In our younger years we were quite accomplished at the “Match Game” on Sesame Street – to some we have just hopelessly dated ourselves, to others we hope to have given you a nostalgic boost. Whichever group you find yourself, please indulge us as we revert to times past and play the game once again…

German PMI – Manufacturing & Services, both rising….

By Bryan McCormick

U.S. stock index futures are down this morning after a weak session in Asian markets, where Japan's Nikkei broke below 10,000. In the Eurozone, stocks briefly bounced at the open before heading lower.

The dollar and yen both continues to benefit from ongoing uncertainty over the perceived dangers to the growth outlook within the Eurozone. A weekend meeting of G7 ministers failed to deliver a stronger message than the European commission had delivered last week. Investors had been optimistic ahead of the weekend that a deeper resolution may have evolved from the meeting this weekend. Equity prices rose strongly in the final half hour of trading to deliver a positive close for an ugly week on Wall Street. Ahead of today’s session equity index futures had earlier pointed to a five-point gain for the S&P 500 only to see prospects for a positive start erode after GM joined the recall craze for its Vibe model. The reason – sticky accelerator pedals. The same problem faces investors pushing on the gas pedal when it comes to buying dollars. However, there doesn’t seem to be a reason in sight to expect a recall.