Monday, right? Just checking. Fun weekend … Nuff said …

– Elon Musk’s private company SpaceX announced on Twitter that it plans to send a spacecraft to Mars as soon as 2018.

Can I go? Seriously, this guy is all over the map, uh, I mean solar system. I wonder who is making the rocket parts and other stuff for the flight?  Opportunity?

– US Construction spending rose to an 8-1/2-year high in March and the prior month’s outlays were revised higher, pointing to sustained strength in the sector despite a sharp downturn in spending by energy firms.

Even with the US oil industry fading, the US economy is holding on, which suggests, the recent Prattle Rattle will have little lasting effect. Even tech might be ripe for a comeback.

– The NASDAQ 100 is now down five straight days which usually means a bounce is coming.

The index is trying to shake off Apple and other ills today, but it is hard work. Speaking of comebacks …

– The overall economy of the 19 countries that use the euro advanced 0.6 percent over the first three months of the year, compared with the previous quarter.

FYI, the above breaks out to 2.2 percent GDP growth for the EU (the largest economy on the planet), a number not seen since 2008. Putting this positive piece into place makes the global puzzle picture a bit clearer.

– Google has promised to remove the names and images of serial killers from news accounts and Google web searches, replacing them with “(name withheld out of respect for the victims).”

Wow! Big Brother is coming out of the close