Currencies trade in a tight range again…U.S. Retail Sales are a clunker! RBA’s Stevens is upbeat! Thoughts on Brazil…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Jobs Jamboree results…  A double whack for Treasuries…  The loonie is stealth like…  Oil on the rise…  And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

What’s that hiss? Bond sales break record, but “investors” demand higher yields…U.S. budget deficit sets annual record… in just 4 months! Key trading signals from one of our resident options analysts… Data still disappoint… housing, jobs, retail improve slightly, but still in the dumps… Last, Dubai in danger… foreigners flee so hurriedly they’re leaving cars behind…

Retail sales disappoint….  Chuck’s views on the Lone Prop…  Waiting on the ECB…  Emerging market currencies sell off…  And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

With stores tripping over themselves to offer steep holiday season discounts, their efforts were largely in vain, as many consumers simply weren’t financially able to take full advantage. Even the beast that is Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) struggled to make much headway. As we reported yesterday, Thomson-Reuters projected a 2.8% same-store sales rise for the firm in December. But the actual results proved otherwise.

It comes as no surprise to anyone who has set foot in a mall this holiday season that retailers are struggling. The Sunday before Christmas, I went to Target in the early afternoon for some last minute gifts. When I went to checkout, the express line for shoppers with fewer than ten items was empty. I walked up, put down my items, and was out the door in less than two minutes. Great for me, not so great for Target (TGT).

Japan dominates news wires…  US retail sales to drop… Russia devalues the ruble again…  And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

The US consumer confidence index plunged to an all-time low of 38 in October, down sharply from 61.4 in September. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipated a reading of 52.

More from Bloomberg:

The dimming outlook signals consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the economy, will deteriorate further, deepening the U.S. slump.

“The economy feels like it is contracting at a rapid pace,” Lewis Alexander, chief economist at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “It’s clear that consumers have really been affected by the volatility we’ve seen in the last six weeks.”

The report underscores voter discontent with the country’s direction heading into the Nov. 4 presidential election. A majority of voters think Illinois Senator Barack…

US retail sales grew by 1% in May, following the distribution of $57 billion in economic stimulus checks, reports CNN.

“The economic stimulus package is flawed policy in the first place”, says MoneyWeek magazine’s Richard Benson.

The US government hopes to revive its ailing economy with tax rebates. But with the cost of living soaring and consumers deep in debt, this will have little effect.