1. China Hikes Rates To Quell Inflation — China unexpectedly hiked its key lending rate by a quarter-point overnight, giving a clear signal that inflation has replaced economic growth as Beijing’s top concern.

2. China’s growth cools in 3Q — China’s economy grew 9.6% in Q3, the slowest pace in a year and roughly in-line with expectations. Following this week’s surprise rate hike and the moderation of China’s slowdown.
3. Germany sees higher growth — Germany revised higher its estimate for 2010 economic growth, forecasting the country’s GDP will expand 3.4% this year but slow to +1.8% in 2011.
4. Bullish Sentiment Nears 50% — today’s release of weekly sentiment figures from the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) showed that bullish sentiment rose close to 50%, which is the highest level since early September. Prior to that, you have to go all the way back to the Summer of 2009 to find a bullish reading as high as it is now.

The week ahead — Economic data: