@ The White House
In the morning, the President and the Vice President will hold an expanded bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of Iraq in the Oval Office.
Following this meeting, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the Oval Office.
Later, the President will hold a joint press conference with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the South Court Auditorium.
In the afternoon, the President, the Vice President and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will participate in a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Later in the afternoon, the President will meet with Secretary of State Clinton in the Oval Office.
@ Wall Street
After a week of alternating euphoria and disappointment within markets, European leaders ultimately agreed to establish a new intergovernmental accord aiming to strengthen fiscal discipline and economic policy co-ordination after marathon talks in Brussels.
Equity markets cheered the news, but bond markets were a bit more skeptical. Data results this week continued to be supportive of sustained domestic economic recovery. Core factory orders, consumer sentiment, and initial unemployment claims showed improvement.
The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index slipped and US exports contracted, but even there the news was better than it looked because in volume terms exports kept rising.
This week brings a flurry of data on inflation, industrial production, and retail sales, as well as the final FOMC meeting of the year. November was likely a strong month for most retail sales categories (especially autos) though major gains for chain stores may show up in December.
CPI and PPI reports for November should show inflation ? headline and core - continuing to moderate from early-year peaks. Industrial production gains faded in November after a strong October due, in part, to a softening in autos output and mining. The Fed is expected to hold the line on policy ? interest rates and the balance sheet ? but could acknowledge better recent economic data.
