Don't Count the American Consumer Out...Yet

For an economy teetering on the edge of collapse, some good news from this past holiday weekend. Holiday shopping up 7% from last year:

The National Retail Federation, adding up sales Thursday through Saturday and projected sales for Sunday, said that each shopper spent about 7 percent more this year than last year. Shoppers spent an average of $372.57 Friday though Sunday, according to the federation, a trade group.

“It seems that not only did retailers do a good job of attracting shoppers but it seems that shoppers were also excited again to take part in the tradition of Black Friday weekend,” said Kathy Grannis, a spokeswoman for the federation.

When I looked at the numbers coming out for this weekend's spending and what projections are for the holiday season in total, I was shocked at how the average dollar amount spent by shoppers for Christmas. It's a lot. Like in the $700 range. I had no idea people spend that much on Christmas. I usually just masturbate into a sock and give that out to friends, family, toys for tots, etc. It's always a winner. But a dollar amount of $700 reminds how far the American consumer could fall if that's what was in the cards for the next 5 years; but for now let's just enjoy the good news...

More good news, but not as widely talked about -- A good weekend at the box office:

Consumers opened their wallets this weekend not only for Black Friday retail sales but also for the movie industry, which recorded its second-highest Thanksgiving weekend box office ever.

Ticket sales for the five-day period totaled $236 million, spurred by the Warner Bros. movie "Four Christmases," according to box-office tracking firm Media by Numbers. The only Thanksgiving weekend with higher receipts came in 2000 when theaters rang up $244.4 million with such movies as "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "Unbreakable."

Great. Hey, so maybe this rally in the markets could keep the momentum going from last week with this positive news about the American consumer? No, fat chance....