Markets, worldwide, surged this week on new optimism to a resolution of the European sovereign debt crisis. See the beginning of wednesday’s update for further details. European markets rose 9.6%, US markets 7.2%, Asian markets 5.9%, and the DJ World index 8.4%. Bond prices and the USD weakened, while Crude, Gold and the Euro rallied. Positive economic reports outnumbered negative reports by a ratio of 2:1. On the downtick: new homes sales, Case-Shiller, the WLEI and monetary base, plus weekly jobless claims rose. On the uptick: pending home sales, FHFA housing prices, construction spending, consumer confidence, the Chicago PMI, ISM, auto sales, the ADP and monthly Payrolls, plus the unemployment rate dropped. Next week ISM services, Consumer credit and the Trade deficit highlight a light economic agenda.

Originally from The Market Oracle