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The signs of economic contraction are all over the place

ROFL!!

U.S. consumers revive spending in November

A stronger-than- expected retail rebound in November surprised many analysts.

Investors Bullish on Commercial Real Estate

Much press has been devoted to the cooling residential real estate market and its effects on the U.S. economy and consumer spending, but the commercial real estate market has remained bullish as businesses around the country continue to expand

Corporate pre-tax profits are up 31 percent through the third quarter.
Personal income increases have pushed real consumer spending up about 3% at an annual rate above the third-quarter average.
The overall consumer price index has dropped to 1.3 percent over the past year.
Unemployment at 4.5% and the Dow at an all time high.

...that includes production.

Obviously, this contraction is killing manufacturers profits. LOL!

Wake up and smell the coffee

You're sniffing something but it sure isn't coffee.

Apparently, you didn't even bother to read your own article. Talk about spin! Of course you are going to see a bounce going into Christmas. These guys are simply trying to puff up consumer confidence. However once you get past all the Pollyanna BS, the real state of our economy begins to emerge in the typical dribs and drabs the MSM tries to sandwich between all the sweetness and light. Here are the relevant counter arguments buried in the article that YOU posted. One thing's for sure, your article's headline certain does not capture all the conflicting information contained in the story (and let's not forget, the Clinton/Greenspan changes inflate the GDP and understate the CPI...so it's even worse than the official stats would suggest):

..."In another encouraging sign, the government revised the October sales performance to show a 0.1 percent decline rather than the 0.4 percent drop first reported."

..."The November rebound was surprising given anecdotal evidence from retailers that sales had tapered off following a strong weekend after Thanksgiving."

..."But gasoline prices are well below summer levels and job growth has stayed strong despite the economic slowdown."

..."The economy began 2006 with a sizzling 5.6 percent growth rate, then slowed to 2.6 percent in the spring and 2.2 percent in the summer."

..."We think it is very likely that sales will either be revised down or there will be a hefty drop in December,'' said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics."