market a final nudge upward.GE stock declined for its manufacturing results,but the company did issue a positive outlook and a satisfactory overall report,which helped stem any sell-off tendency.
Next week,the results of the EU summits may be all-consuming.Any hint of failure would seem likely to derail equities,and EU success could ignite a major rally.
The S&P futures were up strongly Friday evening,rising 25.25,and bond index futures fell.
At the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic at Lake Buena Vista,Florida,a three-way tie for the lead occurred among American Justin Leonard;Swede Henrik Stenson;and South Korean Bio Kim,all coming in at 12 under par.Leonard,39,has scored 12 career PGA Tour wins and more than 30 million dollars in career earnings.
General Electric(GE),Honeywell(HON),Microsoft(MSFT)

Market Has Excellent Week

The stock market excelled this week,with all industry groups coming out ahead as Europe was relatively quiet and Google reported strong quarterly results.For the week,the Dow was up 4.88,while the NASDAQ surged 7.60 and the S&P added 5.98%.On the year,however,the broadly based S&P remains down 2.63.Volume was light this week,showing a lack of conviction behind the good numbers.
Excelling on the PGA Champion's Tour of senior golf pros this year is American Tom Lehman,who tops the Charles Schwab Cup point standings.Lehman has three wins and 11 top ten finishes so far this season,which ends in three weeks in San Francisco.This week,the Tour is at the AT&T Championship at TPC San Antonio's Canyon Course.Fred Couples and Steve Lowery led the field with first round seven under par 65s on a hot,dry Friday.
Next week's financial calendar bulges with data and blue chip earnings.The Empire State and Philly Fed reports,together with housing data and earnings submissions by IBM,Goldman Sachs,Apple,Intel and American Express,will keep the analysts busy all week.
The S&P futures climbed a substantial 21.30 Friday evening,while longer maturity bond index futures declined.
Google(GOOG)

Labor Market Steady,Choppy Trading Persists

The stock market ended slightly higher for the week as neither the foreign nor domestic economies showed any decisive moves.The September employment report was stagnant,with a steady jobless rate of 9.1,and Europe watched expectantly for results of a weekend summit between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.For the week,the Dow rose 1.7%,while the NASDAQ gained 2.7 and the S&P added 2.1.
Next week,earnings season begins with Alcoa reporting its results on Tuesday.On Wednesday,PepsiCo reports,and JP Morgan Chase and Google issue their marks on Thursday.Friday will see the release of retail sales and consumer sentiment numbers.
The market will be open on Monday,Columbus Day.The S&P futures pointed down on Friday evening,losing 2.70,and bond index futures also declined as gold gained 17.40 to close at 1634.50 an ounce.
In the PGA's Fall Series,England's Paul Casey shot an exceptional second round eight under par 64 to take the lead at the Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin,California.He was followed by American Bud Cauley and South African veteran Ernie Els at seven under.
Alcoa(AA),PepsiCo(PEP),JP Morgan Chase(JPM),Google(GOOG)