Confidently Not Confident

Today's two pieces of economic data that were supposed to help continue a Christmas rally on Wall Street fell flat on their duffs.

Home prices are down, again. And now consumer confidence is down a tad as well.

How can I make you feel more confident? You're nice, you work hard, you are deserving....

CNN: Consumers lose a little confidence

But consumers are somewhat more concerned about the outlook for jobs following a jump in the unemployment rate in November to 9.8%. Those who believe jobs are hard to get rose 0.5 percentage point to 46.8%, and those who there will be fewer jobs six months from now crept up 0.4 point to 19.5%.