All in all a splendid day on Wall Street with nothing but good news including the strongest industrial output in 8 months and retail gains continuing to buoy the market to the tune of another 69 points on the Dow.  And more good news from Greece as the EU confirmed agreement to a third bailout program. All a relief after a crazy week bouncing back from earlier losses attributed to the yuan devaluation. Yet investors remain nervous that all this good news is going to mean a September rate hike.  In fact, most are now convinced of this though I still maintain it's highly unlikely since the Fed has a long history of giving plenty of notice on major changes and no sudden surprises.  I remain convinced that the rate hike will come in December but then, what do I know?  I guess we'll find out what I know in a few weeks.  Is Mike smarter than all these geniuses or is he just another finance student trying to make sense of the world and holding on to optimism?  The most telling (and discouraging) news came from today's resident expert from L.A. who said, "I think the bulls are nervous and the bears are hoping for a big market decline once the Fed finally does hike rates."  Imagine that, a whole class of investors who actually want a crash so they can cash in on short selling? Rather disgusting. Do these guys care at all about the average Joes with their 401k's?  Fortunately sentiment does not seem to be on their side as reflected by the considerably below average volume of 5.1 billion, meaning many investors are still appropriately undecided.

And for the latest on Greece:
Euro ministers give blessing to Greek bailout, wooing IMF on debt | Reuters


Business News | Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:41pm EDT

Wall St. edges up after upbeat data, Greek bailout agreement

BY CAROLINE VALETKEVITCH

DJ:    17,477.40  +69.15      NAS:   5,048.24  +14.68       S&P:  2,091.54  +8.15

REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID

U.S. stocks ended a volatile week higher on Friday after upbeat U.S. economic data and as euro zone finance ministers agreed to launch a third bailout program for Greece.

All three major indexes also ended the week with slight gains, bouncing back from losses earlier in the week set off by worries over a slowdown in China and a yuan devaluation.

Gains in shares of retailers helped buoy the market. Nordstrom (JWN.N) and J.C. Penney (JCP.N) both rose after the department store chains posted better-than-expected quarterly results.

Stocks hit session highs late in the session after Belgium's Finance Minister told Reuters in Brussels that euro zone finance ministers had agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding drafted by institutional negotiators, "with some additional measures."

U.S. producer prices rose for a third straight month in July, suggesting the drag on inflation from weaker oil prices was easing, while industrial output advanced at its strongest pace in eight months.

Though the Chinese currency devaluation added some uncertainty to the outlook for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, most traders and economists are still expecting a September increase.

That kept the market from breaking out of its trading range, said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

"I think the bulls are nervous and bears are hoping for a big market decline once the Fed does finally hike rates," he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 69.15 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,477.4, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.15 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,091.54.The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC, which swung 167 points from its low this week to its high, added 14.68 points, or 0.29 percent, to 5,048.24.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 added 0.7 percent and the Nasdaqgained 0.1 percent.

The day's economic data followed strong employment and retail sales data for July on Thursday, which overall suggested the third quarter was off to a healthy start.

Nine of the 10 S&P 500 sectors ended higher.

Energy shares dipped in afternoon trade and the energy index .SPNY ended down 0.2 percent. Still, the energy index rose 3.2 percent for the week, its biggest gain since March.

J.C. Penney rose 5.6 percent at $8.52, Nordstrom jumped 4.3 percent to $78.13 and was among the biggest percentage gainers in the S&P 500, while the S&P retail index .SPXRT rose 0.4 percent.

Restaurant operator El Pollo Loco (LOCO.O) fell 20.7 percent to $14.56, below its IPO price, after weak quarterly results.

Sysco (SYY.N) rose 7.4 percent to $41.38 after Nelson Peltz reported a 7-percent stake in the food distributor and said he would seek representation on the company's board.

NYSE advancers outnumbered decliners 2,072 to 962; on the Nasdaq, 1,697 issues rose and 1,096 fell. The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows; the Nasdaqrecorded 62 new highs and 101 new lows.

About 5.2 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 7.1 billion daily average for the month to date, according to BATS Global Markets.