Today’s US PPI and Retail Sales data make it hard to believe that a recession is probable. The US consumer, who is the backbone of the economy, continues to spend voraciously.

Here come the central bankers, ready to ride into battle. But against what? Inflation? Or deflation? Against the unstoppable force, or the immoveable object? For the moment, they regard the artillery of deflation as the greater worry. So Bernanke fired a weak volley in that direction on Tuesday. The markets fired back, saying the Fed wasn’t using enough firepower.

If the CPI data prints event hotter than the already elevated market expectations, it may temper any further rate cut expectations from the Fed as the inflationary pressures may outweigh concerns about the slowdown in the US economy.

Tim Bourquin interviews Kathy Lien, who talks about why she is still bullish on the euro.

So many of us will spend a great deal of time studying the perfect time to buy, yet so little time on when to sell.

Professional system trader Art Collins shares his daily biases in the index, bonds and currency futures markets for December 13.

A morning announcement by the US Federal Reserve and other major central banks forced large corrections across risk-sensitive asset classes, as the monetary policy authorities outlined plans to ease current credit market crises.

The incredible short squeeze up in the USD/JPY currency pair was halted below the critical 112.30 level on the New York close.

The financial marketplace is a lot less forgiving than it was a couple years ago. Now, marginal homeowners are being squeezed by higher prices and higher mortgage payments. And marginal investors –- even those with billions to throw around –- are being squeezed by falling asset prices.

A strong November retail sales report could ignite a bid for the dollar and the Dow on Thursday, though it may be brief as traders grapple with the implications of the FOMC’s 25bp cut and policy statement that essentially left all options open going forward.