Tom Hanna's Lifestream

Commentary and Overnight TradingUS stock market futures are up about 3/4 percent in early overnight trading [1 AM Eastern], the Nikkei is up 1.57%, the Hang Seng is down 1.67% and the S&P/ASX 200 down 1.61%. The NYMEX crude oil future is up 1.75%, with the February future trading almost $10 above Friday's spot price close (but still below $45/barrel). The dollar is up against the yen, pound and Canadian dollar. It's down against the euro, in spite of Barclays and UBS predicting a 10% drop in the euro in the next three months. Financial Roadmap: The Week Ahead December 22 to 26, 2008Investors will find lots of information packed into the holidayshortened week and it's even more packed with no major indicators dueout until Tuesday. The first numbers due out are the CommerceDepartment's final 3rd quarter GDP and corporate crofits figures with a0.5% drop in GDP expected. Aside from corporate profits, Tuesday willhave one other big corporate oriented figure – the State StreetInvestor Confidence Index. This index, which measures the actual risktaking behavior of institutional portfolios, could help indicate if themarket has actually bottomed or if we are in a sustained bear marketrally – if the big boys are starting to move out of debt securitiesback into equities, it's a good sign.What I'm ReadingEuro Will Fall 10% Versus Dollar in 3 Months, UBS, Barclays Say Trade-Finance Pinch Hurts the HealthyThe global financial crisis is drying up financing thatfirms depend on for trade, making the recession deeper than itotherwise would be.Paulson Wants Rest of TARP FundsThe U.S. rescue of the auto industry drained what remainedin the first half of Treasury's $700 billion bailout fund, promptingPaulson to call on Congress to release the rest of the money.Aid to Homeowners May Double Next Year Under Bush-Backed Mortgage Program The mortgage-industry effort to stemforeclosures aims to double the number of borrowers getting helpnext year, as Democrats call for using taxpayer money to addressthe crisis. Japanese Exports Plunge Record 27% as Economy Sinks Further Into Recession Japan’s exports plunged the most onrecord in November as global demand for cars and electronicscollapsed, signaling more factory shutdowns and job cuts arelikely as the recession deepens. New Zealand's Recession Probably Deepened, Signaling More Rate Cuts Needed New Zealand’s recession probablyextended into a third quarter as consumers and businesses reinedin spending and exports of milk, timber and wool eased. Japan Lowers Its Economic Assessment for Third Month as Recession Deepens The Japanese government lowered itsassessment of the economy for a third month, describingconditions as the most severe since 2002. Recession-Strapped U.S. Christmas Shoppers Search for Bargains, Discounts Cash-strapped shoppers are searchingfor bargains in the final days before Christmas and some arelimiting their gift-giving to children in what could be a make-or-break weekend for U.S. retailers. Treasury Bond Bubble Sucks up Investors Who Can't Say No to Lowest Yields The world’s biggest bond investorscan’t stop buying Treasuries even though they’re comparinggovernment debt to Internet stocks just before the technologybubble burst. Oligarchs Seek $78 Billion Loans as Credit-Market Squeeze Empowers Putin Russian oligarchs are lining up for$78 billion of Kremlin loans to survive the credit squeeze,handing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin the opportunity to increasegovernment control of the nation’s biggest companies. Japan exports collapse as yen, world recession biteChina FX reserves fall in Oct, first time since '03Japan recession deepens, Ireland bails out banksThanks for reading. This content is originally from EconoIndicators or The Economic Indicators Blogger blog. Click through for more.