• Euro zone retail trade was down .8% in November, worse than expected. Consumer confidence in the region was down .7 points, and the overall reading on economic sentiment fell .5 points to 93.3, its lowest reading since 2009. Economic readings continue to point toward recession in the region. It’s just a question of how deep the downturn proves. From Reuters News.
• The ECB moved in to buy bonds as Italian 10-year yields ran through 7% today. The spread over Bunds in 10 year paper ran to 524 basis points, and 2-years are 476 basis points. Both Italy and Spain have financing operations to perform next week. From the Wall Street Journal.
• Expectations are pretty high for the employment numbers this morning. Yesterday’s volatile ADP report of 325,000 private sector job claims boosted hopes for a good number. Economists are calling for 155,000 additional non-farm jobs in December. The market probably needs more. From The Wall Street Journal.