I titled this post ‘So, What Really Happened Tuesday?’ I would have liked to title it ‘So, What Really Happened Tuesday?’, but the software wouldn’t allow me to do that. Here’s what happened Tuesday:

• U.S. house prices were reported as falling year/year over 18% in December;

• the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index fell to its lowest level in recorded history – this index was first recorded in 1967;

• Fed Chairman Bernacke told Congress that the current recession ‘might’ end at the end of 2009, subject to qualifications that make his prediction meaningless;

• the U.S. stock markets went up. The DJIA rose over 3% (236 points) to 7,351;

• today, CNN reported that some U.S. politicians waited all day for a seat in order to be in line to shake President Obama’s hand last night as he made his way to or from the podium to make his first speech as President to the Joint Session of Congress; and,

• in his speech President Obama said (as best I could understand it) little he has not said since taking office.

My Comments: (1) those U.S. politicians who waited all day to shake their President’s hand (and hopefully be seen on television) ought to give their heads a shake – and their constituents should disenfranchise them (2) nothing new really happened today except more rhetoric and an increase in the stock market indexes (3) U.S. politicians seem to think it continues to be ‘business as usual’, and U.S. stock market participants are hopeful it is. Stay tuned – as in my view nothing that ‘really changed anything’ happened today. When a month or two go by with no further U.S. Job Losses, no further drops in U.S. house prices, and the U.S. consumer confidence index goes up for three consecutive months, then some economically meaningful things will have occurred. Until then, don’t hold your breath on a U.S. economic turnaround any time soon.

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