Retail sales in the United States came in much higher than expected as US consumers continue to spend money they don't have. This has the dollar and interest rates both moving higher this morning, presumably on fears of additional tightening by the Federal Reserve. Bank of America posted another "earnings beat" while ignoring the $131B elephant in the room: unrealized losses on it's bond portfolio. If you take away the "Held to Maturity" accounting gimmick, BofA would swing from a $7B profit this quarter to a $9B loss. Elsewhere, Chinese real estate giant Country Garden has just hours left on the clock to make a $15 million bond payment before it's 30 day grace period expires triggering cross-default provisions on $17B of off shore debt.