Its still cloudy out there!

Hey there folks, 
The Fed sees our economy as strong yet plans to keep interest rates where they are for awhile. This is a big weak for earnings and we have had some mixed results while guidance has also been a bit cloudy. 
There is a lot out there for the markets to try and absorb fundamentally with Greece, ECB quantitative easing, earnings, Oils plunge and the impact it will have, the Fed, Dollar strength Etc...... 

Technically I have felt we are closer to the top than the bottom. The market has been trading in a range for the last couple of months. It has been very choppy action and volatility is rising which is a measure of fear. I don't think we are on the cusp of a bear market, but I do feel as though we could experience that 10 to 15 percent pullback that we have not seen in over 2 years. The IBB has been the pillar of strength keep an eye on on the 306 area if we break below we would likely test 300. I could be way off base and the market could just be consolidating here before it rips to new all time highs. Until we have confirmation and start trending again I plan to remain cautious.  

Unless you are a scalper, taking day trades has been a challenge. Chasing in a market like this can be very painful experience. I feel very comfortable sitting on the sidelines. If I don't get my fill on my limit buy then I just don't play. Earnings season is a great time to build your wish list of stock you would like to own. Take a stock like AAPL, they absolutely destroyed earnings and if AAPL were to pull back with the overall market  to say 100 bucks that would be a stock I want to own. It may not get there but if we do experience a 10 or 15 percent pullback there will be a lot of great companies on sale. 

Stocks on my radar

ANGO earnings nice daily, YHOO possible bounce play, FEYE possible bounce play. OPK pr continuation, FLEX earnings beat more of a swing type, ANTH like the daily, XNCR Pr top line results big gapper nice daily small float, TWTR possible bounce play, F nice earnings more of a swing 

TVIX TZA USO UUP IWM IBB NUGT JDST NDAQ SPY 

CNBC in the NEWS

	IN THE NEWS TODAY

U.S. stock futures were higher in early trading, after the Dow dropped another 195-points Wednesday, as oil prices tanked to their lowest levels since March 2009 and investors realized the Fed has not ruled out an interest rate hike this year. (CNBC & USA Today) Amid a tumultuous year, McDonald's (MCD) CEO Don Thompson is retiringafter two years on the job, effective March 1. The fast food giant is also getting a new CFO. (CNBC) The tech earnings parade continues with disappointing quarterly results from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) this morning. Amazon (AMZN) and Google (GOOG) are set to report this afternoon. (CNBC) Facebook (FB) beat on profit and revenue, but expenses rose faster than sales. Meanwhile, in a post-earnings interview with CNBC, COO Sheryl Sandberg said daily video views rose to 3 billion. Ford (F) today issued earnings that beat expectations, while revenue missed. Unlike many other multinational companies the automaker said it saw onlybenign impact from currency fluctuations. (Reuters) Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) today missed profit expectations, and announced$15 billion in spending cuts over three years, reflecting a steep fall in oil prices. (Reuters) South Africa's Sasol (SSL) is shelving an $11 billion project on Louisiana's Gulf Coast, imperiling one of the largest foreign investments on U.S. soil because of the plunge in oil prices. (WSJ-subscription) The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has been declared an accident-clearing the way for the carrier to pay compensation to relatives of the victims while the search for the plane continues. (Reuters) The heads of research at several large drugmakers, including Merck (MRK),Regeneron (REGN), and Vertex (VRTX), have received mysterious invitations to a Friday meeting at the White House. (CNBC) California has declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products, joining other states and health advocates across the U.S. (AP)

	BY THE NUMBERS

Retirement savers achieved record balances in their 401(k) accounts last year, with newly minted millionaires the biggest winners. (CNBC) The Labor Department reports on initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET, with economists looking for 300,000 new claims last week. That would be down from 307,000 the prior week. The National Association of Realtors is out with December pending home sales, with consensus forecasts predicting a 0.6 percent increase following a 0.8 percent rise in November. The Energy Department will release its weekly look at natural gas inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET.

	STOCKS TO WATCH

Microsoft (MSFT) is making Word, Excel, and other Office applications free for Android tablets as of today-marking the latest step to get as many mobile customers as possible using the software. (Reuters) Amazon is introducing a business email and calendar service called WorkMail. Plugging into existing email applications, it would compete against offerings from Microsoft and Google. (AP) Qualcomm (QCOM) beat estimates on earnings and revenue. But the semiconductor maker cut its fiscal 2015 outlook after a major customer passed on using Qualcomm's new Snapdragon mobile chip. Las Vegas Sands (LVS) reported earnings and revenue that beat expectations. The casino operator cut its expenses during the quarter, helping offset a business slowdown in the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. Diageo (DEO) reported an 18 percent drop in quarterly profit, largely on weak sales in North America for the spirits maker. North America is the company's biggest and most profitable market. Boeing's (BA) 747-8 airliner has been picked to replace the current fleet of two Air Force One presidential planes, one of the most visible symbols of the United States. (Reuters)

Seeking Alpha

Today's Markets:
In Asia, Japan -1.1% to 17606. Hong Kong -1.1% to 24596. China -1.3% to 3264. India +0.4% to 29682.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.7%. Paris -0.1%. Frankfurt -0.2%.
Futures at 6:20: Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.2%. Nasdaq +0.1%. Crude -0.1% to $44.41. Gold -0.8% to $1275.10.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -10 bps to 1.72%

Today's economic calendar:
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 Pending Home Sales
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:30 Results of $35B, 5-Year Note Auction
1:00 PM Results of $29B, 7-Year Note Auction
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet

Notable earnings before today's open: ABT, AIT, ALLY, ALV, ALXN, APD, BABA, BAX, BC, BEAV, BMS, BX, CAH, CAM, CELG, CHKP, CL, CLFD,CMS, COH, COP, CRR, CSH, DGX, DHX, DOW, DST, EMC, EPD, F, GLOP, HAE, HAR, HGG, HOG, HP, HSY, HUB.B, ITG, IVZ, JBLU, KELYA, KEM,KMT, LLL, LRN, LSTR, MD, MJN, MMYT, MTH, NDAQ, NOC, NOK, NYCB, OSTK, OXY, PENN, PHM, POT, PSX, PSXP, RCI, RCL, RDS.A, RGLD, RGS,RTN, RYL, SHW, SILC, SWK, SXC, TCB, TDY, TKR, TMO, TWC, UBSI, VIAB, VLO, VLY, VRTS, WCC, WILN, WRLD, XEL, ZMH

Notable earnings after today's close: ABAX, ALGN, AMZN, AVNW, BCR, BIIB, BRCM, BXP, CB, COHR, CORT, CPHD, CPSI, CTCT, DECK, EFII, ELX,ELY, EMN, EPAY, FICO, GDOT, GIMO, GOOG, HA, HBI, HLIT, INVN, ISBC, IXYS, JDSU, LEG, MCHP, MITK, MTW, N, NATI, NEU, NFG, NGVC, PCCC,PFG, PFPT, PKI, PMCS, QLGC, RHI, RVBD, SFG, SWI, SYNA, TFSL, TUES, UIS, V, VR, WERN

Best of Success!