Quickie on markets before trading ends early tomorrow. Right now interest rates are actually negative; meaning that inflation at 2% and borrowing at 1-1/4% you are being paid to borrow. It is generally considered that rates need to go to 4% in order to be market neutral and that is why the yield curve is so steep (near term to 5 year plotted on a graph). Also rates HAVE to go up so if the economy takes a body blow the Fed can lower big to have an effect. With the economy blowing off like it is the Fed can begin to hike into the "safe" area.

One note here: Take a look at the box office numbers for movies this year, the issue raised only because this is where we supposedly go to "lose our troubles" in hard times. With the exception of a few the returns are horrible. A few movies in the 250 million plus class and the rest sinking into the red. Big movies like Day After Tomorrow, Troy, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, the disastrous ROUND THE WORLD, VAN HELSING, and so on. Big surprise has to be total failure of the so-called "Black Films". Keep in mind that most movies cost at least $100 million to make and market, movies have to gross twice that to return a producer the cost of production and marketing, some of these numbers are studio breakers. Owning stock in a movie company is the dumbest thing you can do. Good times do not explain it. I still think movie prices are way too high for the audience. Young people don't have the jack to cough up $40-$50+ for a date no matter what "the times" are. I think this explains in large part the popularity of porn, computer game playing, and family attendance at baseball games where you can still sit in the bleachers for $6 a pop.