IBM dragged the Dow on Thursday after hours, along with Microsoft and Google.

During Friday's trading, the Dow was down as much as 90 points--even as the FAA is starting to possibly furlough flights unless a court order stops any future problems come Sunday.

This This is the worst time for IBM since the Flash Crash of 2010, and Big Blue has not suffered this much a percentage loss in their earnings since 2005.

Thursday saw the Dow set their tenth record since March 5, finishing up 52.38 for the day and 14,578.54 eclipsing the previous record by 20 points.

The Nasdaq treaded water at 3267.52 and the S&P finally set their new record, inching up 6.34 to settle at 1,569.19.  The old S&P record was 1,565.15, set on October 9, 2007--a mere six days before the Fox Business Network launched.

Friday saw the consumer numbers finish up 1.1 percent for February, and January's numbers were revised as well.  The only negative thing on Thursday was that oil finished the quarter up, to $97.12 per barrel.  This of course means the transition to more summer fuels to gas up our cars and that the Canadian crude is slow to getting to gas stations nationwide.

Following last Friday's streak buster ending 10 consecutive positive sessions, the markets came back big time on Wednesday.

Thanks largely to the comments of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Benarke, no news is good news.  Interest rates will remain low, and the unemployment rate and growth continue to head on different railroad tracks, so-to speak.

Retail sales did surprisingly well, especially from the likes of Best Buy following J.C. Penney's lead on Tuesday.  So, don't stick a fork in them just yet.

And yes, the Dow extended their record high close for the seventh straight session, settling at 14,255.  Oil continues to hover around the $92 level, even though gas prices have averaged 20 cents higher since Valentine's Day.

The final piece of news came from the Federal Reserve:

It was mostly awesome news on Wall Street.

When the unemployment numbers came out in the morning, 236,000 jobs were added in February.  The unemployment rate unexpectedly went down to 7.7 percent, still a ways to go in order for interest rates to finally go up again (some FOMC Presidents suggested between 5.5 and 6 percent as a possible benchmark).

The Dow passed the 14,400 threshold while the S&P 500 finished at around 1,550--still 15 points away from that all-time record high.

Wonder what Rebecca Diamond and Cody Willard are thinking today.

Regardless--it is cause to celebrate, celebrate!

What a turnaround since the ultimate bottom in early March 2009.

No deal was made, sadly.  Furloughs have begun, but the only impacts I can think of that will hurt Americans going forward:

NO one will be able to visit any of the National Parks, as they will be closed.

Wednesday's close hopefully means great news again from Capitol Hill.  Every major piece of economic news was up.  Less than 100 points remain from the October 9, 2007 close--just days before Fox Business Network launched in over 100 million homes nationwide.

Stay tuned for any crucial sequester related news, unless it will be like it was on New Year's Day with the fiscal cliff looming large.

What a legacy Dr. Jerry Buss left behind.

From 1979 to 2010, Showtime to the Zen Master accounted for ten NBA championships and countless memories.  From bringing in celebrities to sit courtside and creating the Laker Girls for instant entertainment during time outs and quarter breaks, Dr. Buss and the entire Buss family especially daughter Jeanie and close friend in Executive Vice President Jennifer Braff, this is a sad day for Lakers Nation.

No question, he may have been a maverick owner in a classic sense.  However, there is no argument that his forward thinking helped many people both in the front office and those players especially that wore the purple and gold.

Stocks added to their gains from Wednesday, even after the Labor Department reported 155,000 jobs were gained in December 2012.  The unemployment rate remained steady at 7.8 percent, still a four year low.

Oil inched up slightly by 14 cents to finish above $93 per barrel, but gas prices continue to go down.  The Dow increased another 43 points while the Nasdaq and S&P gained in the single digits.

Consider this--the Dow Jones is at its' highest levels since June 2012, while the other two indeces have reached new highs not seen since December 2011 (the time when Hostess was still riding high with their famed Twinkees, Ho-Ho's, and Ding Dongs).