A few of today’s headlines:
- Mortgage applications are up 17%.
- New home sales are up 2.7%.
- Existing home sales jumped.
- Americans are saving more.
- Durable goods orders are up.
- A $50 billion bailout for distressed home buyers is near.
- Oil prices are under $70 per barrel, at least for now.
- Amy Winehouse is the hottest Halloween costume.
- Last night I went to a very expensive restaurant downtown and it was so full you couldn’t get a space at the bar.
- I still can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment.
- The dollar is up against the Euro.
- It’s not raining today.
I’m not saying that everything is hunky dory. Nor am I implying that any peachy keenness is at hand. But it’s hard to see the upside of looking only at the bleakest scenarios, even if that is the way to become a popular quote monkey in this environment. It’s possible, if you choose to do so, to look beyond the trees that are burning and see the big, green forest still standing, if that’s the way you want to roll.
I know. It’s counter-intuitive. Stupid, even. But as a working stance, it’s just as credible as any other. In an environment where nobody knows what’s up, down or sideways, where positions are increasingly arbitrary, the act of choosing one’s point of view becomes a statement in itself. What’s yours?