Markets Are Going Up

Markets are rising to start the new week.

In Japan, stocks rose 0.9%, despite a weaker-than-expected industrial production report, and an imminent consumption tax hike.

European stocks are higher as well. German stocks are up 0.2%.

Meanwhile, US futures are poised for a modestly higher open.

This is likely to be a very busy week - one that's very heavy on economic data, culminating with the Jobs Report on Friday. Analysts are forecasting about 200,000 new jobs to be reported for that.

Things were mostly quiet over the weekend. There are some tiny signs of a though on the Ukraine crisis, as talks restarted between John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.