Bullet Points:
#1) China raises interest Rates effective Wednesday.
One-year yuan lending rate: 6.06% up from 5.81%
One-year deposit rate: 3.00% up from 2.75%.
This is the 3rd time since October that the People's Bank of China has raised rates in an attempt to cool economic growth and analysts expect further tightening.


#2) NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (Click to View Report)

Jan '11 = 92.6    Feb '11 = 94.1  

#3) Retail Sales Data
Goldman Same Store Sales W/W chg: Prior=-1.0% Curr:2.2%
Goldman Same Store Sales Y/Y chg: Prior=1.6% Curr:2.5%
Johnson Redbook Same Store Sales Y/Y Prior= 1.8% Curr= 2.7%
Both the Goldman and Redbook numbers indicate strong consumer demand


#4)EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook  (click to view)
From the Report "

• EIA expects the price of WTI crude oil to average about $93 per barrel in 2011, $14 higher than the average price last year.  For 2012, EIA projects that WTI prices will continue to rise, averaging $98 per barrel. EIA’s forecast assumes U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) grows 3.0 percent in 2011 and 2.8 percent in 2012, while world real GDP (weighted by oil consumption) grows by 3.9 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively, in 2011 and 2012.
• EIA expects regular-grade motor gasoline retail prices to average $3.15 per gallon in 2011, 37 cents per gallon higher than the 2010 average, and $3.30 per gallon in 2012, with prices forecast to average about 5 cents per gallon higher in each year during the peak driving season (April through September).