This development is the first line in the sand by the Bulls. The bigger issue is not this morning's open in NY, but in the afternoon trading after London closes.

The losses in Asia-Pacific markets today amounts to little more than ‘catch-up’. Compared to many other days, the losses, while not insignificant, can be characterized as being subdued.

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International Economics Review

There is plenty of US inflation data being reported this week. But the news traders want to hear is just how bad are the credit market-related write-downs going to be within HB&B.

US Economic Calendar.

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International Equity Markets Review

Europe

Here is the latest session data for the bourses of Europe.

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Here is the latest session data for the London stock exchange FTSE.

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Here is the latest session data for the German DAX.

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Here is the latest session data for the French CAC 40.

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Here is the latest session data for the Milan Italy stock exchange MIBTEL.

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Here is the latest session data for the Swiss market index.

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Asia-Pacific

Here is the latest session data for the Asia-Pacific stock exchanges.

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Here is the latest chart for the Japanese Nikkei 225 index.

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Here is the latest chart for the Singapore index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Shanghai Composite index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Hong Kong Hang Seng index .

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Here is the latest chart for the India BSE 30 index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Australian All Ordinaries index .

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US and the Americas

Here is the latest session data for the exchanges of the Americas.

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Here is the latest chart for the Brazilian Bovespa stock exchange in Sao Paulo.

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Here is the latest session data for the Toronto Stock Exchange composite index.

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US Equity Markets Review

DJIA (interactive) chart

NASDAQ Composite (interactive) chart

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Oil Review

At 6:00am ET December Crude Oil (e-MiNY) futures are 95.70/bbl, which is about +1.70/bbl higher than last Monday at this time, and probably reflects the angst of traders for Middle East political tensions as much as any economic data.

Here is the e-miNY Dec-07 Crude Oil chart.

Interactive Chart of Daily Crude Oil:

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Gold & Precious Metals Review

Spot gold chart for the week

Spot Gold this morning is presently (6:04am ET) at 817.00, after bouncing off a low of 813.50 earlier in the morning.

This slide from mid-day Thursday when the spot price reached a high of about 846 was not unexpected by me, as you know.

The key here will be the US equity market and the Yen. If there is more winding down of the Japanese Carry Trade, I anticipate that the Yen will strengthen, the USD will also strengthen and the Euro, Pound, Loonie etc will weaken and precious metals and US equities to fall.

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Spot silver chart for the week

Spot silver is 15.11 at 6:10am ET today, down from Thursday’s mid-day peak of about 15.80.

There seems to be some support at this level, as we saw Friday, but further weakness could see spot silver drop quickly to 14.50-14.70 levels.

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Forex Review

Here is the chart of the week’s trading in the $USD.

The $USD index is stronger this morning, trading at 75.772 at 6:00am ET, up somewhat from Friday’s morning low of just over 75.

As you know from the WIR, I anticipated an attempt to rally US equities and the USD early this morning, and that is happening.

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Wrap up:

Thank you to all the new members of this community who are freely participating in the Discourse. As you can tell, there are members from all over the world. Your ideas, opinions, experience and expertise are welcome here.

By staying connected 24 hours a day from around the world, we can work toward a greater understanding of capital markets, with immediate benefits in our personal portfolio performance.

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