Good morning and welcome to 2012,

After being away since Xmas it’s hard to get back into the swing of things..I have not been looking at the markets much I must confess, as nothing seems to have changed very much…the good news out of the US on Friday with unemployment falling to 8.5% was greeted with cynicism and the punters looking for the negatives…but it is undoubtedly a step in the right direction and will be music to Obama’s ears.

Our market has opened slightly positive this morning on very thin volume and judging by the number of people wandering around the CBD there will be no real pick up until next week at the earliest. The Euro problems continue to weigh on markets…more Euro summits with ‘Teacozy’ and ‘Moaning Mertle’ but ‘Super Mario’ as well now!..but I am puzzled why the Dow is nearly 12500 and we are messing around near 4100…the US economy is seriously under pressure and huge budget problems yet here we are with a massive mining boom and low unemployment and good GDP growth with low debt..and we are the market suffering!!Go Figure…I think the trade this year is to sell one Dow and buy three ASX 200!

Anyway I hope you have all had a good break and hope that 2012 brings better news on the investment front…back on Sky TV this afternoon so have to focus on markets again rather than the beach and late nights with friends and family.

Economic News Out this week includes:

From China ,which is scheduled to release data for December exports, imports and trade balance today.

The US also has a busy week of economics news ahead:

· Monday: Consumer credit data for November

· Tuesday: NFIB small business confidence index and wholesale trade data.

· Wednesday: The beige book for December gives a reading of US economic conditions

· Thursday: Jobless claims, business inventories and retail sales

· Friday: Consumer sentiment data

Happy New Year and it’s good to be back!! I think!

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