Good afternoon Traders,

Good afternoon Traders,

Well, highlandlad has already ventured off or an early start to the long weekend so just for today we will be combining the opening of the 'Afternoon thread' and the '2pm Courtesy Reminder' together!

... and we're OFF and racing ...

Stocks have jumped above the 4500 mark today, and China's inflation has sped up. Now those 2 little snippets of news coincide with the official opening of the ski season this weekend ... let's hope this afternoon is an easy ride up on the chair lift, and not downhill like a beginner on a black diamond mogul run! (:

ASX Market Watch (widget snapshot)

... and the DOW futures are currently Down 16 pts atm (Live).

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'Market Focus' for this evening

"Indications on retail sales have been turning mixed, a contrast to wide strength earlier in the year." [Source: Bloomberg., Mark Pender]

'Market Reflections' from previous session (10.06.2010)

"The stock market continues to move in giant swings with the S&P gaining an oversized 3.0 percent to 1,086. Strong exports out of China boosted confidence in global demand while positive analyst comments on British Petroleum eased pressure on the energy sector. Ignored were weak exports here and another weak report on jobless claims, one that does not point to improvement in labor conditions. Stocks also got a lift on a rebound in the euro, which rose 1.2 percent to $1.2125. The dollar index lost 1.0 percent to 87.11. The move into stocks made for a similar move out of Treasuries where the 30-year yield jumped 12 basis points to 4.23 percent. Oil ended firm at $75.75 with gold on the defensive at $1,216." [Source: Bloomberg., Mark Pender]

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Please note the following 'Economic news' which is due out in the US this evening:-

Retail Sales [ Market moving indicator]
[Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell durable and nondurable goods. Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of GDP and is therefore a key element in economic growth.]

Consumer Sentiment [ Merits extra attention]
[The University of Michigan's Consumer Survey Center questions 500 households each month on their financial conditions and attitudes about the economy. Consumer sentiment is directly related to the strength of consumer spending. Consumer confidence and consumer sentiment are two ways of talking about consumer attitudes. Among economic reports, consumer sentiment refers to the Michigan survey while consumer confidence refers to The Conference Board's survey.]

Charles Plosser speaks
[Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President - Discusses economic recovery and Fed role as a central bank before the Blair County Chamber of Commerce in Altoona, Penn.]

Narayana Kocherlakota speaks
[Minneapolis Fed President - Speech on entrepreneurship and the economy to the Metropolitan Economic Development Association in Minneapolis.]

Business Inventories
[Business inventories are the dollar amount of inventories held by manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. The level of inventories in relation to sales is an important indicator of the near-term direction of production activity. (Bureau of the Census)]

... AND ...

There is no noteworthy 'Economic news' due to be released in the US on Monday 14th June;

... AND ...

Please note the following 'Economic news' which is due to be released in Australia on the morning of Tuesday, 15th June:-

RBA Meeting's Minutes [ High volatility expected]
[The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia meetings are published two weeks after the interest rate decision. The minutes give a full account of the policy discussion, including differences of view. They also record the votes of the individual members of the Committee. Generally speaking, if the RBA is hawkish about the inflationary outlook for the economy, then the markets see a higher possibility of a rate increase, and that is positive for the AUD.]

[Sources: Bloomberg & fxstreet.com]