Quick Overview

• The huge U.S. current account deficit widened in the third quarter to a record $225.6 billion
  

• Canada's composite index of leading indicators was up 0.5%.
  

• The Green Coffee Association said that U.S. coffee stocks totaled 5.05 million bags, up 3.5% YoY.
  

• The International Coffee Organization said that the 2007-2008 coffee crop is expected to have a world production deficit as large as the 6.6 million ton deficit of 2005-2006.
  

Pot is called biggest cash crop
For years, activists in the marijuana legalization movement have claimed that cannabis is America's biggest cash crop. Now they're citing government statistics to prove it.
A report released today by a marijuana public policy analyst contends that the market value of pot produced in the U.S. exceeds $35 billion — far more than the crop value of such heartland staples as corn, soybeans and hay, which are the top three legal cash crops.

Even if they're off, cellphones allow FBI to listen in

"This is a kind of surveillance we've never really seen before. The government can and will exploit whatever technology is available to achieve their surveillance goals. This is of particular concern, considering the proliferation of microphones and cameras in the products we own," said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Bush 'Privacy Board' Just a Gag The three-hour meeting, held at Georgetown University, quickly established that the panel would be something less than a fierce watchdog of civil liberties. Instead, members all but said they view their job as helping Americans learn to relax and love warrantless surveillance.

McCain Bill Is Lethal Injection For Internet Freedom
Exploits fear of sexual predators and basic misunderstanding of Internet to attack blogs critical of the warmongering agenda he fronts for.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Consumer prices were unchanged in November and up 2.0% YoY, less than expected. Excluding food and energy costs, prices were up 2.6% YoY.
  

• Foreign purchases of U.S. securities totaled $102.0 billion in October while U.S. purchases of foreign long-term securities totaled $19.7 billion.
  

• U.S. Industrial production rose 0.2% in November, up from October's 0.5% drop.
  

• YoY Consumer prices in the EU-12 were up 1.9% in November
  

• The White House has approved a $468.9 billion Pentagon budget for 08, a six-percent increase YoY.
  
  

• Japan's tankan survey, increased from +24 to +25 in September, the highest in two years
  

• Brazil's government estimates the 2007-2008 coffee crop at 31.7 million bags, less than expected. They said the 2006-2007 coffee crop totaled 42.5 million bags, 4 million bags less than the USDA's estimate.
  

• Brazil's Association for Citrus Exporters said Brazil's exports of frozen orange juice in the first eleven months of 2006 were down 9% YoY.
  

• Gold futures dropped about $12 an ounce, silver lost 7% and copper prices dropped to a six-month low.

Diplomat's suppressed document lays bare the lies behind Iraq war

He also reveals that British officials warned US diplomats that bringing down the Iraqi dictator would lead to the chaos the world has since witnessed. "I remember on several occasions the UK team stating this view in terms during our discussions with the US (who agreed)," he said.

Quick Overview

• Argentina's economy expanded 8.7 percent in the third quarter compared with the year-earlier period, fueled by higher consumer spending and private investment.
  
  

• The price of goods imported to the United States rose 0.2% in November after falling more than 2% in the previous two months, the Labor Department said Thursday.
  
  

• U.S. Jobless claims were down 20,000 to 304,000, less than expected.
  
  

• U.K. Retail sales up 0.3% in November, more than expected.
  

• EU-12 Labor costs up 2.0% YoY.
  

• Germany's Ifo economic institute predicts the economy will grow 2.5% in 2006 and 1.9% in 2007.
  

• Canada's manufacturing shipments down 0.1% MoM.
  

• Japan's top financial diplomat does not expect the yen to weaken further due to any domestic reasons as the economy is performing steadily.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were down 168 billion cubic feet last week to 3.238 trillion cubic feet. YoY Supplies are up 8%.
  

• OPEC oil ministers said Thursday they will cut production by a half-million barrels a day starting Feb. 1, a 1.9% cut, Bloomberg reported.

Americans See Widening Rich-Poor Income Gap as Cause for Alarm
Almost three-quarters of Americans believe inequality is a major issue, versus 24 percent who don't think so, according to a new Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. Most of the concern is among Democrats and independent voters, though a majority of Republicans -- 55 percent -- also called the situation serious.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Retail sales were up 1.0% in November, more than expected. Excluding autos and gasoline, sales were up 0.9%.
  

• China's economy may have modest downslide after 2006, with its GDP growth to slow from the current 10.4 percent to 9.6 percent in 2007 and 8.7 percent in 2008, the World Bank said.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were down 4.3 million barrels last week to 335.4 million barrels.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were down 100,000 barrels
  Supplies of heating oil supplies were down 700,000 barrels.
  

• U.K.'s Unemployment rate at 5.5% from 5.6% the previous month.
  

• Russia is preparing to cut off natural gas supplies to neighboring Belarus and Georgia unless the two former Soviet republics agree by the year-end to pay much higher prices in 2007.
  
  

• Shanghai Baosteel, China's leading steel manufacturer, has produced X120, the world's strongest gas transmission pipeline steel, sources with the company said on Tuesday.
  
  
  

• Executives predict 'talent war' as companies compete for scarce Chinese-speaking graduates.

Quick Overview

• The Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate at 5.25%, noting the economy has slowed and is hurt by "substantial cooling" in the housing market. The statement, left open the possibility the central bank might increase rates if inflation speeds up.
  
  

• US Trade Balance at -$58.9B vs. -$63.0B expected.
  
  

• U.S. Federal budget deficit at $75.6 billion in November, down from $83.1 billion YoY.
  
  

• Chinas November retail sales YoY rose 14.1% to 682.2 bln Yuan.
  
  

• Indian Industrial Production up 6.2% YoY
  
  

• Euro Zone Economic Sentiment at -3.0 vs. -8.5 expected.
  
  

• Italian Industrial Production MoM at 0.6% vs. 0.5% expected.
  
  

• UK CPI MoM at 0.3% vs. 0.2% expected.
  
  

• German Economic Sentiment at -19 vs. -25 expected.
  
  

• German Current Situation at 63.5 vs. 55.3 expected.
  
  

• Swedish CPI Underlying YoY at 1.3% vs. 1.2% expected.
  
  

• Cocoa stocks in Nybot warehouses rose 231,943 145-pound bags to total 4.04 million 145-pound bags.
  
  

• The number of trucks in use in the U.S. is down 0.6% in the third quarter, a sign expanding hauling capacity by carriers may have peaked.
  
  
  

ECB Warns of `Herd-Like' Mentality in Derivatives
Sales of CDOs jumped 73 percent to $446 billion this year from a year earlier, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The market for credit derivatives is the fastest-growing part of the derivatives market, helping to spur record earnings for banks including New York-based Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Economic growth will slow and inflation will ease in 2007, with energy prices and a falling dollar posing the biggest risks to a pick-up in prices, a panel of Wall Street analysts forecast on Monday.
  
  

• The U.S. Census Bureau said that wholesale sales were down 0.5% in October while inventories were up 0.8%.
  
  
  

• China posted a trade surplus of 22.92 bln $ in November, down slightly from 23.83 bln in October, customs data showed. The trade surplus in the first 11 months was 156.52 bln $, up from 91 bln YoY.
  
  

• China's consumer price index rose 1.3 pct YoY, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
  
  
  

• Major oil-exporting countries have been moving away from dollar deposits to increase reserves in other currencies, including the Euro and the Japanese yen, the Bank for International Settlements has said. Dollar-denominated bank deposits by OPEC members decreased by 5.3 bln $ in the second quarter of 2006, while Euro-denominated deposits rose by 2.8 bln $ and yen deposits by 3.8 bln $.
  
  

• The National Association of Realtors expects U.S. existing home sales down 8.6% in 2006 and down 1.0% in 2007.
  
  

• Japanese Consumer Confidence for November out at 48.9 vs. 48.8 expected.
  

• French Industrial Production MoM for October out at -0.1% vs. 0.5% expected.
  

• Mexican stocks rose to an eighth straight record close on Monday
  
  

• Cocoa stocks in Nybot warehouses fell 3,978 145-pound bags to total 3.808 million bags.
  
  
  
  
  

• The USDA's 2006-2007 U.S. ending stocks estimate of:
  Corn was unchanged at 935 million bushels.
  Soybeans were unchanged at 565 million bushels.
  Wheat was increased from 418 to 438 million bushels.
  Sugar was increased from 1.87 to 1.98 million tons.
  Cotton was increased from 6.0 to 6.3 million bales.
  

• The USDA's 2006-2007 world ending stocks estimate of:
  Corn was increased from 90 to 93 million tons.
  Soybeans were increased from 55.2 to 55.7 million tons.
  Wheat was increased from 119 to 121 million tons.
  Cotton was increased from 51.0 to 51.5 million bales.
  

• The USDA increased its estimate of the Florida orange crop from 135 to 140 million boxes with a projected yield of 1.58 gallons a box at 42.0 degrees Brix.
  

• The Florida Department of Citrus said YoY inventories of frozen concentrated orange juice were down 40%.
  

From Reuters, Automatic Trading Linked to News Events Today, the Reuters Group begins selling two trading services that allow subscribers to set up automatic trading orders based on the news. They will give subscribers the ability to mine past and present Reuters news articles in real time and automatically buy, sell or hold a stock based on market-moving events.

Updates will resume December 10.

Farm Animals More Damaging To Climate Than Cars
It generates 65 percent of human-caused nitrous oxide, a gas that is 296 times more effective at trapping solar heat than carbon dioxide (CO2), the biggest greenhouse-gas by volume. Most of this pollution comes from manure.

Quick Overview

• The U.S. Commerce Department said that personal incomes were up 0.4% in October and consumer spending was up 0.2%.
  

• The U.S. Labor Department said that jobless claims were up 34,000 last week to 357,000, more than expected.
  

• The Chicago purchasing managers' index dropped from 53.5 to 49.9 in November, weaker than expected.
  

• Retail sales in Australia were up 0.8% in October.
  

• Canada's real GDP was up 0.4% QoQ and up 2.5% YoY.
  

• Real GDP in the EU-12 was up 0.5% QoQ and up 2.7% YoY.
  

• Real GDP in India was up 9.2% YoY
  

• U.S. Cotton mill use declined from an annual rate of 5.2 to 5.1 million bales in October.
  

Quick Overview

• QoQ U.S. GDP was up 2.2%, and up 3.0% YoY. Nominal GDP was up 6.0% YoY.
  

• Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke said he expects moderate economic growth with lower inflation. The one risk of higher inflation, he warned, might come from tight labor supplies.
  

• The Federal Reserve's Beige Book said that most districts reported "continued moderate growth since the last report" and increased consumer spending.
  

• U.S. New home sales were at an annual rate of 1.004 million units in October, down 3.2% from September's pace and less than expected. YoY new home sales are down 18%.
  

• Brazil's central bank lowered its benchmark lending rate to 13.25% from 13.75%
  

• Japan's industrial production increased 1.6% in October, more than expected and a new record high.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were down 300,000 barrels to 340.8 million barrels.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were down 600,000 barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were down 1.1 million barrels.
  
  
  

What Will You Do When the Government Demands Your Laptop?
Thanks to a decision from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Customs officials can now seize and copy the contents of any laptop carried across a U.S. border. There's no arrest, warrant or probable cause required-just a "gimme."

Quick Overview

• The OECD today cut its forecast for 2007 OECD-country GDP growth to +2.5% from +3.2% in 2006, which would be the weakest level since 2003.
  
  

• Durable goods orders posted their biggest decline since July 2000, falling 8.7% in October. Excluding transport, orders were down 1.7%
  
  

• U.S. Consumer confidence fell to 102.9 in November from a revised 105.1 last month, the New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday.
  
  

• The confidence of American consumers rose in the latest week to match its 2006 high and best since April 2002, just in time for the beginning of the holiday season, ABC News and The Washington Post said on Tuesday.
  
  

• The National Association of Realtors said U.S. existing home sales were at an annual rate of 6.24 million units in October, better than expected and up 0.5% from September's pace. The 3.85 million homes for sale in October represented a 7.4 month supply, the most in 13 years.
  

• The U.S. economy is not yet facing a generalized economic slowdown, despite cooling in the housing and automobile sectors, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist said on Tuesday.
  

• Retail sales in Japan were down 0.2% in October, more than expected.