Clearly the market wants the fiscal cliff resolved and in a way that doesn’t destroy or seriously hurt the economy.  Today was proof.  President Obama and House Speaker Boehner’s 45 minute meeting generated a solid market advance in excess of 1%, despite a horrid Empire State Manufacturing index release.  The days remaining until “the cliff” are dwindling fast.

We will definitely face more of the same this week as we have the past week.  There seems to be some progress between the President and Congress, but it’s anybody’s guess what combination of increased revenue and reduced expenses will survive political battle.  It will probably be some combination of increased taxes on the top 2% of our wealthiest citizens and some reduction in medical spending.  Who knows what else?  More on that later.

I am not going to mention the nickname for the dominant issue of the day, since you are probably on the verge of screaming if you here it again (hint: initials are F.C.). But, unfortunately, we all remain hostage to the relentless political posturing of our elected officials during these critical budget negotiations. Not that we haven’t asked for it.