Equities wobbled last week and well off the recent lows but it looks like those lows will be tested again. The markets ended the week on a down note and at the low of the period after an escalation in the fighting over Ukrainian sovereignty. The key takeaway from the fighting is that Putin is bent on taking Kyiv and the Ukrainians aren't giving it up easily. What this means for the markets is for geopolitical tensions and oil prices to remain high. With Russian capacity off the market and OPEC sticking to its plans there is no top in sight for oil prices.

This week the market will be focused on the fallout from the fighting in Ukraine. While Russia is not a major economic power it is the tenth-largest nation by GDP and its exclusion from global financial systems will have far-reaching effects. In market news, traders and investors will be on high alert with the CPI due out on Friday. It is our expectation consumer-level inflation accelerated for the 11th month and will put added pressure on the FOMC.