What Traders are Talking About:

* Now Greece wants to vote on aid package? Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou called an unexpected referendum on Monday on the country's second bailout package -- a move that reportedly irked German Chancellor Angela Merkel and sent global markets into a tailspin. While there are widespread reports of the apparent Greek vote, EU leaders say they have not been officially informed of such a move. Still, the willingness of Greece to even consider putting the necessary bailout package in front of the public for a vote is a clear indication of the complete circus act in the country.

The long and short of it: Investors are again concerned with Greek debt default just several days after the situation appeared to finally stabilize.

* Fed starts two-day meeting today. Fed governors start their two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting today. While no change to monetary policy is expected when the meeting concludes midday tomorrow, there is hope for some transparency on what the Fed is thinking. Expectations for an increased look at the Fed's thought process is being fueled by the fact Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold his quarterly press conference after the FOMC meeting concludes. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut its policy rate by 0.25 percentage points -- first easing since April 2009.

The long and short of it: Monetary policy is a key focal point for investors this week as the European Central Bank will also hold a policy-setting meeting later this week.

* Chinese factory activity unexpectedly slows. Chinese factory activity in October was the slowest since Feb. 2009, dropping to 50.4 from 51.2 in September, according to the purchasing managers' index (PMI) data. Chinese PMI was expected to rise to 51.6 in October, according to the average pre-report trade guess from a Reuters poll.

The long and short of it: Chinese PMI data shows the country's manufacturing is now teetering on the mark (50) between expansion and contraction.

 

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