More Positive News: Green Shoots Everywhere

1. U.S. consumer confidence in November reached its highest level since May, five months ago.

2. The Leading Economic Index for the Euro Area increased by 0.4% in October, following increases of 0.2% and 0.6% in September and August, respectively.   

3. Shipping in Europe is showing strong gains: Hamburg's total cargo volume rose 8% during the first nine months of the year compared to 2009, Rotterdam's traffic jumped 31.4% over the same period, and Antwerp's cargo volume was up 13.2%.

4. The Vancouver port set a new record in October for container traffic, with volume up 19.5% over the same month a year ago.

5. NAFTA trade rose 19.3% in September from last year.

6. Manufacturing output improved in the Midwest region in October according to the Chicago Fed, and in the Chicago region in November according to the Chicago PMI.  The Dallas Fed reported a strengthening of manufacturing activity in Texas for November.  

7. Positive results were reported for both the U.S. hotel industry and Canada's hotel industry for the week of November 14-20.

8. State tax collections increased by 3.9% in the third quarter of this year compared to same period last year, the third consecutive quarterly gain in state tax revenues.