The lack of progress on a fiscal-cliff agreement didn’t hurt the market this week. We are moving into a seasonally strong period with Santa Claus and the beginning of a new month. While we still have some room on the upside, the easy month probably was 60-70 S&P points ago. With VIX in the 15s, put protection is again cheap. A dip that establishes a higher low after a bit more upside would not surprise.
