The German November ZEW rose to -53.5, better than our median of -63 and up from -63 in October. The massive rate cuts over the past month and the announcement of stimulus programmes are likely to have helped to stabilize confidence, but readings remain at very low levels with pessimists clearly outnumbering optimists. This is consistent with expectations for ongoing weak growth going into next year and should keep the ECB on course for further monetary easing in December. Meanwhile, Euro-Dollar (EURUSD) was under pressure in to the release after a good Eastern European buy order was already filled and led to a pullback from 1.2799 session highs to 1.2745. EUR-USD popped up to 1.2770-75 immediately after the ZEW release, but a combination of weak Euro-Zone economic fundamentals and negative European equity markets encouraged euro selling on strength. A move back in to the 1.2700 may be seen as the session progresses, although ongoing speculation of a USD 5 bln sell order on behalf of an Eastern European name is tempering EUR-USD's downside.