Santa Claus

Possibly the gloomy economic conditions and the recession have even Santa a little less aggressive with his spending this year. (read more)
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Economic data released today:

Gross Domestic Product (GDP):
U.S. 3Q GDP at -0.5%, unrevised from preliminary report; U.S. 3Q GDP Consensus -0.6%; U.S. 3Q Real Final Sales revised to -1.3% rate from -1.4%; U.S. 3Q PCE Price Index revised to +5.0% rate from +5.2%; U.S. 3Q Purchases Price Index revised to +4.5% rate from +4.7%; U.S. 3Q Chain-Weighted Price Index revised to +3.9% from +4.2%.

Corporate Profits:
U.S. 3Q Corporate Profits fell 3.2% versus drop by 0.4% in 2Q; U.S. 3Q Corporate Profits revised to drop by 3.2% from drop by 3.0%.

Existing Home Sales:
U.S. November Existing Home Sales down 8.6% to 4.49M rate.

New Home Sales:
U.S. November New Home Sales down 2.9% to 407K compared to consensus at 415K; U.S. October New Home Sales revised lower to 419K from 433K; New Home Sales hit 17 year low.

State Street Investors Confidence Index:
State Street Investor Confidence Index declines from 54.5 to 48.0 during December. Global Investor Confidence decreased by 6.5 points to 48.0 from revised level of 54.5 in November. North American investors Confidence fell particularly sharply from November's revised reading of 45.3 to 30.1. European investors were slightly less pessimistic but, their confidence continued to decline to 67.4 from a revised level of 72.5 during November. In Asia, Institutional investors bucked the trend as their confidence rose from 82.2 to 86.1.

Consumer Sentiment:
University of Michigan 5-Year Inflation Forecast +2.6% compared to November +2.9%; University of Michigan 12-Month Inflation Forecast +1.7% compared to November +2.9%; University of Michigan Preliminary December Sentiment was 59.1; University of Michigan End-December Expectations 54.0 compared to November reading at 53.9; University of Michigan End-December Current Index 69.5 compared to November reading at 57.5.

Richmond Fed:
December Manufacturing Index -55 versus November -38; December Manufacturing Shipments Index -55 versus November -31; December Services Revenues Index -30 versus November -22; December Retail Revenues Index -27 versus November -35.

At the NYSE closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. stock indices ended the trading session on the world markets as well as the emerging markets including the stock market closing bell price:
DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) triple digit loss of 100.12 points to end the trading session at 8,419.65
NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) loss of 52.54 points to end the trading session at 5,468.28
National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) loss of 10.81 points to end the trading session at 1,521.54
S&P 500 (SPX) loss of 8.47 points to end the trading session at 863.16
FTSE All-World Index data excluding U.S. (AW01UK) loss of 1.09 points to end the trading session at 144.35
FTSE RAFI 1000 loss of 40.32 points to end the trading session at 3,315.27
BEL 20 (BEL20) gain of 18.31 points to end the trading session at 1,863.39
CAC 40 (CAC40) loss of 22.95 points to end the trading session at 3,128.41
FTSE100 (UKX100) gain of 6.82 points to end the trading session at 4,255.98
NIKKEI 225 (NIK/O) unchanged at the end the trading session at 8,723.78

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 1,227, declined stock prices 1,227, unchanged stock prices 96, stock prices hitting new highs 4 and stock prices hitting new lows 59. NYSE quotes for volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the New York Stock Exchange stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: Worthington Industries Incorporated (NYSE: WOR) stock price shed 0.27 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $10.83, low on the trading session $9.89, with a closing stock price at $10.36; Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) stock price gained 1.58 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $46.90, low on the trading session $44.88, with a closing stock price at $45.87; Textron Incorporated (NYSE: TXT) stock price shed 3.14 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $14.35, low on the trading session $12.01, with a closing stock price at $12.20; Red Hat Incorporated (NYSE: RHT) stock price gained 1.02 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $13.99, low on the trading session $12.75, with a closing stock price at $12.99; Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RTP) stock price gained 2.59 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $85.27 low on the trading session $81.60, with a closing stock price at $82.21; ProShares Ultrashort S&P 500 (NYSE: SDS) stock price shed 10.01 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $78.26, low on the trading session $74.60, with a closing stock price at $77.43; ProShares Ultrashort QQQ (NYSE: QID) stock price shed 8.77 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $60.88, low on the trading session $57.93, with a closing stock price at $60.05; 4.066.31 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $121.26, low on the trading session $114.15, with a closing stock price at $120.77;  Potash Corporation Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT) stock price gained 2.70 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $71.48, low on the trading session $67.12 with a closing stock price at $68.49; ProShares Ultrashort Real Estate (NYSE: SRS) stock price shed 3.48 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $59.17, low on the trading session $54.61, with a closing stock price at $57.55; CME Group Incorporated (NYSE: CME) stock price shed 8.00 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $200.00, low on the trading session $184.10, with a closing stock price at $185.80.

National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ) stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 1,058, declined stock prices 1,855, unchanged stock prices 105, stock prices hitting new highs10 and stock prices hitting new lows 109. NASDAQ quotes, volatile stocks and market trends, as well as stock quotes, stock prices and stock symbols of Day Trading Stock Picks on the NASDAQ stock market for Day Trading online and active Day Trading for those who are or would like to be Day Trading for a living: AMAG Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NasdaqGS: AMAG) stock price shed 1.54 points on the trading session, high on the trading session $34.42, low on the trading session $31.10, with a closing stock price at $32.53.

Market trends on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) and stock market indicators for the trading session today:
Advanced stock prices 259, declined stock prices 355, unchanged stock prices 68, stock prices hitting new highs 2 and stock prices hitting new lows 41.

Chicago Board of Trade Futures Market for the day, at time of this posting:
E-mini S&P 500 (ES) Mar 09: End of trading session price 859.00; Change for the trading session -12.25
E-mini NASDAQ-100 (NQ) Mar 09: End of trading session price 1,186.25; Change for the trading session -10.75
E-mini DOW $5 (YM) Mar 09: End of trading session price 8,389; Change for the trading session -150
E-mini S&P MidCap 400 (MF) Mar 09: End of trading session price 502.40; Change for the trading session -11.50
E-mini S&P Small Cap 600 (HS) Mar 09: End of trading session price 8,450; Change for the trading session 20

World Currencies for the Forex Market, for Forex Trading by active Forex Traders, at time of this posting:
Euro 0.7169 to U.S. Dollars 1.3949
Japanese Yen 90.890 to U.S. Dollars 0.0110
British Pound 0.6781 to U.S. Dollars 1.4748
Canadian Dollar 1.2159 to U.S. Dollars 0.824
Swiss Franc 1.0868 to U.S. Dollars 0.9201

COMMODITY MARKETS:

Energy Sector - Nymex:
Light Crude (January 09) shed $0.93 on the trading session for a closing price of $38.98 per barrel ($US per barrel)
Heating Oil (February 09) shed $0.02 on the trading session for a closing price of $1.35 a gallon ($US per gallon)
Natural Gas (March 09) gained $0.43 on the trading session for a closing price of $5.81 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.)
Unleaded Gas (January 09) shed $0.03 on the trading session for a closing price of $0.86 a gallon ($US per gallon)

Metals Markets - Comex:
Gold (February 09) shed $9.10 on the trading session for a closing price of $838.10 ($US per Troy ounce)
Silver (March 09) shed $0.60 on the trading session for a closing price of $10.26 ($US per Troy ounce)
Platinum (January 09) no change on the trading session for a closing price of $856.10 ($US per Troy ounce)
Copper (March 09) shed $0.06 on the trading session for a closing price of $1.28 ($US per pound)

Livestock and Meat Markets - Chicago Mercantile Exchange (cents per lb.):
Lean Hogs (February 09) gained 0.30 on the trading session for a closing price of 61.20
Pork Bellies (February 09) shed 3.00 on the trading session for a closing price of 88.70
Live Cattle (February 09) gained 0.70 on the trading session for a closing price of 86.95
Feeder Cattle (March 09) gained 0.45 on the trading session for a closing price of 93.38

Other Commodities - Chicago Board of Trade (cents per bushel):
Corn (March 09) gained 13.00 on the trading session for a closing price of 394.50
Soybeans (March 09) gained 14.50 on the trading session for a closing price of 905.00

BOND MARKET:
99 29100 26/32, change 0, Yield 0.91, Yield change 0.08
5 year Bond closing price of 102 21/32, change -1/32, Yield 1.43, Yield change 0.00
10 year Bond closing price 114, change +2/32, Yield 2/32, Yield change -0.01
30 year Bond closing price 138 1/32, change -13/32, Yield 2.63, Yield change 0.02

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