Image Source: PixabayUgly home sales data and a dismal dip back into contraction for Texas manufacturing production continued the trend of disappointing macro data…Source: BloombergBlack Friday was ‘mixed’ according to reports.No one really knows how the American consumer did over the weekend – choose your own adventure:

Mickey Drexler summed it all up best: Black Friday is a “race to the bottom,” that trains consumers to always expect discounts –  significantly cutting into retailers’ marginsOne look at bonds today suggests that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs may be on to something as yields tumbled (with the long-end outperforming today: 30Y -7bps, 2Y -4bps), erasing much of Friday’s thin liquidity rise in yields…Source: BloombergNasdaq outperformed on the day but none of the majors were able to hold gains from the 1300ET close on Friday. Small Caps were the biggest losers…VIX ended higher on the day with a 12-handle close for the 2nd day in a row…Homebuilders dumped on the ugly housing data reality-check. But, of course, the BTFD crowd stepped in because rates were falling…Bank stocks were sold today……perhaps as reality hits about the sudden recent re-acceleration in demand for funds from The Fed’s emergency bank bailout plan…Source: BloombergThe dollar extended its recent trend lower…Source: BloombergAnd as the dollar dropped, spot gold prices accelerated higher, breaking back above $2000 to its highest since May…Source: BloombergGiven the decopling between real-yields (surging higher) and gold prices, it would appear the precious metal is very much in play…Source: Bloomberg…and no, Sara Eisen, you don’t need a weaker dollar for gold strength (but in the limit, that’s where it ends)…Source: BloombergOil prices trod water today with WTI hovering around $75…Gold’s gain was crypto’s loss today as Bitcoin slipped back to $37,000Source: BloombergFinally, financial conditions continue to loosen dramatically…Source: BloombergWill Powell use his speech this week to walk back this dovish overhang and re-engage the ‘FCI Loop’?Global liquidity suggests S&P’s fair value is “lower”…Source: BloombergWhich will it hit first – 5,000 or 3,600?More By This Author:“There’s Nothing Encouraging On The Horizon” – Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey Slumps Again In NovemberYields Slide After Solid 5Y Auction Reverses Bitter Aftertaste From Ugly 2Y SaleNew Home Sales Hammered In October As Homebuilders Hit The Wall, Prices Plunge