3.5 days

That's all the time we have left as the US Markets (and who cares about any others?) close at 1pm on Thursday for Christmas though that doesn't stop us from cramming in a whole lot of Economic Data this week including tomorrow's 3rd Estimate of our 3rd Quarter GDP, which last clocked in at 2.1% and is likely to be revised very slightly lower.  

We also get Home Sales Data, Personal Income and spending, Durable Goods (yuch!) and Consumer Sentiment – which better be perking up into the holidays or we're totally scrooged.  

Not that Economic Data means very much these days – it's just something we like to look at while we wait for the next market-moving pronouncement from one of our great Central Banksters, the true lords of the 21st Century economy. 

This morning it was China's turn to boost the Global Markets as China held an economic conference and, while no official word is out, rumors are that there will be more stimulus and steps taken towards “structural reform
” – to reign in some of the supply glut that is plaguing the commodities sector.  he current tenor of Chinese discussion reflects an economy that has slowed faster than expected this year, highlighting structural impediments masked by years of double-digit growth, leading to falling profits, factory deflation and mounting debt problems.  

“The economy will follow an L-shaped path, and it won't be a V-shaped path going forward,” an official said. Both China's fiscal and monetary policies will remain “accommodative” next year. Chairman Xi has signaled that growth must be at least 6.5% annually for the next five years in order to double by 2020 per capita growth and income over 2010 levels, so economists expect the 2016 target to be between 6.5% and 7%.

Targets are nice but reality can be a very harsh mistress: