Well there is always Alexandria, Virginia; or Alexandria, Egypt; or Alexandria, New Hampshire; or Alexandria, Louisiana; or Alexandria, Kentucky; or Alexandria, Indiana; or Alexandria, Ohio…it’s kind of crowded out there with Alexandria’s.  I gotta believe that the Minnesota one is the best?  I’ve never been to the other Alexandria’s, so there may be some prejudice there.  But we folks up north here do like our Alexandria, MN.

Anyway, couple things in reading some reports that I need to file:

• Businesses feeling more confident about the recovery!  Novembers 0.4 percent gain in inventories marks the second straight monthly build, and implies that most firms have renewed confidence in their businesses.  Inventory-to-sales ratios are approching normal levels.
• Retail sales:  Holiday Season Ends on a Sour Note.  Sales at the nation’s retailers fell 0.3 percent in December.  The holiday season still came in better than originally expected as sales in holiday categories for November and December were up 1.5 percent…versus last year for the November through December period.  Compared to most estimates before the season, which were looking for small declines, this is a solid performance.

I will add some more stuff later in the day.

Source:  U.S. Department of Commerce and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC