Dreary Weather, Warm Inside

Suzanne and I kept two small heaters running in our office all day today. I think it was an effort to feel cozy inside with the weather so dreary outside, more than it was an effort to keep warm! And the invitations for holiday parties have started arriving...today I received two! The food at Christmas parties is always wonderful, it's an excuse to buy something new to wear, but often we find ourselves stumbling around for enough to talk about. I found a useful hint for this season: small talk tips. The market stumbled again today. GM experienced yet another fall, and crude oil prices rose. Energy and natural gas prices were also high, mostly as a result of the colder weather, but analysts don't think the high costs will last. And Toll Brothers reported a 72% increase in this quarter's profits. Mortgage applications are at an all-time high, and that may be due to the 2.6% increase in the net worth of U.S. households, according to a Federal Reserve report. DOW: -55.79 Nasdaq: -5.55 S&P 500: -1.53