Happy New Year! 

2013 has provided some fireworks already as Congress demonstrated daily that “sometimes words have two meanings” and the market was volleyed by the “songbird who sings.”  The end result was a fiscal cliff deal that raised as many questions as answers.  Suffice to say that there is plenty of uncertainty remaining in the market which will provide plenty of volatility for the upcoming year.  Regardless of which party you support, there should be an obvious “sign on the wall but (we) want to be sure” coming up with the debt ceiling. Read more about Dark Horse Trader's Hedge: Options that Glitter are Gold?

Earnings reports on Wednesday from big banks like Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) were encouraging. And Apple (AAPL) got a much-needed boost from the top tech analysts. However, Goldman’s analysts tried to throw a wet blanket on the markets earlier this week with their expectation that earnings reports overall this year would be “uninspiring” and that equity returns this year likely will be only in the single digits. Read more about Sector Detector: Bulls resist giving up any ground

Editor’s Note: Walter Gault is this week’s author. David Brown will be back next week. Read more about What the Market Wants: Avoid Big Banks, Consider Asset Managment

“People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say.” -- Kurt Vonnegut

Investors seem ready to forgive and forget a lot of the problems that inhabited the 2012 equity market.

And why not? Read more about ETF Periscope: Wall Street Seeks to Get a Little Higher

Well, we fell, tumbled, leaped, jumped, or merely stepped off the fiscal cliff, and it’s too early to judge the extent of our injuries, if any.  What is clear, though, is that Congress kicked a bunch of cans down the road which creates a continuing struggle for a rational budget, a rational debt ceiling, a rational tax policy, and a rational healthcare plan. Read more about What the Market Wants: Selecting Stocks from the Bottom of the Cliff

Another earnings season is underway. I haven’t noticed much in the way of earnings pre-announcements (i.e., warnings), which is a positive sign. Read more about Sector Detector: Bulls plot their attack on the highs

Congress got its act together just enough to stave off the fiscal cliff. Unfortunately, they merely added a long “pirate plank” to the edge of the cliff, as spending was not addressed. So the country has stepped off the cliff and now we are “walking the plank,” albeit without the blindfold since we know when the debt ceiling and sequestration are scheduled to kick in. Read more about Sector Detector: Rankings stay defensive despite the relief rally

Until today, the stock market had lost its year-end traction, and it is exclusively due to the unresolved Federal budget and the looming Fiscal Cliff and debt ceiling. Optimism among investors that something will certainly get done had fallen victim to political theater and the reality that our elected officials view compromise as a sure path to losing their next election. Read more about KRE - an ETF to play a 1Q rally

“You can lead a man to Congress, but you can't make him think.” -- Milton Berle

If you are either an investor or trader looking for a good place to put a bet down for 2013, you may not need to look much further than the eurozone.

The first question you may ask is: But in which direction? Read more about ETF Periscope: Last Word on the New Year: Eurozone Remains a Downward Opportunity