It appears that the fiscal stalemate in the U.S. is even further away from an early conclusion than President Obama's speech early this week had led us to believe. According to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, talks with the White House did not generate significant progress and the Republicans' House leader confirmed that no serious discussion on budget cuts was underway. In short, it's still far too early to count our chickens. Nevertheless, financial markets appear to be shrugging off this news and are continuing to climb.
Eurozone unemployment for October was announced at 11.7%, in line with pundits' expectations. The euro appears to have reacted positively to the news, gaining a few points against the greenback, and is now trading at its highest level in November.
In North America, Canadian GDP data for September will be announced at 8:30 this morning. Markets anticipate growth of 1.2%, as was the case for August.
Also at 8:30, the U.S. Personal Consumption Spending (PCE) Index for October will be published. Markets expect spending to rise by 1.8% after gaining 1.7% the previous month.