12/30/09

Good morning. Yesterday the Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 52.9, up from November. The reading is still far short of the 90 that would signify a solid economy, but it is well above the historic low of 25.3 in February. Also the 5-yr Note auction went pretty well and the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index move up .4% in October, which was the 5th month in a row moving higher. Their index is still down more than 7% from October 2008, but some seasonality is creeping into the numbers – things tend to slow down in the winter.
We have the December Chicago Purchasing Manager’s Survey and the weekly Jobless Claims number tomorrow. Today we have a 7-yr notes auction. There was some improving mortgage pricing yesterday and this morning mortgage prices are slightly better. Have a good one today. Only 2 days to 2010. Where’s my George Jetson car?