As a result of high demand for Portuguese bonds, the European debt crisis eased for the time being and got the market in rally mode early yesterday morning. The latest talk now is that Portugal may not need a bailout after all.
The Fed’s beige book confirmed that the economy was growing at a moderate pace with pockets of strength being present in consumer spending and manufacturing. Loan demand was still mixed with real estate continuing to be weak.
Bonds dropped slightly as interest rates rose, while gold, crude oil, energy and commodities headed higher. All in all, it was a nice rally with no news events providing any headwinds.