More "green shoots" today ... apparently

Well, we just got back from a quick trip to Cali (as they call it up here in Oregon) and, after catching bits and pieces of the news on the way back - the ISM manufacturing index and pending home sales were both up - we were sure there was a "green shoots" revival underway.

In looking at the actual data, Tom Toles probably had it right yesterday.
The increase in pending home sales, reported by everyone's favorite trade group the National Association of Realtors, was pretty funny - we must have heard four or five times today about how "pending home sales were up last month" without hearing any figures.

As it turned out, it was a monthly increase of just 0.1 percent, but that didn't stop talking heads from spouting "After today's rise in pending home sales..." I'm not so sure it's a good thing that XM radio carries CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox News.