Quick Overview

• U.S. wholesale sales fell 1.0% in August -- inventories rose 0.8%.
  


• U.S. jobless claims fell 20,000 last week to 478,000.
  


• Australia's unemployment rate fell from 4.3% to 4.1% in September
  


• Japan's machinery orders fell 14.5% in August,
  


• GDP in the Euro area fell 0.2% in the second quarter.
  


• S&P put GM's credit on a negative watch list. GM dropped 31%, their lowest level since 1950 as it contends with a deteriorating global sales and deteriorating cash reserves.