(As of 7:15 am PST)
Earnings season kicks off
today with global aluminum maker, Alcoa, the first to announce. Markets have been jittery so far as the
outlook for Q4 earnings is flat. Shares
of Apple and Hewlett Packard are higher while Boeing made the headlines on an
analyst downgrade, sending the stock lower.
There was not a lack of economic reports out of Europe today. Euro-zone unemployment rose to 11.8% in
November, hitting a euro-zone era high.
Retail sales rose less than expected and German exports were down. On a brighter note, a sentiment reading
showed economic optimism higher in December.
For the most part, European markets shrugged off the mixed data with
stocks gaining on US earnings hopes.
Asian markets ended the day down.
Oil and gold are up today, while interest rates are down slightly. Earnings will remain the focus for the week,
providing a brief distraction from the fiscal cliff and upcoming debt ceiling
debate.
