US retail sales performed much better than expected in November, suggesting households remain happy to spend despite intensifying financial pressures. The labour market also remains tight, so there is little prospect of an imminet rate cut despite the Fed's dovish shift yesterday. Retail sales beats expectations: So, the Federal Reserve turns dovish, yet activity numbers continue to look good. Retail sales rose 0.3% month-on-month in November versus expectations of a 0.1% fall. The market expected that the combination of falling gasoline prices depressing nominal gas station sales and falling vehicle sales and new ... (full story)