Good Morning,

• Very little news out overnight and the FOMC didn't offer any fresh insights. Italy's 2016 bond auction could be in focus today and an article in the FT that the new EU treaty could face some hurdles in other countries besides the UK will certainly not help risk at all. EURUSD dropped to 1.3008 overnight. EMG- and commodity currencies traded also heavily to the sofe side. Exotic option books are full with barries on the downside.
• Stocks: Nikkei -0.39 %, Hang Seng +0.05 %, Shanghai Composite -0.57 %, Dow Jones -0.55 %, S+P500 -0.87 %.
• Gold was holding the 200 day moving average at 1619.23 last night, after a 3.3 % intraday drop.
• FT front-page article says 4 out of the 10 non Eurozone members having second  thoughts about signing the new treaty and at least two of the 17 members are considering a referendum. This means that the final version of the new treaty is likely to have very weak legal powers.
• FOMC Meeting: Federal Reserve officials left their policy options open for 2012 but took no actions Tuesday and offered an assessment of the economy that was guardedly more upbeat, but still marked by "significant downside risks."

- A Japanese government official told Dow Jones that Japan purchased EUR260m (13% of total issue) of short-term EFSF bonds. Adds that Japan watches efforts taken by Europe to determine whether to continue purchasing in future.

• RBA Battellino said a likely fall in the local dollar will help insulate the nation from an economic slump in Europe, where a "disruptive event" can't be ruled out. "It would be prudent to assume that, if the European economy were to slow markedly over the next year or so, Australia would be affected," Battellino said. "It is also likely, however, that if that were to eventuate, the exchange rate of the Australian dollar would fall, as it has when global growth has weakened in the past, providing some cushion."
• China will ensure the overall consumer prices are "basically stable" while guaranteeing steady economic growth in 2012, the official Xinhua News Agency  reported after the conclusion of the government's central economic conference.  China will ensure macroeconomic policies are basically stable next year, without elaborating, Xinhua reported.
• Singapore's economy will grow by 3.0 percent in 2012, slowing from an expected 5.2 percent in 2011 as the global economy and financial services sector cool, according to central bank's survey of private economists released on Wednesday.

- 1430 US Import Prices Nov
- 1430 Fed Lockhart
- 1100 Eurozone Industrial Production
- 0900 ECB Mersch
- 1200 Merkel Addresses German Parliament on EU Summit Accord
- 1400 Germany's Schaeuble, ECB Weidmann Speak on Euro Cash Anniversary
- 1100 Italy to sell 2016 bonds
- 0915 Switzerland PPI Nov
- 1100 Switzerland ZEW Survey Dec
- 1030 UK ILO Unemployment Rate Oct
- 1430 Canada Leading Indicators Nov
- 1430 Canada Manufacturing Sales Oct
- 1400 Norwegian Deposit Rates - cut of 25 bps exp