Northern, WI  1/31/2012  (Streetbeat)  --  Stocks were mostly higher in Asian trade. The Hang Seng rose more than one percent, Shanghai added a third of a percent and the Nikkei was up a slight fraction; but Australia was down a quarter percent on the day. European indexes are broadly higher this morning, with the Dax up about one percent and the Footsie better by 0.7%. US stock futures are up about a half percent .

*The December reading of Japan’s Jobless Rate was up one tenth from the month before to 4.6%; it had been expected to remain steady at 4.5%. However, overall Household Spending was up 0.5% in December on a year on year basis, better than the forecast for 0.1% decline.

*The preliminary December reading of Japan’s Industrial Production was +4.0% month on month, one percent more than the expected gain.

*The December reading of the Euro Zone Unemployment Rate was steady at 10.4%, matching the forecast.

*The January reading of Germany’s Unemployment Rate was down one tenth on the month to 6.7%, better than the forecast for an unchanged result. Also, the net change in the number of unemployed fell 34k, that was more than the 10k decline that was expected,

*The December reading of German Retail Sales was much weaker than expected; Sales were down 1.4% on the month, but had been forecast to increase 0.8%. This is the second month in a row that Sales were down at least one percent on a month on month basis.

*The ECB is said to have been in the market buying Portuguese debt today, attempting to reverse or at least slow the skyrocketing yields there.

*Reports say that there has been progress made in the Greek debt talks…oh. On the other hand, ECB member Ewald Nowotny said in an interview with Austrian radio that he “can’t be sure” that Greece will stay in the euro.

*The weekly report on chain store sales from the ICSC showed an increase of 0.1% on a week on week basis for the week ended January 28. The Johnson Redbook report on the same thing is due out at 7:55am CST.

*The Q4 reading of the Employment Cost Index is due out at 7:30am CST; it is expected to be +0.4%. The November reading of the Case/Shiller Home Price Index is due out at 8:00am CST; it is forecast to be -3.30% on a year on year basis. The January reading of the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index is due out at 8:45am CST, but three minutes earlier for the subscribers; it is expected to be 63.0, up a bit from the December mark of 62.2. The January reading of Consumer Confidence is due to be released at 9:00am CST; the estimate calls for 68.0 up from 64.5 the month before.

*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 2/15/36 and 11/15/41; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CST. The Fed will release the next calendar for Operation Twist at 1:00pm CST.