Economics Update

Well, we have good news, that consumer confidence rose in June, to 50.8, which means that it crossed 50, the dividing line between optimism and pessimism.

We also have mixed news in that wholesale inventories fell for the 8^th straight month, which can either mean that we are seeing continued weak demand, or that we are approaching the point where orders have to pick up, because they still need to ship to retailers.

For what it's worth, and I'm not a big fan of the predictive powers of "the market", but both oil rose on the expectation of increasing demand and the US dollar fell, on reduced demand for a safe haven.