Bulls and Bears Battle

Week of 5/9/11 data recap: Retail sales were weak beneath the surface with 60% of the strength in April sales coming from higher prices for gasoline and food; looking closely at the Producer Price Index there is still minimal evidence of any pass-through inflation from the crude stage to the final product which means core inflation is still very tame; first–time unemployment claims unfortunately remain above the 400k mark. All in all a bit for both bulls and bears.