12/11/09 Mid-Morning Report: In the year of the ox, China is showing it's hung like one too

There are three big pieces of news out this morning:  US retail sales beat expectations, China is producing the fuck out of some shit, and Nell McAndrew is hot (this may not be news to some, but Money McBags is just brushing up on his British history and he would have fought the fuck out of some Battle of Hatings for Ms. McAndrew).  As far as US retail sales go, they were up 1.3% and up for the second consecutive month.  Most interesting is that core retail sales (excluding gas, autos, building materials, and blumpkins) were up .6% with purchases of electronics and appliances up 2.8%.  Wow, color Money McBags impressed (as long as it is a nice soft blue color to match Money McBags' eyes).  Perhaps the consumer isn't as dead as feared and this is certainly a positive surprise.  People love them some electronics so as long as their credit cards haven't charged off, perhaps they can continue to support the economy.

New data is also out on China showing industrial output rose 19% and imports rose 26%.  Those numbers are so Bubblicous that Cadbury is thinking of suing for patent infringement.  Two important facts though before we get too excited like Rodman Renshaw pumping Chinese IPOs.  1.  China output still remains below where it was pre-crash.  2.  There was such a large stimulus by the Chinese government that Timothy Geithner is said to be quietly suffering from stimulus envy.  So let's temper our excitement just a bit and perhaps let the  Dom chill a bit more instead of cracking it open right now.

The market has had more of a tepid reaction to this news than Money McBags would have expected, but then again he also expected Wes Anderson to make a good movie after Rushmore and look how that worked out.  Perhaps the market is still in awe from opening night of Avatar which has critics in a tizzy and continues to pump up IMAX stock like a tulip in the Netherlands in 1636.  You would be getting in a little late in the game, but IMAX's JV strategy, new movement into Europe, and improved film distribution techniques thus allowing them to show a more diverse schedule and be more nimble, have been driving this stock up with Avatar's potential serving as the cherry on top of their ice cream sundae or the extra hands in their threesome, if you will.  The market seems to be selling the news a bit today, so keep your head up and be smart.