As expected there were few hitches

The weather is gorgeous; winter seems to have ended prematurely.
Similarly, the markets are defying the bears and the skeptics to rally.
While many are calling for a correction in the markets, the reality is that there is so much liquidity in the system it is forcing investors to seek yield in riskier assets.
That is why the technical rally in stocks (and the weakening in Treasury bonds) will likely continue for a little while longer.
Away from stocks, corporate bonds have been a major beneficiary of the hunt for yield.
As if to illustrate, Bank of America sold $1.25 billion of 5 year debt while Morgan Stanley sold $2 billion of 5 year bonds.
That financial companies can tap the markets and find sufficient demand for large bond issues demonstrates the return of investor risk appetite.
Just a couple of months ago, investors would not touch financial bonds with a ten-foot pole.
To view a television interview on Bloomberg's "Street Smart" program discussing the matter please check out the following link:
Oil prices remain elevated mostly on the fear factor related to unresolved issues in the Middle East.
Damascus was rocked by several explosions over the weekend.
The well-oiled propaganda machine of the Assad regime immediately rushed to blame a "foreign conspiracy."
The only foreign element in the Syrian conflict appears to be the Serbian mercenaries, Russian Spetsnaz troops, and Iranian Revolutionary Guards helping the Assad regime to keep Syria free…free from the Syrian people that is.
Apple, accustomed to sitting on a mountain of cash, announced that it would spend $10 billion in a share buy-back program.
We will continue to see more such examples of shareholder friendly activities, especially as earnings season comes up.
In the Greek saga, the auction for triggered CDS (credit default swap) contracts settled at 21.5 cents on the Euro.
As expected, there were few hitches.
The real issues will arise once austerity measures start to face public unrest.
Housing start and building permit numbers are out on Tuesday.