Markets do not usually enjoy surprises, yet they keep receiving them. Markets brought an end yesterday to the late-November rebound. Indices, having run their course, ultimately ran out of steam. Investors now face a week of waiting, watching and worrying. Friday brings the Personal Consumption Expenditures Index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, and with it the final clues before next week's rate-setting meeting. Expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut have surged to 87.2%, up from roughly half that a month earlier. Recent economic data - cooling manufacturing, a gradually slowing economy, and a dour start to December for equities - have helped solidify the case for easing.

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