If you are looking for signs of demand in the economy, the Thanksgiving weekend provided some hope.
Spurred by aggressive promotions from retailers, American consumers opened their wallets over the holiday weekend in a way they had not since before the recession, setting records in sales and traffic.
The National Retail Federation said Sunday that spending per shopper surged 9.1 percent over last year — the biggest increase since 2006 — to an average of almost $400 a customer. In all, 6.6 percent more shoppers visited stores on the Thanksgiving weekend than last year.
It also looks like the housing collapse is bottoming out. Those are very hopeful signs. It could be that the economy is going to start improving just in time for election season.
So, what better time for Europe to destroy its economy and send the world back into a global recession?
