Meredith Whitney on 60 Minutes: Expect 50+ muni bond defaults in 2011

Steve Sosnick sizes up first quarter and looks ahead

Crude prices are rising on renewed geopolitical tensions triggered by President Trump threatening Oman with military strikes and communicating that he is in no rush to end the Iran war.

Mixed economic data are marginally improving investor sentiment despite lackluster earnings reports following strong equity market gains yesterday. However, stocks are on track to close out October firmly in the red.

As the year draws to a close, oil analysts are starting to crank out their forecasts for 2013. And several prominent ones see lower oil crude oil prices in North America, which is good news for the economic outlook.