2/3 of the only real data this week was just released.  PPI a touch hot.  Headline was in line, albeit up over previous.  Components a little hot tough.  That said well within comfortable ranges.  Retail sales missed big league.  The headline missed by a tenth, ex autos by 3 tenths!  Ex gas and autos (core) was flat.  Keep in mind this is a December number.  Ho Ho No.  Maybe coal coal coal.  Our immediate reaction was clunk and we lost 4-5 ticks.  I’m not sure this is going to be the final response to this data though.  I don’t quite get it.  Retail sales is a much more important number, yet we’re giving more weight to a PPI component beat?  I don’t buy it.  We have some challenges today in that the market is closed Monday.  That is generally not great for us.  I’ll be watching closely.  This could go either way on us.  If I were trading it though, I’d really be long on that retail sales number.  Just lost another 4 ticks  on the 3’s as I write.

-Philip Mancuso