Blow the Party Horns!!

Yes, consumer spending "rallied" in July!! You heard it right - it rallied by .8%!! Now if you exclude the inflationary fuel and food spending, it was just up .2% - the same as June - but baby this sucker rallied!! But wait, spending increases exceeded income increases. So what does that mean? Does it mean a highly leveraged consumer went heavier into debt, largely to buy necessities like food and gas? Does it mean, after adjustments for inflation, disposable income actually fell? Does it mean you need to know what you are reading before popping the corks?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/business/economy/us-consumer-spending-rallied-in-july.html?google_editors_picks=true

Yes, this consumer spending increase and the news that two Greek banks are merging (two negatives apparently do make a positive) have sent the market on a tear.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?google_editors_picks=true

God forbid the market actually had something truly positive to digest.

Disclosure: Unbelievable.