Quick Overview

• Japans Jiji news agency reported late Tuesday the Bank of Japan is likely to discuss raising rates to 0.5 percent next month.
  
  

• Retail sales in Japan were up 0.1% in November.
  

• The Mortgage Bankers Association said U.S. mortgage applications plummeted last week to the lowest level in nearly five months.
  
  

• New home sales jumped 3.4% in November, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. YoY sales are down 15.3%
  
  

• The United Arab Emirates' has decided to raise the share of Euro holdings in its reserves to 10% from 2% over the next six to nine months.
  
  

• Tin rose nearly 4% on the LME because of continuing supply concerns in Indonesia.
  
  

• The USDA said there were 62.149 million hogs and pigs in U.S. inventory on December 1st, up 1.1% YoY.