There’s still an assortment of problems to work out but at least people are talking about solutions, and just maybe they’ll have reason to feel a little better this Christmas season.

Based on economic indicators, and a sense that things might be getting better, the long term forecast looks a little bit more promising for our economy.  In the short term, this Christmas season might be just a little jollier.  I don’t know about you but it just feels a little different.  Let’s face, if we all believed that things were looking up we would all act accordingly, i.e. spending our hard earned money.  Consumer behavior is driven in large part by confidence.  The same obviously holds true in other parts of the world.  There’s still an assortment of problems to work out but at least people are talking about solutions, and just maybe they’ll have reason to feel a little better this Christmas season. (more…)

The Fed’s still have concerns about Europe and the impact it may have for the global economy, and Canada specifically.  Well they should, and it’s the Fed’s responsibility to worry about such issues.

It’s not sophisticated or scientific but it can’t hurt to keep our fingers crossed when it comes to the economy.  Markets rallied in a big way yesterday, due in part to a number of central banks around the world making moves to ensure liquidity, and it will be interesting to see if this is just another crest of a roller coaster ride the market has been on for some time now.  There was also encouraging news about the Canadian economy. (more…)