Before getting into the meat of our look at today’s fundamentals, we have to observe one more time that karma is a force that often works strange wonders in the universe.

The Fed did what was expected and, as Ayn Rand would have it, Atlas shrugged. We have certainly had enough time to prepare both in the physical investing world and the emotional investing world. The federal funds rate rose from zero to 0.25%.

Fed jitters, or maybe it’s just a prelude to a quiet holiday season that will give analysts and investors lots of time to ponder what a small rate hike means?