Shift from declining to rising dollar extends for another day

The drivers seem to be better than expected U.S. retail sales for November; a report that industrial production in the EuroZone contracted in October; and a sense that a possible decision to begin tapering off the current $85 billion in asset purchases at the Federal Reserve’s December 18 meeting might not be especially scary. That last would reduce demand for the safe-haven Japanese currency.

A very modest Congressional budget deal looks likely–the effect on markets and the economy would be mostly psychological

With the clock ticking down on the December 13 deadline set for a budget deal, the bet in Washington is that a very modest package will come out of negotiations led by Republic Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray. The package would repeal some of the spending cuts imposed by the sequester in fiscal 2014