Celtics Continue Streak;Economy Looking Strong

The Boston Celtics won their third game in a row Friday night at TD Garden in Boston,edging past the New York Knicks 91-89.Ray Allen put Boston ahead with a three-pointer in the 4th period,followed by another three and a two.
The Celtics defense stopped the Knicks in the second half.Our defense is keeping us around the game,Boston coach Doc Rivers told his team.Your energy is good.
The Celtics have won seven of their last eight games.Carmelo Anthony has returned to the court for the Knicks,but his 26 points on the night weren't enough to overcome the Boston defense in the second half.
The Denver area is overcoming something most of the rest of the country hasn't seen much of this winter: heavy snow.Denver itself reports 13 inches of accumulation,but the foothills of the Rockies west of the city got up to four feet,or just over one meter of snow.
The market had a smooth journey on Friday when the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3% for January-its lowest level since February 2009,and the economy added a better than expected 243,000 jobs.The Institute for Supply Management also reported bigger than predicted growth in both the manufacturing and service sectors for January.For the week,the S&P 500 Index rose 2.17%,yielding a gain of 6.94 on the year.
Next week,earnings season continues with data coming in from Disney,Coca-Cola,PepsiCo,Visa and Time Warner Communications.Consumer sentiment will be reported on Friday.
The S&P futures climbed another 16.40 Friday evening,while bond index futures dropped.
PepsiCo(PEP),Coca-Cola(KO),Disney(DIS),Visa(V),Time Warner Communications(TWX)

Celtics Rally,But Not Enough

The Boston Celtics staged a spirited rally against the Chicago Bulls Friday night,but could not close the deal in the end,losing by a score of 88-79.At one stage of the game,they had been down by 20 points,but climbed to within one point of the Bulls in the 4th quarter.
The win moved the Bulls to a record of 11-2,with seven of their wins on the road.Celtics coach Doc Rivers said we're a defensive team.We've got to get stops.That's the game.Commentator and NBA legend Magic Johnson described the Celtics as being too old and non-athletic.It doesn't look good.
Standouts at the TD Garden matchup in Boston included Derrick Rose of Chicago with his 25 points;and Ray Allen,who notched 16 points for the Celtics.
Stocks closed modestly higher for the week,with the S&P up about 1%.The S&P futures closed down 3.30,however,as Standard&Poor's announced it had downgraded the credit of France,Spain,Italy and others.Bond index futures rose.
A number of the financials will report earnings next week,including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs,as well as GE,which gives its results out on Friday.U.S. markets are closed Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday,but global markets will be open.
General Electric(GE),Citigroup(C),Goldman Sachs(GS)

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)