Good Thing Prices Paid Don’t Count As Inflation

Early data was mixed.  Hints of inflation and lower than expected spending, but income was up and the jobs data was decent.   The consumer comfort index deteriorated, but that is a relatively minor data point.  On the other hand, ISM was decidedly weak.  Missed by a decent amount, and prices paid jumped even more than the already expected jump.  Auto sales come out later.

With Italian bonds on the rampage, it is hard for stocks to go down much, but that country is definitely the most interconnected and it has been made clear, that they are encouraged more than any other country to play the carry trade game.  Spanish bonds are better, but nowhere close to the level of improvement seen in Italy.  Italy is actually trading at lower yields than Spain in the 5 year point.  That actually makes some sense, as the situation in Spain actually seems worse than in Italy.  Greece, Portugal, and Ireland all remain under pressure in spite of LTRO and alleged ECB purchases in Portuguese debt.