By James Langton

(June 13 – 09:00 ET) – U.S. retail sales for May were reported down 0.3% and the ex-auto figures came in unchanged. Last month’s numbers were revised down, too. Economists were expecting sales to come in unchanged, with ex-auto sales up 0.4%. The lower than expected numbers continue to add evidence to the theory that recent interest rate hikes are slowing down the economy and may not have to go higher.

Whether these numbers herald a slowdown, they may not matter as much today as the heavy line-up of important speakers. U.S. Federal Reserve Board chair Alan Greenspan speaks to the New York Assocation for Business Economics at about 13:10 ET. Also noted hawk Fed Governor Laurence Meyer is back before a Senate Banking subcommittee on merchant banking issues. NY Federal Reserve Bank president Bill McDonough is also speaking today.

There are no data releases in Canada today. Although at 10:15 ET the Finance department is planning to table its financial services reform legislation. The bill shouldn’t be much of a market mover today, although it may spark merger gossip.

In the meantime stocks are mostly up in Europe, with telecoms and retailers leading the way. London’s FTSE is up 39 points to 6470. In France the CAC 40 has gained eight ticks to 6556. The German DAX is up seven to 7242.

In M&A news, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain’s second-largest bank, is buying Grupo Financiero Bancomer SA for US$2.5 billion. Bank of Montreal owns a stake in Bancomer.

Nestle SA, the world’s largest food company, is reportedly contemplating a bid for Nabisco Holdings Corp. Telenor AS, Norway’s biggest phone company, is buying Sonofon, a Danish cell phone firm, for US$1.7 billion in cash. The other big rumour is that Equant NV is in talks with France Telecom SA and/or Global Crossing Ltd.

Overnight in Asia stocks closed on the downside. Japan’s market was quiet, closing off 66 points to 16915. The Hang Seng was beseiged by profit-takers who clipped 362 points to drop the index to 15693.

In other news Lorus Therapeutics Inc. is announcing that it has received a U.S. patent on GTI-2501, one of its lead anti-cancer drugs.