A Surge In Bearish Sentiment

Good morning. Futures are in positive territory following a batch of better than expected data and earnings news. Markets overseas were mixed after both the Bank Of England & Europe Central Bank followed Ben Bernanke and left their rates alone.

Regarding the economy this morning, investors are combing through the latest October retail sales numbers, a jump in nonfarm productivity, a rise in consumer bankruptcies, lower than expected jobless claims and a one point rise in the Monster Employment Index.

In other news, Congress has approved more jobless & housing aid while looking for tax cuts for big business, Senator Dodd's proposals for regulatory reform draw fire, Cisco System's CEO remains upbeat like usual, a buyback at Research In Motion and the Yankees win the world series.

Read more of my premarket report.