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A late week rally gave the markets yet another positive week. Nearly all of the news this week was bullish with the exception of Thursday when OPEC announced they would cut production beginning in February. On Tuesday the Fed kept rates unchanged and made little change to the policy statement as there is now increased confidence that inflation is coming back under control while economic growth continues on a positive pace. The core CPI for November came in unchanged, lower than the expected 0.2% increase, giving further proof that the economy is making a soft landing. November retail sales came in a better than expected 1.1% showing that housing weakness has not had much of an impact on consumer spending, at least not yet. Corporate news was positive for the week as well with General Electric raising their dividend by 12% while positive earnings reports came from Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and Bear Stearns. Going forward the market continues to benefit from typical year-end strength while economic growth remains positive and valuations remain sufficiently low enough to maintain ongoing support.

The DOW closed the week up, gaining 138.03 points to close at 12445.52. The S&P surged 1.2%, adding 17.25 points, ending the week at 1427.09. The NASDAQ rose 0.8%, climbing 19.84 points, ending the week at 2457.20.