BMO analyst Ian Lyngen said US........>

US DATA REACT: BMO analyst Ian Lyngen said US retail sales "came in much

stronger-than-expected at +0.6% MoM in July vs. +0.3% June (revised up from

-0.2%) and +0.3% consensus. The Retail Sales Control Group was also higher at

+0.6% July vs. +0.4% forecast and -0.1% June (revised up from -0.1%)."

- He adds also that the "Empire State Manufacturing was better at 25.2 Aug vs.

9.8 Jul and 10.0 consensus: the details showed Prices Paid spiked to 31 Aug vs.

21.3 Jul, but we continue to view this as a potential squeeze on corporate

profits versus inflation pressures given the limited ability to pass-through

price increases."

- But Lyngen noted that "import prices ex-petro were surprisingly flat vs. +0.1%

expected -- if anything we would have expected the dollar weakness to put upward

pressure on imported goods prices. Overall, a strong set of data that speaks

well to the state of the US consumer."