The Financials Review For the week of December 19, 2011 By Frank LaMantia Stocks are up in the premarket due to European officials discussing a draft of a new fiscal policy which could be applied in January. Europe also agreed to put up over $150 million euros to the IMF to give more support to the Euro zone. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, Saudi Prince, has placed a $300 million stake in Twitter which some feel is better than the recent IPOs. Also in the news today BI-LO , private operator of supermarkets, agreed to purchase Winn-Dixie Stores for over $560 million in cash. This is not much of a surprise because of the rise in food prices over the past few years. Obviously gas prices rising created transportation costs to rise and goods followed. This caused consumers to not buy as many groceries and to pick staple foods or those good that would last longer on the shelves. In focus this week: What would happen if the Eurozone broke up? Some feel inflation could ensue and that economic pain may still be an issue. Others feel that a depression may set in causing a train reaction around the globe. Who knows, maybe a depression and large inflation occurs because the Eurozone is trying to throw billions at the problem without actually fixing the problem. The one thing that traders are likely worried about this morning is the death of North Koreaâs dictator, Kim Jong Il.(1) (2) 1) http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-index-futures-signal-early-100935032.html 2) http://www.cnbc.com/id/45722282 ***chart courtesy Gecko Softwareâs Track nâ Trade Pro Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Disclaimer: Past performance is not indicative of future results. Trading futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Fundamental factors, seasonal and weather trends, daily news, and other current events may have already been factored into the markets. The use of stop loss or contingent orders may not protect profits and may not limit losses to the amount intended. Certain market conditions make it difficult or impossible to execute such orders.