Holiday Tuesday

I headed out at lunch to pick up a few more items for decorating. Boy, was that a mistake! The shelves in Fred's were nearly bare. The lines in Target were extremely long. And the traffic... don't get me started. It's that time of year when the rush is on for gift-giving, decorating, and celebrating. I'm no Scrooge, but I can do without the crowds. I made it back to the office an hour and a half after venturing out, much worse for the wear. Markets started exhuberant, with the Dow up more than 85 points during morning trading. Productivity numbers were better than expected, causing a flurry of activity. By the afternoon, the excitement had begun to wane. Oil prices dampened traders' spirits. Despite this, all indexes managed a positive day. An interesting note... KB Homes is planning to take New Orleans by storm (no pun intended). They will begin building new houses on a grand scale. There's hope for The Big Easy yet! Dow +21.85 NASDAQ +3.12 S&P 500 +1.61