Monday Morning Musings

The market is under pressure again, with lingering concerns over last week's inflation reports, the ongoing credit concerns, and a poor showing of overseas markets last night.

Asian markets fell as much as -3.5% in some countries on heavy selling pressure. But we have seen these markets bounce back all year.

There was some M&A activity over the weekend, with Ingersoll-Rand (IR) buying Trane (TT) for $10.1 billion, and Natl. Oilwell Varco (NOV) acquiring Grant Prideco (GRP) for a nice premium as well.

The financial sector is in positive territory despite the overall market being down. The mortgage insurers are getting a big bounce today, after Moody's didn't cut their ratings.

Oil is lower again, touching the $90 level, and the 10-year yield is also a touch lower at 4.20%. The market needs to hold above its November lows to avoid more serious techinical damage. I think it will, once we get more oversold. But we need some good news to spark buying interest.