In this issue

• While you were sleeping: equity markets remain firm across the board, U.S. dollar slipping, overseas data has been sparse and mixed

• Oh, Canada! The market clearly favours the country with the more sound national balance sheet and more solid long-term economic prospects

• Markets lining up behind Bernanke? Look for what happened in the past four months to have been nothing more than a bad case of misplaced optimism

• ISM – the good and the not-so-good: the headline numbers seem impressive but still below the peak posted last April

• A December to remember: half of the gains in the S&P 500 for 2010 can be attributed to the run-up in December

• Getting a grip: the U.S. economy has its share of structural problems that will come home to roost at some point

• Signs of exuberance abound

• What was the real surprise of the year? That we would close 2010 with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note anywhere near 3.3%.

• Is the sun rising in Japan?