Inflation

Thursday could be a pivotal day for the markets. 8:30 ET tomorrow morning we get the latest read on wholesale inflation. The Producer Price Index is expected by economists to rise by 6-tenths of a percent, largely reflecting the recent surge in energy prices. The core PPI, which factors out volatile food and energy (who needs that stuff), is expected to rise by .2%. Remember, PPI is a very volatile series where we've seen swings of as much as 3 standard deviations in the overall number. The bulls on Wall Street are praying for a mild inflation report to further stabilize the bond market.