It's been awhile since holiday shopping has been such a wild card for the economy. Wednesday kicks off the batch of major retail earnings, when Macy's reports ahead of the opening bell.   Read More

It's "risk on" in global markets, a trend traders say could help keep stocks heading higher for now.   Read More

Cash sitting on the sidelines will eventually come back to the markets and investors should look into the following mid-cap areas, said Don Wordell, portfolio manager at RidgeWorth Capital Management.    Read More

Markets have been hanging on the October employment report, expected to show a drop of 175,000 nonfarm payrolls when it is released on Friday.   Read More

Cisco could put a glow into tech stocks Thursday, but traders say the stock market could again be choppy.   Read More

Following are the day’s biggest winners and losers. Find out why shares of Merck and Pulte Homes popped while Research In Motion and the Dow Transports dropped.   Read More

Politics the hot topic on trading desks this morning. Democrats lost gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey. TraderTalk is that: 1) this will change the tenor of the healthcare debate, and 2) put more onus on the Fed to help the economy because the fiscal side of economic assistance—another stimulus plan, for example—is now out the window.    Read More

Traders have been talking about the upcoming Fed statement for days now, because even a subtle tilt in the Fed's posture on interest rates could unhinge the popular "risk on" trade, where investors bet against the U.S. dollar and throw money into risky assets such as stocks and commodities.    Read More

Now may be the time to take profits on many of your winners and add to names that can weather a bit of an economic setback, according to the Fast Money gang.   Read More

The Lightning Round is extended in this CNBC.com exclusive feature.   Read More