United States

Australia is virtually devoid of data releases this week while it’s all happening across the Pacific, where the CPI release will be the highlight alongside earnings releases.

The Dow has posted one of its most extraordinary sessions ever rising 284 points largely on the back of retailer earnings reports.

An examination of the current bull and bear arguments on Wall Street.

The Dow bounces back 76 points as bond yields rise again? The subprime scare has caused a strange misalignment of the planets as Wall Street results season gets into full swing.

The protectionist rumblings on Capitol Hill are gaining in pitch as China exceeds economist expectations and sets a new record trade surplus for June.

The Dow fell 148 points last night as bullish faith in the American consumer took a hit and S&P and Moody’s began moving in on the sub-prime mortgage market.

US employment data released on Friday was taken as a positive by Wall Street. This week sees local data released which should have a bearing on the RBA’s August rate decision.

It was happening all over the world last night.

A prominent US hedge fund has suspended redemptions and an Italian bank is in trouble.

The US sub-prime mortgage scare appears to have petered out. But that’s only because it takes ratings agencies a long time to reassess, and mortgage delinquencies a long time to crystallise, and hedge fund traders are able to “mark to model”.