I haven't really gone through all my positions to get a sense, from a "bottom-up" perspective, of the market; I will say, however, that given the recent strength in energies and commodities, a new trading year starting this Friday, and the failure of a "terminal end" to 2008 transforming, I am tilting more heavily bullish. Simply stated, if last week's lows hold, the likelihood of a robust move higher in January strikes me as pretty solid.

This graph is, to me, particularly alluring.

My "early" positions on this bullish notion are focused in energy; I fear that, if I'm right, I may have to exit my many gold shorts earlier than I planned.

I'll see you Monday morning, in what will be another relatively quiet week; we don't really get back to normal markets until Monday, January 5th.

From just about the peak of the bubble………

A favorite bit of mine…………

None of this is to argue that low mortgage rates haven't been a plus in the housing picture. Of course they have. But the imbalance between excess demand over limited supply, resulting from tax factors and land-use restrictions, has made home buying even more profitable in recent years than has been the case in the past. Which leads to a final thought: Why not apply the same tax laws that have benefited home owners to stock market investors and home buyers? If this were to come about, even more wealth would be created in America, leading to even more new business and job creation. Tax reform to create a level playing field could boost our economy's potential to grow beyond almost anyone's wildest dreams.