Both the BoE and ECB left policy unchanged as expected. Impressively in light of all the economic concerns in Europe, the German DAX today is rallying to the highest level since May ’11 and the CAC is at the best level since Aug ’11. German factory orders in Oct rose 3.9% m/o/m, well above the estimate of up 1% but were still down y/o/y. The Italian MIB is down about 1% after Mario Monti’s gov’t lost some support today which clouds his future. The Italian 2 yr yield is back above 2% and the 10 yr yield is again above 4.5% in response. Spanish yields are higher too with their 2 yr yield back above 3%. In Asia, there was no follow thru overnight in the strong Shanghai index move yesterday as it was down a touch. Australia reported a better than expected jobs number for Nov led by part time jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 5.2% from 5.4%. The AUD is at the highest vs the US$ since mid Sept. The Nikkei rallied again to the highest since April as the yen holds at the lowest also since April. In the US, bankrate.com said the average 30 yr mortgage rate fell 2 bps to 3.38%, matching the lowest level on record even as the 30 yr FNMA coupon is well above its lows. Banks may finally be passing on their lowered costs.
AAII: Bulls 42.2 v 40.9, highest since Mar. Bears 34.6 v 34.4
