busy, busy this week

Sorry for the downturn in posting activity this week. Been slammed with my regular duties. But a quick summary of recent action:

* In Q&A after a speech today, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said housing is having a "substantial correction." He said the downturn should cut around 1 percentage point off of GDP growth in the second half of this year, and will have some impact next year as well.

* Bernanke certainly didn't signal any imminent rate CUT. His comments indicated that growth in commercial construction remained strong, as did other parts of the economy outside of housing.

* Market rally on "soft landing" thesis has continued. But I believe that may be a bit too much wishful thinking on Wall Street's part. More on that over time. Also, I shared some thoughts with my local paper about the Dow high; you can read the story here.