Monday Morning Musings

The market opened down a bit this morning, though the Nasdaq has recovered and moved slightly into positive territory. There was some M&A action of note. Dollar General (DG) received an offer, and the stock gapped +27%. Also, SGP bought Akzo's drug unit.

The Asian markets were up overnight, and the Yen rose also. But the focus of the news this morning is really on the subprime market, the potential bankruptcy of NEW, and the comments by CFC that they could take an earnings hit.

Oil is trading lower this morning, which is weighing on the energy complex. Gold is also trading down, and looking like its going lower. For its part, the 10-year yield is a few basis points lower after Friday's big spike, hovering around 4.55%.

On the economic news front:

• Tuesday brings retail sales
• Wednesday we get the current account defecit
• Producer prices come out on Thursday
• And CPI and industrial production come out on Friday