We look to finish the week flat as a confluence of news and data pushed and pulled at investors all week long. From a Brexit deal to earnings announcements, and a military misstep in Syria to economic data both good and bad, it has been a head-spinning kind of week.

This week the markets look to finish higher despite or perhaps due to a lack of news. This bucks the three-week slide we’ve recently experienced.

No one ever said the economy, and by extension the stock market, was easy to read. With so much conflicting data and so many variables, it is often difficult for even a professional to fully understand exactly what is happening.

This being the first official week of Fall, I would have hoped for temps to cool off a little. Instead, it appears things are heating up again, not unlike what is happening politically in Washington D.C.

This week was a mixed bag regarding economic data and headline news. The tailwind of the last few weeks hit a bit of a snag with an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields and a strike by the UAW at General Motors. Yet despite these developments, investors remained fully engaged in the markets with the prospect of another interest rate cut.

The momentum continued this week with rumors of a trade breakthrough and a delay of new tariffs on Chinese goods. Cincinnati Fifth Third Bank primed for national expansion.

What was shaping up to be a difficult week turned out to be somewhat different.

Since I seem to talk more about economics and geopolitics lately, let’s talk about company news for a change.

Stocks powered broadly higher with the S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all climbing this week.

I’m not going to lie. It was a rough week for the markets. A bit of panic took hold as investors rushed into “safe” investments such as U.S. Treasuries, pushing interest rates lower than they have been in a long time.