Mickelson Moves Up;Market Slips

Stocks suffered their worst fall of the year this week,with the S&P 500 Index dropping 0.74% on fears about Spain's debt problem and the Federal Reserve's reluctance to provide further aid to the market.For the year,however,the S&P is still up an impressive 11.17%.
The CBOE VIX Volatility Index rose 7.74% on the week.
At The Masters golf tournament in Augusta,Georgia,Phil Mickelson,41,continued to progress,shooting a second round two under par 68 after Thursday's initial struggles had yielded only a 74.Mickelson's round was second only to 52 year-old Fred Couples' 67.Couples and Jason Dufner shared the top of the leaderboard at five under heading into Easter weekend.
Tiger Woods cursed as he shot a poor second round 75 at the majestic Augusta National course famous for its pine trees.It is the first of the year's four major tournaments.
The S&P futures fell a modest 3.48 on Friday in response to the Labor Department's disappointing employment report showing a March jobs gain well below expectations.Bond index futures rose in price.
Next week,earnings season gets underway with Alcoa reporting its Q1 results.
Alcoa(AA)

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)

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)

Team USA Holds Slight Lead

Team USA holds a slight lead over Team Europe at the Ryder Cup,which is being played at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport,Wales.Play was suspended after rain delays pushed the matches into dusk.It will resume at 3:00 am Eastern.The crowd was boisterous nonetheless at one of the year's most unique tournaments,a team event for a highly individual sport.Team USA led in two of the matches,while Team Europe led in one,and the other was tied.
At the Viking Classic,the first of the PGA's Fall Series tournaments,American Bill Haas and Brendon de Jonge of Zimbabwe shared the lead after the second round,both having shot 66s for a -12.American Michael Allen and Australian Nathan Green shared third place at nine under par.The Viking Classic is being held at the Annandale Country Club in Madison,Mississippi.
Meanwhile,the veteran golfers of the Champions Tour continue their quest for the Charles Schwab Cup at the Ensure Classic at Rock Barn Golf&Spa in North Carolina.Australian Peter Senior tops the leader board,shooting a 65 today for a -7.German Bernhard Langer,53,currently far ahead in the cup standings,shared a -6 with Americans Tom Kite and Fred Couples,all having shot 66s.
In baseball,the San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres began a critical series in San Francisco.It will determine the NL West champion.The Giants only need one more win to clinch the division title,while the Padres need to win all three games.The Padres were leading 1-0 at the top of the third inning.
Stock futures pointed to a moderately higher Monday opening this evening,with the Dow futures up 45.00,while the S&P futures rose 5.60.Bond futures were flat.Earnings season begins in the traditional way on Thursday,with Alcoa reporting its Q3 results.
Alcoa(AA)

Market On Right Foot

The S&P futures were trading up this evening,putting an optimistic sheen on the outlook for Monday morning.It was a mildly positive move for the stock market in the first trading week of the new year.Historically,that has been a good sign for the whole year.Although the employment report for December was a minor setback,the three-month performance is encouraging,showing an upward trend line.No one expected the recovery to be anything but bumpy.That is why the stock market wasn't crestfallen today.Alcoa begins earnings season on Monday in the traditional way,by being the first of the big companies to report on its Q4 results.Given the brisk economic activity in the emerging markets,it may well be a good mark for the materials giant.Market participants can enter their weekend with some degree of confidence in the early part of next week.Many of them will watch the NFL playoffs with a bit less worry than they experienced last year at this time.