Plenty of Economic Data

Good morning. Investors are examining today's reports - the PPI, October retail sales and regional manufacturing activity - before Fed nominee Ben Bernanke (otherwise known as Helicopter Ben) testifies before the Senate Banking Committee later this morning. We also have a number of earnings reports to sift through, particularly from the retail sector.

So far premarket futures have been volatile and mixed, leading one to conclude that today's market will be similar to yesterday's sideways performance. Clearly it will be significant to see how the market manages to sustain itself given the massive amount of headlines out there this morning. As you know, the bulls have definitely had the advantage during the quiet times. So, will they sustain that advantage with more headlines? We shall soon see.