Economics Update

More bad news in real estate, with commercial real estate prices falling to a 7-year low, and the latest figures on home prices showing a year over year decline of 7.8%.

More generally, the Chicago Bank of the Federal Reserve's economic index rose slightly in November, from -1.02 in October (indicating growth below the historical trend) to -0.32 (indicating growth below, but closer to the historical trend).

We also had good news in Japan, where exports rose sharply.

In treasurys, bond prices fell, as investors moved into US equities.

To move into those equities, foreign investors bought dollars, which drove the dollar, and the rising dollar drove oil down.