Currencies continue to rally…  More Stimulus…  Data shows more rot on the vine… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Rick Pendergraft says we won’t see an economic recovery before one of the housing, auto or labour markets stabilize. Friday’s nasty unemployment data and earnings reports from GM (NYSE:GM), Ford (NYSE:F ) suggest that our hopes are resting on real estate.

Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) will close 155, or 20%, of its 566 U.S. stores by Dec. 31 and slash its domestic workforce by about 17% as the fledging electronics retailer scrambles to conserve cash and reverse six consecutive quarters of falling sales.

In the currency market, the dollar was sharply lower against the euro. Late Tuesday, the euro was trading at $1.2707 vs. $1.2452 on Monday. All eyes were turned toward the Federal Reserve, which began meeting yesterday and will issue its interest rate pronouncement around 2:15 this afternoon, but the preliminary action in equities yesterday (Dow up almost 900) clearly indicated an expectation for a major cut.

Take our quiz: Is the market even close to normal anymore?… Credit freeze continues to thaw… Mayer and Denning on what companies need to rebound… Home prices fall again, consumer confidence crashes, but market rallies? … Eric Fry on when this global financial trauma will come to an end… Plus, want a DVD copy of I.O.U.S.A.? Get the details below…

U.S. stocks soar!  Currencies rally!  Consumer Confidence at an all-time low!  Getting off the bench! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

U.S. stocks futures fell this morning despite yesterday’s barnstormer rally and heavy hints of a further rate cut by the Fed. “S&P 500 futures dropped 21 points to 917.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 32.5 points to 1,275.50. Dow industrial futures dropped 200 points to 8,889.00,” according to MarketWatch.

Shares for Under Armour (NYSE:UA) jumped 26% yesterday. The retail company’s third quarter results exceeded expectations on the same day as the market posted a major rally. But Andrew Snyder says this is down to marketing hype.

Mini-currency rally is cut short … Is it Japan or U.S.? … Gold stages a rally…  Swiss francs remain well bid…
And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

New Home Sales for September are announced today and this will sound like a broken record, but they are expected to disappoint.  In the face of the frozen credit markets, I guess a drop of only 2000 units could be viewed as a small victory.