We are always excited to share good news when we hear it. A recent market update we received from Pacific Capital Resource Group highlighted some positive economic news that we wanted to pass on:

"All month, nightly news broadcasts spread the message that consumers were spending freely again. While these accounts were often anecdotal, the numbers on hand were encouraging. The Commerce Department reported a 0.8% gain in retail sales for November - the fifth straight monthly increase. Department store sales were up 2.8% in November, representing the biggest monthly gain in two years. Online sales improved 13.0% this past holiday season, according to Internet tracking firm comScore. At the car lots, J.D. Power & Associates said December auto sales were "significantly beating expectations" and forecast year-over-year sales volume to improve by 11.5% for 2010."