Marts closed
Markets were closed yesterday in observance of Christmas.
Ho-Ho-Hum
Holiday sales growth slowed by more than half this year after gridlock in Washington soured consumers’ moods and Hurricane Sandy disrupted shopping, MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse said. Retail sales grew by 0.7 percent from Oct. 28 through Dec. 24, the Purchase, NY, research firm said, without providing a dollar figure. Sales grew at a 2 percent pace in the same period a year ago.
‘Bright spot’
The US may be a “bright spot” for the global economy in 2013, said Huang Guobo, who oversees China’s $3.3 trillion foreign exchange reserves. Credit expansion and the development of the alternative energy industry will help make the US “the major power promoting global economic growth in the future,” said Guobo.
Not bullish
Hedge funds and money managers reduced net-long positions by 5.6 percent to 758,256 contracts in the week ended Dec. 18, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed.