So California's ports must compete on speed, which is increasingly important for time-sensitive goods such as fashion wear or consumer electronics.

ECONOMIST: Fears that a new and improved Panama Canal will divert trade

Hardest-hit would be interest-rate sensitive stocks of consumer-goods, financing and auto companies.

CNN: A PUNTER'S SURVIVAL GUIDE

The Furniture Village chain - which, as a vendor of big-ticket durable goods, is particularly sensitive to consumer frugality - reported almost a thousand transactions at its 40 stores by mid-afternoon on Boxing Day, putting it on course to beat the 1, 200 sales it closed on the same day in 2011.

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These markets are intrinsically price-sensitive, especially when it comes to fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs).

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Conversely, UBS says some economically sensitive or so-called cyclical sectors such as capital goods and autos have outperformed because of their lower exposure to troubled parts of Europe.

FORBES: Buying Patterns In Stocks Suggest Rebound Dead Ahead

Given the abysmal performance of some allies (notably Germany) in preventing the illegal transfers of sensitive technologies, such an arrangement invites a serious hemorrhage of strategic goods and know-how.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | Will Congress Restore US Technology Security? Export Controls�� Imminent Moment Of Truth

EU's trade commissioner, trying to conduct highly sensitive negotiations with America on at least three fronts, covering billions of dollars' worth of goods, while his political foundations crumbled beneath him.

ECONOMIST: Europe has to scratch its head