5 Things you Need to Know Before Trading

Stocks were mixed in Asian trade. Shanghai was up a half percent and the Nikkei added a slight fraction, but the Hang Seng and Australia both lost 0.4%. The same can be said for European indexes, with the Dax currently up a slight fraction and the Footsie lower by about 0.4%. US stock futures are essentially unchanged.

*The November reading of Germany’s Balance of Trade shows that the surplus fell EU1.3 billion from the month before to EU12.9 billion; it had been expected to expand to EU15 billion, but Imports were up 4.1% on the month while Exports only gained 0.5% from October.

*The November reading of Germany’s Retail Sales fell 2.4% on a monthly basis, well below the forecast for a one percent gain on the month.

*The November reading of Germany’s Industrial Production was -0.7% on a month on month basis, missing the estimate of -0.1%.

*The December reading of Switzerland’s Unemployment Rate was steady at 3.6%, but had been expected to fall one tenth from the November level.

*The December reading of the Unemployment Situation is due out at 7:30am CST. The Unemployment Rate is expected to fall one tenth on the month to 9.7%. The Total Non-farm Payrolls estimate is +150k and the estimate for the Private Sector is +178k; but, shhhhh, the whispers are almost certainly for a higher result. The forecast for Average Hourly Earnings is +0.2% on a month on month basis and is expected to be +1.8% year over year. And the estimate for the Average Work Week is steady at 34.3 hours. The November reading of Consumer Credit is due out at 2:00pm CST, it is expected to rise $0.5 billion.

*Fed boss Bernanke is set to appear before the Senate Budget Panel at 8:30am CST. This is not an early Humphrey/Hawkins but it is a review of monetary and fiscal policy and he is expected to offer an economic outlook.

*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 7/15/13 and 12/31/14; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CST.

*The annual new year meeting of economists is underway in Denver. A couple of Fed speakers are on the calendar for the weekend event; Chicago’s Evans at 3:30pm CST and Vice Chair Yellen set to talk Saturday at 3:30pm CST.

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