Tom Hanna's Lifestream

Asian stock markets perked up a bit Wednesday with gains of 1.36% in Hong Kong and 1.79% in Tokyo. US stock market futures are pointing to a down open, off 1% overnight. Oil prices are up half a percent, giving back a fraction of the Monday/Tuesday drop. The old "flight to quality" appears to be in play again as the dollar is up strongly against the euro, pound and Canadian dollar, down less than a tenth of a percent against the yen. PNC CHRISTMAS PRICE INDEX - Christmas 2008 PNC Christmas Price Index 2008: $21,080 Change: Up $1,573 Percent Change: Up 8.1% Core Index (Excluding Swans-a-swimming): Up 1.1%Price Data Clear Path for Rate CutEuro-zoneproducer prices fell at their fastest rate on record in October, pavingthe way for the ECB to cut interest rates again this week.EU to Issue Guidelines on Bank AidThe EU will issue guidelines this month for governmentsplanning to give money to their banks to support the wider economy,Kroes said.Thailand Lowers Benchmark Rate More Than Forecast as Protests Hurt Economy Thailand’s central bank cut itsbenchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 months tosupport an economy hurt by domestic political turmoil and theglobal recession. U.K. Consumer Confidence Falls to Lowest Since 2004 as Banks Curtail Loans U.K. consumer confidence deterioratedin November to the weakest in at least four years asunemployment jumped and banks curtailed credit, NationwideBuilding Society said. Australian Quarterly Economic Growth Slows to 0.1%, Weakest in Eight Years Australia’s economy grew last quarterat the weakest pace in eight years as household spending stalled,increasing pressure on the central bank to add to the biggestround of interest-rate cuts since a recession in 1991. India May Increase Spending, Lower Interest Rates After Terrorist Attacks India may boost public spending,increase export incentives and cut interest rates to support theeconomy after the country’s worst terrorist attack in 15 yearslast week undermined investor confidence, economists said. Russian Service Industries Contracted Most on Record Last Month, PMI Shows Russian service industries ranging frombanking and telecommunications to supermarkets shrank in Novemberby the most on record as the global financial crisis deepened, VTBBank Europe’s gauge of industry performance showed. Pakistan Promises IMF to Raise Interest Rates If Foreign Reserves Tumble Pakistan’s central bank promised theInternational Monetary Fund as part of a $7.6 billion bailoutthat it will increase interest rates further if the nation’sforeign reserves drop too low. Service Industries in U.S. Probably Shrank at Faster Pace as Sales Slumped U.S. service industries probablycontracted in November at the fastest pace on record, sinkingthe economy deeper into what may become the worst recession indecades, economists said before a report today. Australia Has Scope for More Rate Cuts, Former RBA Chief Macfarlane Says Australia has room to lower interestrates further and increase government spending to support theeconomy amid the current global crisis, former central bankGovernor Ian Macfarlane said. Finland May Cut 2009 Growth Forecast to Under 0.5%, Finance Minister Says Finland may lower its economic-growthforecast for next year as the euro region as a whole is alreadyin a recession, Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen said. Australia's Economy Expands 0.1 Percent in Third Quarter: Table of the Day Following is a summary of Australia’s keyGDP figures for the third quarter, seasonally adjusted, released by theAustralian Bureau of Statistics in Sydney. Thanks for reading. This content is originally from EconoIndicators or The Economic Indicators Blogger blog. Click through for more.