The U.S markets are observing the Christmas holiday today, but Peter Troob, a hedge fund man and co-founder of Troob Capital Management tells us about the growing herd reaction to news. People get extra jumpy in these days of increasingly market volatility and that makes it hard to kick back and enjoy a day off. The pulse is down today on news that makers of the drink synonymous with celebrations are predicting a less-than-bubbly new year. Etienne Auriau of Laurent Perrier is somewhat pessimistic about the approaching new year. “Consumption is very tied to the economic situation,” he warned.

High-frequency trading (HFT) is when sophisticated computerized algorithms buy and sell stocks at speeds as fast as a nanosecond, hundreds of thousands of times a day. We talked to Sal Arnuk of Themis Trading. Every day, he and his guys trade millions of shares for pension funds, mutual funds and other firms that manage your money. For Sal, high-frequency traders are his worst enemy — a faceless computer who can beat him to every trade. And the Daily Pulse is down today on news that, barring a minor miracle, 2011 will be an all-time low for new-home sales.

Weekly jobless claims in the U.S. dropped to 364,000 last week. That’s 4,000 fewer than the week before and the smallest number since early 2008. Meanwhile on the Daily Pulse, even the mega-wealthy are trying to downsize and bargain-shop.

If you’ve ever been really strapped and had to borrow money from friends or relatives, you know what it’s like to be a distressed European bank today. If you actually take the money, they know how desperate you really are. If you don’t take the money, well, you’re still stuck not being able to pay the rent. Today, the European Central Bank became that lender of last resort, offering a historic $639 billion to 500 European banks. the Daily Pulse is up today on news that taking the answer to the question, “What’s the best way to get from New York to D.C.?” has surprisingly become: “The bus.”

A surprisingly successful Spanish bond sale and news of an increase in new home construction spurred markets to rally today.

The National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo index measured the confidence of the new housing front-liners at 21 for December, up two points from the previous month, but far from the 50 it takes to flip over to optimistic. So, the builders are still bummed, but it’s the third month in a row their pessimism has been less. Also, the Daily Pulse is up as crime numbers are down, according to the FBI.

For financial markets, the news the government won’t shutdown this weekend over extending the payroll tax cut seems a bit like someone promising not to poke you in the eye after all. As part of the deal, the Obama administration backed off its push for a surtax on millionaires to pay for more of the payroll tax discount.

Lots of not-so-terrible news was enough to put markets in positive territory today, but not by much. It gives us a chance to take a step back and talk about something different, like the $34-trillion bond market.

The euro fell to $1.29 today, its lowest since January. Experts say it’s a sign Europe is still hurting, despite last week’s proposed treaty to crack down on budgets. Our Daily Pulse is lower on news that in a recent survey, two-thirds of CEOs of big U.S. companies indicated they won’t be adding jobs for the next six months.