FTN's Jim Vogel quipped on tax.......>

US TSYS/STOCKS: FTN's Jim Vogel quipped on tax reform that "even the fastest

news services couldn't keep up with tax reform developments yesterday evening.

Let's just say it was messy and everyone is trying to move on today. This

morning could easily produce additional confusion, but traders appear ready to

chase each tick of the process. Outside tech stocks, equities are holding it

together better than expected and bonds have bull flattened 5bp after Thursday's

selloff. Voting that was postponed last night could resume as early as late

morning."

- He adds that "markets believe getting 'something' through the Senate

eliminates the biggest obstacle to passing tax cuts. The content of 'something'

really doesn't matter according to this view, and that accounts for Thursday's

momentum that buoyed US stocks and tumbled bond prices. If you try to interject

a "well, actually," into that belief, be prepared for your positions to be

whipsawed multiple times before you can enjoy being correct." He adds "so far it

has not paid to be skeptical about Congressional efforts, because to date, each

major hurdle has been knocked aside."