Quick Overview

• U.S. factory orders rose 1.1% in November, better than expected.
  

• The National Association of Realtors said pending home sales fell 16% in November, but up 15.5% YoY
  

• Temperatures in central Florida dipped below 30 degrees this morning and forecasters expect one more cold morning on Saturday -- OJ closed limit up

• YoY Consumer prices in the Euro area rose 0.9% in December
  

• New home sales in Australia rose 0.3% in November.
  

• Indonesia's plan to buy 500,000 metric tons of sugar for delivery between Jan. 1 and April 15 failed Tuesday because there were too few offers, traders said. There are also expectations for strong demand from Russia, a leading importer of raws, and the United States.
  

• Mexico’s corn imports will jump 28% in 2009-10 because of a drought which "created huge problems" for farmers, US officials say.
  
  
  The coal price at Qinghuangdao Port rose for four consecutive months, and set a new record high over the past year, meanwhile, coal inventory fell 29.4% from early December, approaching the alarm point of 5 mln tons again. (Beijing faced the coldest weather in half a century)
  

• Britain shivers during what could be its coldest winter in a century.
  

• Integrating Skype in High-definition TVs from LG and Panasonic will enable users to conduct free live video chats from their couches.