[roses of sharon]

(Beware, soon they will be saying the “stimulus worked”)

The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has risen for two months in a row.

Producer prices have increased for two straight months.

Consumer prices rose in January — the first monthly gain in six months.

The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the cost of shipping key raw materials like copper, steel and iron, has more than doubled from its recent lows.

Existing-home sales rose in December, and participants in our weekly survey think that another rise took place in January.

Pending home sales went up in December.

Builders’ confidence inched up this month.

Thanks to lower interest rates, applications for both new mortgages and refinancings of existing mortgages are rising.

Real hourly earnings rose 4.5% in December following a 3.3% increase in November.

An index of consumer expectations rose in January.

Retail sales shot up by 1% in January — the first monthly rise since June.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Evidence-mounts-recessions-worst-past/story.aspx?guid={71467556-3683-4018-906C-7FFC8A3F9E8C}&dist=SecMostRead

[colorado tanker]

Thanks so much for your post! Finally, some positive news. Maybe Bernanke is right we'll be out of the recession in 9 months.

Of course, the MSM would give Porkulus credit for a recovery, even one that began a month before it was passed.

[Prokopton]

Real hourly earnings rose 4.5% in December following a 3.3% increase in November.

This is just silly. Real earnings rose 2.2 in November, 1.1 in December and fell .1 in January.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.t01.htm